Hawks Full Of Promising Young Talent In 2008-2009
Club: Chicago Blackhawks
Fantasy Impact Rating: Warm
Superstars: None
Big Producers: Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp, Brian Campbell
Mid-Level Flyers: Dustin Byfuglien, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook
Rookies/Prospects: Petri Kontiola, Jack Skille
Sleepers: Martin Havlat, David Bolland
Avoid the Hype: None
Analysis:
The Chicago Blackhawks have struggled in recent years, but have the potential to turn their fortunes around and make a serious bid for the playoffs with the up and coming talent they’ll showcase this season. Fantasy managers should be buzzing about the Hawks this year and some of the talent that they will put forth.
Leading Chicago’s talented core of up and coming players are Jonathan Toews at center and Patrick Kane at right wing. Toews had a solid rookie season last year netting 54 points and gaining top line honors. Toews will start this year again on the top line with Kane to his right. Kane also lived up to expectations and notched 72 points of his own in 2008-2009. If your strategy is to lock up your goaltending in the first couple of rounds, Toews and Kane may be a perfect fit at center and right wing for your strategy. It should be possible to nab both players at some point around the 4th round of a 12 manager draft to use as number one options at their respective positions.
Patrick Sharp will join this dynamic duo on the first line, and offers a bit of a bit of experience that might help these youngsters produce at their highest level. Sharp was a bit of a surprise for Chicago last season, tallying 36 goals, 7 of which were shorthanded. He’s coming off of a hot season, so his rank may be slightly inflated, however, you should be able to use him as a 2nd option at left wing and enjoy another 60+ point season.
The Blackhawks may very well have one of the best young defensive units in the entire league. Their defensive depth got significantly deeper this past summer when they acquired Brian Campbell to help run their power play. Campbell is an elite offensive defender in the National Hockey League and could factor in huge to the Hawk’s power play this year. He should be able to mimic last year’s 62 point performance and up the value of the players on the first power play unit this season. Other notables on Chicago’s back end are Dustin Byfuglien, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook. Keith and Seabrook would be nice 3rd options at your defense and should hover between 30 and 40 points this season. Dustin Byfuglien is a bit of a renaissance man if you’re playing in Yahoo! this season. He is eligible at both left wing and defense, so take note. Having a second line left winger slotted into one of your defensive spots could prove to be somewhat effective for those managers looking for every advantage they can get. In deeper leagues, consider making a play for Byfuglien in the later middle rounds and see if he can find his scoring touch again this season.
It’s unclear as of right now who will be playing second line center for Chicago this season now that Robert Lang has been traded to Montreal. The two top candidates for the job are second year center Dave Bolland and rookie center Petri Kontiola. Bolland had a somewhat impressive career for the London Knights of the OHL and appears to be a fantasy package deal with the amount of penalty minutes he has shown us he can accumulate. Petri Kontiola offers a serious set of skills and a playmaking ability that may give him the advantage heading into the start of the season. He’s acclimated himself with the North American style of play extremely well and shows promise of being a serious scoring threat this year if he can maintain 2nd line duties.
Martin Havlat will once again be a sleeper this season because of his absence from the lineup last season. Havlat could be considered one of the top 15 forwards in the league if it wasn’t for his chronic injuries. He’ll be heading into this season coming off yet another shoulder surgery, but if all goes well, should be ready to go by season’s start. Havlat is an extremely high risk, high reward and for those of you taking a chance on Havlat, keep the name Jack Skille in the back of your mind in case Martin goes down. Skille will be below Havlat this season on the depth chart, but is in a very promising position to move up to that second line. If Havlat hits the deck for any reason, Skille may be a wise add that could pay solid dividends.
Goaltending:
Situation: Platooning
Grade: B/B+
1. Cristobal Huet
2. Nikolai Khabibulin
It’s difficult to trade a 35 year old goaltender with a 6.75 million dollar price tag, so the Hawks will be stuck with Nikolai Khabibulin for one more season. They showed no hesitation, however, about expressing that they’re ready to move forward by signing Cristobal Huet to a deal this offseason. It has been hinted that the two tenders will split time in October to determine a starter for the year. This doesn’t bode well for fantasy owners that hoped to ride Huet and the young team around him to a successful fantasy season. Huet will go somewhat high despite the situation he’s in, and for now, make sure that you have at least 1 goaltender in front of Huet because of his situation. Khabibulin may fall in your draft, and could be worth a look if you’re in the market for a 3rd tender.
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