Fantasy Hockey

I have to admit that's a fantasy quite similar to the one I've had a time or three over the years, especially in my younger daze. I think most guys have probably had that one too... but with better "fantasy" endings. I mean, come on, what guy hasn't at one time or another fantasized about being the big stud player all the girls were after? Correct me if I'm wrong.

As far as those interested in the other kind of fantasy hockey, Sports Illustrated has a pretty good article by Ian Gooding on how to build competitive fantasy hockey club.

Just what strategies go into drafting a winning team? The most obvious one is to do your homework and determine which players will be the most successful based on past statistics and future projections. If you are on a Web site or using an offline publication that uses player rankings, it is always recommended that you create your own rankings. Because of the changes made to the game in the post-lockout era (the new NHL), many fringe players or players who had seen better days have now become fantasy superstars [...]

In what follows we will lay out a few different blueprints that you could choose to follow in your draft this season. The following tips are based upon a standard starting lineup which includes: two centers, two right wings, two left wings, four defensemen and two goalies.

Read more >>> HERE.

Personally, I prefer my kind of fantasy hockey better. But hey, whatever floats your boat. If it's about hockey... it's all good.

RELATED LINKS:

How to Play Fantasy Hockey

2006-07 Fantasy Hockey Players on the Rise

NHL Fantasy: Breakout Candidates

The Power of Hockey

This coool little hockey promo comes from England and...

The Manchester Storm

I think it's one of the best I've ever seen. Just a touch of euro-weird but still better than anything I've come across on this side of the pond... so far.

I'll be on the road and thus offline for a bit.

Keep the faith. Hockey on...

Puck Rock

...Crank it up!

This blast of raw Hockey Rock & Roll comes from Norway and the band... Gluecifer.
I Got War, Baby!


Here's the rest of the... Puck Rock Videos ...collected here at Odd Man Rush so far.

Another Big Wave of NHL Rookies Coming

Because of the large number of rookies entering the league last season after the lockout year (2 years worth) it caused a log jam and some of those who would've naturally entered the NHL in 05/06 had to be sent back to the minors (or where ever) for another year of preperation. Thus the league this year will most likely be seeing another large influx of young puck talent.

Last season, the NHL's rookie class was arguably the best ever, featuring an impressive combination of toptier talent and tremendous depth. From forwards Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin to defenseman Dion Phaneuf and Andrej Meszaros to goaltenders Henrik Lundqvist and Cam Ward, rookies stole the show from start to finish

Of course, this plethora of stellar rookies arriving all at once was due in part to the 2004–05 lockout, which kept the league shuttered for an entire season. Essentially, two years' worth of rookies crowded into one freshman class, including Crosby and Ovechkin, two of the NHL's most highly touted prospects of all time. There were no fewer than 10 rookies who would have been worthy of Calder Trophy consideration in any other season [...]

With so many talented rookies crowding the playing surface in 2005–06, there were a number of excellent prospects who were sent down for another year of seasoning. So it's quite possible that this year's freshman class will be nearly as impactful as last year's.

Here's a look at one such rookie profiled in the above article that could be making an impact in the NHL this year after the extra year of "seasoning"...

ALEXANDER RADULOV of the Nashville Predators


With so much hockey talent having been blocked from entering the NHL because of the lockout year, this resulting wave of young players now coming in I think could very well further help the NHL successfully enter it's new era.

Attack of the Zebras

Part 2


For those wondering how the NHL referees will be officiating this season after the league aggressively cracked down on obstruction last year... expect more of same, they will not be backing off the new standards.

"Maintaining the standards of enforcement and continuing to improve officiating is a big focus this year," deputy commissioner Bill Daly told ESPN.com.

Here's why it shouldn't be as hard as people might imagine.

First of all, NHL officials have never received as much praise as they have in the past 12 months.

"Gary Bettman, [director of hockey operations] Colin Campbell and [director of officiating] Stephen Walkom, they get straight 'A' marks from my perspective," Anaheim GM Brian Burke recently told ESPN.com. "It won't be hard to get people to buy into it this year. The game's gotten better. The fans like it better." [...]

"We've got to stay the course. We've got to be as good or better as we were last year," Walkom said. "I was real pleased for the game. To see the game roar again was great."

About the only change that will be made in the officiating this year will be an increased focus by the refs on penalizing diving.

Oh, by the way the Zebras do actually attack sometimes, as this clown found out...



I guess that could've been considered a boarding penalty.

Not.

Gone...

...not forgotten.

Every year brings some retirements from the game and this year certainly is no exception.

Robitaille and Detroit Red Wings legend Steve Yzerman are the most prominent among the players who won't be back on the ice for the 2006-07 campaign.

