2009-2010 Florida Panthers Fantasy Breakdown

Club: Florida Panthers
Fantasy Impact Rating: Lukewarm

Superstars: N/A
Big Producers Nathan Horton, Bryan McCabe
Mid-Level Flyers Cory Stillman, Keith Ballard, Stephen Weiss, David Booth
Rookies/Prospects: Jacob Markstrom, Michal Repik, Dmitry Kulikov
Sleepers: Steve Reinprecht, Michael Frolik, Ville Koistinen
Avoid The Hype: Gregory Campbell

The Florida Panthers have a solid mix of young talent and seasoned veterans to help make them a contender for one of the final playoff positions in the upcoming season. They offer fantasy managers in all formats a real opportunity to build some depth and discover a new crop of rising stars in the National Hockey League.

Photo by: Brooke Novak

Fantasy managers should know that the top line in Florida this fall could be one of the most promising in the entire National Hockey League. The biggest name (right now) in this trio is Nathan Horton. An injury in 2008-2009 left owners a bit disappointed, but fear not! Horton will be back this season ready to go. One of the nice attributes that Horton possesses is the ability to not only play center, but right wing as well. In 2008-2009, fantasy hockey services listed him as a center, right wing and sometimes both, so keep an eye out for his duel eligibility in whatever service you play in. He’ll be a top line candidate all season and will certainly have 1st line power play duties. If Horton is listed as a right winger where you play, consider him a 1st/2nd option with a solid upside. Managers who hold off on drafting a right winger early on could use him as a number one option; managers who go out and draft a marquee right winger in the first round or so could easily nab him as a secondary option later on down the line if need be. He’s young and is on a team with a ton of potential, which increases his keeper appeal. If he’s listed as a center, however, consider him a 2nd/3rd option at center due to the relative depth at the position. If you’re a manager that tends to load up on centers, he could easily be used as a 3rd option; managers who draft a marquee center, then wait, should use him as a 2nd option.

Horton’s counterparts this season should be Stephen Weiss at center and David Booth at left. We’ll discuss possible scenarios in a second, but for now, it would be best to play it relatively conservative when it comes to both these players. Yes, it was nice to see both players at 60 points-ish last season, but for now, consider both guys mid-level players until we can get another solid season as top line players out of them. Both players were shuffled around last season and never saw consistent top line duties as Cory Stillman, Richard Zednik and Michael Frolik were all distributed within the top 2 lines to try and develop chemistry. Booth may have a little more value this upcoming season because left wing is far thinner than center in fantasy hockey, but before you make a serious investment in either player, it may be wise to wait a year before you consider either one 2nd options in anything but the deepest fantasy leagues.

If you’re still not sold on the ides of playing it safe with these guys, consider this: last season, Peter DeBoer mixed up his top lines on more than one occasion. Like mentioned above, Horton has the ability to play both center and right wing. With that being said, there is the possibility that Horton takes on a center role at some point, and has David Booth or Cory Stillman to his left, and Radek Dvorak or Michael Frolik to his right. We don’t think this is the case seeing as how the Panthers brought in Steve Reinprecht from Phoenix this off-season, but we can’t completely rule it out either. If Horton stays on the wing, expect Weiss and Booth to be to his left; Reinprecht will then center the 2nd line with Stillman and Dvorak/Frolik at his wings.

Nothing like playing Devil’s Advocate with ourselves, huh?

Photo by: aimee.craze

Moving on, with Jay Bouwmeester out of town, it will be the Bryan McCabe show from the point this season. We know McCabe’s offensive upside from his days in Toronto and it’s not out of the question to see him post 45-50 points this season as he’ll be their quarterback with the man advantage. He should be sharing the point with Keith Ballard on the power play this season as Florida is relatively thin when it comes to offensive output from the point this season. Ballard performed well last season, and while he does have some offensive upside, don’t expect it to match or surpass McCabe’s unless an injury occurs. McCabe is a solid 2nd option for any fantasy team, but could be used as a number one in situations where managers wait on defensemen. Ballard should be used as a 3rd option in any defensive situation.

