The fourth installment in the 2010-2011 Sleeper series targets who’s available to steal in the Central Division.
Player: Kyle Beach
Team: Chicago Blackhawks
Position: Left Wing
Impact: Moderately Deep to Deep Fantasy Leagues
Analysis: Roto managers rejoice. This could be the year for Kyle Beach to try his hand in the bigs. If he’s with the Hawks this season, please please please keep this guy at the top of your lists. He can score, he can fight; total package deal here folks. A lot will depend on his attitude on the ice. Sean Avery-esque, if you will. Chicago’s left side isn’t looking very promising right now, so the opportunity is ripe for him to make an impact with the ‘Hawks this season. When it comes down to it, Beach is one bad mickey fickey.
Player: Ivan Vishnevskiy
Team: Chicago Blackhawks
Position: Defense
Impact: Deep Fantasy Leagues
Analysis: Vishnevskiy has been bounced around the league a bit over the past couple of seasons, but may have an opportunity to get playing time in the bigs this season with Chicago. He has an excellent offensive skill set for a defenseman and could bring a nice one-two punch from the point if he’s paired with Keith on the power play. If you’re drafting before camp, keep Vishnevskiy flagged. If your league is drafting later and you notice he cracked the Hawks’ lineup, snag him with one of your last picks.
Player: Colin Wilson
Team: Nashville Predators
Position: Center/Left Wing
Impact: Deeper Fantasy Leagues
Analysis: Wilson will give the Preds some nice scoring depth in the 2010-2011 season and, depending on his position eligibility, should give a manager in deeper fantasy leagues some nice scoring depth too. If he’s listed at left wing in your service, you might need to step up a round or two earlier than you’d anticipate just because of the relative thinness of the position.
Player: Matthew Lombardi
Team: Nashville Predators
Position: Center
Impact: Average to Deep Fantasy Leagues
Analysis: Lombardi has landed himself in Nashville after a very successful season with Phoenix Coyotes in 2009-2010. He’ll likely take over top line duties at center, so snag him in the early-middle rounds of your draft. If you’re a manager who waits on centers, he is a very serviceable No. 2 guy, potentially a No. 1 if you are really keen on waiting on passing them up.
Player: Patric Hornqvist
Team: Nashville Predators
Position: Right Wing
Impact: Moderately Deep to Deep Fantasy Leagues
Analysis: One of the nicer stories that flew under the radar last season. Hornqvist was a 7th round draft pick who made a gigantic splash with the Preds last season scoring 51 points in 80 games. He has certainly solidified himself a roster spot this season and should be hovering around that 2nd line to start the year. Perhaps a repeat performance is in store for Hornqvist and if so, he could offer your fantasy squad some rock solid scoring depth at a relatively thin right wing position.
Player: Chet Pickard
Team: Nashville Predators
Position: Goaltender
Impact: Deep Fantasy Leagues (to start)
Analysis: It’s not quite clear who will be backing up Pekka Rinne this season in Nashville, but if it happens to be Chet Pickard, throw him on your watch list purely based on the astronomically high goaltender turnover rate there over the past several years. I mean, he’s got the right stuff, so he could be a starter one day in the NHL, but depending on what happens with Rinne this year, it could be much sooner than later.
Player: Jiri Hudler
Team: Detroit Red Wings
Position: Wing
Impact: Average to Deep Fantasy Leagues
Analysis: Depending on how your service ranks him, Hudler could be one of the biggest sleepers in fantasy drafts this season. He disappeared overseas last season but is back with the Wings and will play a prominent role in their offense in 2010-2011. Based on his relatively low projected rank, you should be able to steal in him the latter rounds of a standard draft, and in the middle-to-late rounds of a deeper draft.
Player: Patrick Berglund
Team: St. Louis Blues
Position: Center
Impact: Deeper Fantasy Leagues
Analysis: Berglund’s sophomore slump might mask his value a bit this year in most fantasy services, but don’t be afraid to take him on in the latter stages of your draft as he should be a top-6 player for the Blues this season.
Player: Nikita Filatov
Team: Columbus Blue Jackets
Position: Left Wing
Impact: Moderately Deep to Deeper Fantasy Leagues
Analysis: He’s back from the KHL and should have a decent shot at making the opening day squad in Columbus. He’s got a slick skill set but wasn’t given the ice time to strut his stuff in the past couple of seasons. The only thing he’s got going against him in terms of fantasy hockey is that his name is out there, so people may be prone to reach for him. He’ll start the season appealing to managers in deeper fantasy leagues, but could very well make a big enough splash to warrant standard sized league adds.
Player: Kris Russell
Team: Columbus Blue Jackets
Position: Defense
Impact: Deeper Fantasy Leagues
Analysis: This is my ‘shot in the dark’ this year. The Jackets don’t have a true power play quarterback. Yes, Stralman was serviceable last season, but they need someone else to step up and take the reigns. Don’t go drafting him, but flag him and monitor his role with Columbus in the first couple weeks of the season.
Player: Chad Kolarik
Team: Columbus Blue Jackets
Position: Wing
Impact: Mid-season add in the deepest of fantasy leagues
Analysis: Kolarik won’t start the season with Columbus, but should be one of the first call-ups in case of injury. He’s got a nice skill set on him and should be with the Jackets permanently in the next couple of years. If he’s replacing a player with a long term injury (Chris Clark is the first player coming to mind) he might get a shot in 2010-2011. Until then, flag him to start the season and see if he makes an appearance in the NHL at any point.
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