Fantasy Hockey 2012 - Pick ups of the Week

Depth at D

One position I find having a lot of turnover with is my last couple of defenceman slots. I find myself changing those players often. They're streaky. It's not easy finding offensive defencemen. The Devils acquired Marek Zidlicky near the deadline, it's taken some him for him to get adjusted but it's finally starting to show dividends as recent as of the last three games (5 points in last 3 games). The Devils have been hot, so it's a safe pickup as Zidlicky is their best offensive defenceman.

One wildcard blue-liner to keep an eye on is Michael Stone of the Phoenix Coyotes. A big scorer from the blue-line at the WHL level, is starting to translate to the NHL level. Would not be surprised if he was a future top-4 defenceman with 40 point upside.

Sleeper Forwards

Every fantasy hockey team is always on the look out for that next breakout forward. This week a view candidates made a case for themselves. I have three players to mention. One will end up being a point/game guy in the NHL, one will be okay - a waiver wire pickup, and one will be a total bust and be forgotten in a few years.

The three players are: Jordan Caron, Mark Letestu, and Jacob Josefson. All three have been playing well as of late. Two of them (Caron, Josefson) were drafted in the first round. If I were to pick the best current option of the three I'd have to go with Mark Letestu - simply because he is able to get the minutes playing in Columbus. The most talented is Jordan Caron, but with all the depth at forward he may be only given the keys to a minimal role. The wild card has to be Jacob Josefson, he had a really rough go of things early on. Before a streak of 4 points in his last 7 games, Josefson had only put up a miserable 2 points in 23 games.

If ya need a goalie...

It's not often you can pick up a starting goalie on a play-off team this deep into the season, but Ben Bishop is the #1 option in the crease in Ottawa. Robin Lehner is on the farm, and Alex Auld is solely a back-up goaltender. Ben Bishop was acquired just before the NHL Trade Deadline from St. Louis, the Senators are investing their hopes in him to carry the majority of the load. He's going to be getting the majority of starts, and the Sens should continue winning most those games.

Avalanche Warning

After the NHL Trade Deadline concluded, I mentioned to keep a close tab on Jamie McGinn. After six games in an Avalanche uni, he's getting more comfortable and his ice-time is rising. He's rewarded his new club with 6 points in his last 4 game. McGinn finds himself on the teams first line with Paul Stastny and David Jones, and is finally getting some power-play time. Look for Jamie McGinn to finish strong.

If Peter Mueller could only find a way to stay healthy he'd be owned by 100% of fantasy teams. Instead he's only owned in a remarkably low 4.5% of ESPN leagues. Which is pretty ridiculous considering when healthy he's close to a point/game pace. He's back from his latest injury, and is playing well and starting to heat up. Both these players are excellent pick up options.