Two players to keep on your radar in the draft are Steve Reinprecht and Michael Frolik. Reinprecht was brought in this past summer and offers fantasy managers an “under the radar” option for points. There’s no reason why Reinprecht should go any earlier than the middle to late rounds of deeper drafts, so consider him an extremely wise choice for depth as history has shown us he can quietly put up 40-50 points in a season, even in the toughest environments. Perhaps Reinprecht will share the ice with up and coming winger Michael Frolik this season. Frolik lit the lamp 21 times last season and finished with 45 points in his rookie campaign. We told you to keep an eye out for him in last year’s breakdown for the Panthers and it panned out. This season, his role is a bit up in the air as he’ll have to compete with Radek Dvorak for a spot on the 2nd line, but we think he shouldn’t have a problem as he has slick hands and a real knack for scoring.

Photo by: Matt Boulton

As for prospects coming down the pipeline in Florida’s system, Michal Repik and Dmitry Kulikov should be of some consideration. Repik is a right winger who has had an impressive career in the WHL putting up 168 points in 176 games. He’s the most promising prospect at right wing for the Panthers right now and could find himself in the NHL this season and could take a significant role in the offense if the injuries begin to pile up. On the back end, Dmitry Kulikov offers the Panthers something to look forward to in the offensive department in a year or two. He had dazzling season in Drummondville racking up 62 points in 57 games, good for 3rd in the league last season. He’ll probably spend another year or two in the QMJHL, but when he comes up, there’s a good chance he’ll be sharing the spotlight with Keaton Ellerby, so take note.

For those managers in deeper keeper leagues who are considering running with 5 defenders this season, you may want to consider Ville Koistinen. Ville landed himself in south Florida and has a decent offensive upside that will go overlooked in 95% of drafts this season. He could be a decent source of point as a 5th defender on any fantasy team this fall. He should be a top 4 defender and because of the offensive upside, should see time on at least the 2nd power play unit. Perhaps he sees time in the top power play pairing if Ballard gets cold or goes down with an injury.

Lastly, some fantasy managers in deeper leagues last season may have been impressed with the play of Gregory Campbell. He was surprisingly productive last season as he racked up 32 points and 76 penalty minutes. However, He it would appear that there’s little chance he’ll be making it off the 3rd, perhaps 4th line this season, especially with Steve Reinprecht in town, so if you had ideas of grabbing him late, you may want to bail on that.

Photo by: Elliot

Grade: B
Starter: Tomas Vokoun
Backup: Scott Clemmensen
Tomas Vokoun must have breathed a sigh of relief when Craig Anderson left town as he proved to be quite the competitive backup goaltender, stealing time from Tomas when he struggled. Just when Vokoun thought he was in the clear, the Panthers go out and acquire the 2008-2009 season-saver that is Scott Clemmensen to tend to the backup duties this season. Now, we know Vokoun is a solid goaltender. He has had his struggles in his career, but he finally should be getting support from his offense, so perhaps this is the year he can meet and exceed that 36 win plateau he hit in Nashville in 2005-2006. He has the experience and know how; he just needs to keep it together for an entire season. If he begins to struggle, DeBoer showed last season he’s not afraid to revert to a backup to get the team a win, and Scott Clemmensen would love to prove to his critics that last year was not a fluke. Vokoun is easily a number one goaltender for a manager who likes to build his/her offense before grabbing a goaltender. As for Clemmensen, he may not be a bad pick-up as a 3rd, even a 4th option in the later rounds as he could be used as trade bait if Vokoun starts to struggle.

For those managers in keeper/dynasty leagues, there may be a goaltender you may want to throw on your watch list for the next couple of season to see if his potential as a NHL starter gains any momentum as Vokoun comes closer to contract renewal. Jacob Markstrom is a Swedish prospect that has a nice upside, and with Florida goaltending prospects Chris Beckford-Tseu and Tyler Plante projected to be backups in the NHL (if that), it opens the door for Markstrom to take the job if it becomes available. Don’t consider drafting him until next season, but he’s certainly a player coming down the pipeline that could make a splash down the road. Keep an eye out.