Also retired are Keith Primeau and Eric Desjardins of the Philadelphia Flyers, tough guy Tie Domi of the Toronto Maple Leafs, winger Brian Savage of the Phoenix Coyotes and defenceman Eric Weinrich, who ended last season with the Vancouver Canucks.

Goaltender Garth Snow retired as a player to sign on as general manager of the New York Islanders, while defenceman Bob Boughner left the Colorado Avalanche to concentrate on his ownership of the junior Windsor Spitfires with former teammate Warren Rychel.

And journeyman Brad Bombardir has gone from playing defence to being director of community relations with the Minnesota Wild.

Here's a look at a few of the notables we won't be seeing on the ice anymore in the NHL.

Steve Yzerman




Luc Robitaille




Tie Domi



Good luck and thanks for all the memories boys.

Puck Prospecting...

Here's a look at a few of the top Hockey prospects out there and also a complete rundown on how the Top 50 are doing according to the experts at... Hockey'sFuture.com.

1-10

#6 Columbus Blue Jacket prospect Gilbert Brule.


11-25

#15 Boston Bruin prospect Phil Kessel.


26-50

#32 New York Islanders prospect Robert Nilsson
(with a pretty freakin amazing shot)

How's your team and it's prospects doing?

Super Stanley

The further adventures
of the world's cooolest trophy


"It's" in Stanley. Is it in you too?

Man, I don't know how he does it? Party's hard with the NHL Champs half the year, public appearances for the rest... and still he finds time to rescue damsels in distress. The greatest trophy in ALL SPORTS I tell you. Don't even think about debating it because...

"If you want greatness you've got to do whatever it takes."
Stan the man

...and Stanley does whatever it takes... and more.

He Always Has
The evil cup (on the left side of the picture above) that throws Veronica off the building looks vaguely familiar ...but I'm not quite sure. Maybe it's the mustache.

Nnnaaaaah, it couldn't be.

Could it? Cup envy is a very powerful motive that has driven a lot of sport trophy's to try and become #1... by whatever means necessary.

All have failed, just like this one will.

Loooong live the King!

The Fight Club

...on ice, is being shutdown.

I'll let John tell you about his thoughts on the matter...

The Vanishing Breed
By John Ondrasik of Five for Fighting for SI.com

I named my band after a hockey fight. Of course, that was more than 10 years ago -- the Golden Age.

You remember the names ... or at least the nicknames: Rob Ray, Shane Churla, The Twister, The Grim Reaper.

Every team had one, and on their respective slabs of ice these men were kings. They were more adored and despised than any Great One, Super Mario or Dominator perched between the pipes.

My defining moment came hours after a Marty McSorley vs. Bob Probert classic...


...when a record-company president asked me to forsake my birth name for a band name. (Singer/songwriters were the kiss of death, he poked.)

So came Five for Fighting. But that was then. Where has the goon gone? [...]

Truth is, more than 260 NHL players got into at least one fight in 2005-06. But fighting is fading out of hockey, fading fast. Is this a good thing? Is it long overdue? It depends who you ask.

This guy with the halo sitting on my right shoulder thinks so. He has to deal with his five-year-old son on game night.

"Daddy, why are those players hitting each other?"

"Uhh, they're just playing, Johnny. It's not real."

"I thought fighting was bad."

"It is, son. But this is different."

"Why, Dad?"

"Uhh. Come on, I'll buy you another puck."

But the guy with the pointed tail perched on my broken left collarbone is steamed. He's the imp who gets caught up in the buzz when the coach sends his rough boy out to dance. He lives for, and through, a gladiator with an honor code who erases the pain of a bad game, allows a temporary respite from another losing season, or rips us away, if only for a minute, from the inevitable screws of life.

And while we're at it, for some, that goon thing was a bum rap. Many of these heavies could play. Most were among the most articulate individuals the league had to offer. They were labor reps turned commentators, tireless leaders in charity and team outreach, and always, for what it's worth, the recipient of the most popular player award.

Well John, you can tell your little boy that the guy with the halo on your right shoulder has won and at least as far as the NHL is concerned the days of the hockey enforcer are going, going... almost gone.

But not forgotten.

Zen and the Art of Hockey

...with some sex and mystic mumbo jumbo thrown in too.

A hockey mini-movie...



Most of this film had been cut up and run as 30 sec. commercials during last season none of which I ever really cared for. Shown complete however, I'm pretty surprised because it's really not too bad, except for the chick locker room attendant/sage/sex object. But, then again that probably makes about as much sense as me throwing the maple leaf bikini clad babe into the story below. None. So call me a hypocrite (won't be the first or last time) but I'm leaving her in because as I've now learned from the locker room attendant/sage/sex object...

"If you know the enemy
and you know yourself
...you need not fear."

Thank you My NHL.