How To Choose A Fantasy Hockey Goalie

Now that hockey season is upon us, it means that fantasy hockey leagues are in full swing and everyone is looking for fantasy hockey tips,  scouring statistics and prognosticating how players will perform for the upcoming season.

In many fantasy hockey leagues, particularly the popular Yahoo! leagues, the importance and weighting on goaltender statistics can be quite skewed vs. the importance of player statistics.

For instance, you may only have three goaltenders on your team, but there may be up to six categories of goaltender statistics scored. In head-to-head fantasy leagues, there may be eight categories of player statistics and six categories of Goaltender statistics – you can easily see the importance of goaltenders in this scenario!

The most popular goaltender statistics scored in fantasy leagues are:

1. Games Played (GP)
2. Wins (W)
3. Goals Against Average (GAA)
4. Save percentage (Save %)
5. Saves (Saves)
6. Shutouts (SO)

Let’s Take a Look at the Goaltenders who have excelled in these categories in the past.

Games Played

Under the games played category, we want to find a goaltender who doesn’t have a threatening backup and who typically plays the majority of his teams games. And, of course, one who is expected to do so in the upcoming season. Here is a look at the top five goaltenders from last season in the games played category.  Of note, all of these goalies, with the possible exception of Marty Turco, should play the vast majority of games for their respective team this coming season.

1	Miikka Kiprusoff	CGY	76
2	Marty Turco	DAL	74
3	Niklas Backstrom	MIN	71
4	Henrik Lundqvist	NYR	70
5	Cam Ward	CAR	68

Wins

Of course, a goalie who plays the majority of his teams games will have a better chance at putting up a larger number of wins based on sheer odds. Therefore, we expect to see a few of the same names under the Wins category as we saw in the previous category for Games Played.

Here are the top five goaltenders in the Wins category from last season:

1	Miikka Kiprusoff	CGY	45
2	Evgeni Nabokov	SJS	41
3	Cam Ward	CAR	39
4	Henrik Lundqvist	NYR	38
5	Niklas Backstrom	MIN	37

Goals Against Average

This statistic is a widely kept and scored statistic in fantasy leagues. Not to discredit goaltenders, but very defensive minded teams often have goaltenders with low Goals Against Averages.

On another note, a goaltender can have a very low goals against average and not play very many games.  Of course, if they are not playing, they are not going to help you in your fantasy league!

Here are the five best Goals Against Averages from goalies who played at least 50 games last season in the National Hockey League.

1	Tim Thomas	BOS	54	2.10
2	Steve Mason	CBJ	61	2.29
3	Niklas Backstrom	MIN	71	2.33
4	Roberto Luongo	VAN	54	2.34
5	Pekka Rinne	NSH	52	2.38

Save Percentage

Among NHL goalies who played at least 50 games last season, here are the top five leaders in the save percentage category.

1	Tim Thomas	BOS	54	.933
2	Tomas Vokoun	FLA	59	.926
3	Niklas Backstrom	MIN	71	.923
4	Roberto Luongo	VAN	54	.920
5	Ryan Miller	BUF	59	.918

Saves

Among goalies who played at least 50 NHL games last season, here are the top five leaders in saves. Of course, one also expect sthe save leaders to be among the top in the Games Played category as well.

1	Miikka Kiprusoff	CGY	76	1946
2	Niklas Backstrom	MIN	71	1900
3	Henrik Lundqvist	NYR	70	1839
4	Ilya Bryzgalov	PHX	65	1807
5	Marty Turco	DAL	74	1790

Shutouts

The shutout category is a wildcard in most years and just like the Goals Against Average, one expects that the most defensive minded teams would give their respective goaltenders a better chance to achieve more shutouts during a season.Again, the more games played, the better the odds of earning a shutout.

Here are the top five leaders in the shutout category from last season.

1	Steve Mason	CBJ	61	10
2	Roberto Luongo	VAN	54	9
3	Niklas Backstrom	MIN	71	8
4	Evgeni Nabokov	SJS	62	7
5	Pekka Rinne	NSH	52	7

Now, after doing all of this research, it certainly doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that the Minnesota Wild’s Niklas Backstrom shows up in the top five of every category. Regardless if you believe that the Wild’s new coach, Todd Richards, is going to play a more offensive style this season I really don’t think you can go wrong by selecting Backstrom high in the draft.

An additional strategy would be to pick up the relatively under-appreciated Pekka Rinne later in the draft. His numbers were spectacular (Almost Calder trophy worthy) last season after winning the job from Dan Ellis and it is expected that he will see more time between the pipes in Nashville this season.

What The Number Don’t Tell Us

Martin Brodeur is back after missing most of last season due to injury.  And, even at his advanced age he cannot be discounted as one of odds on favorites to lead in many of these categories. What is uncertain is just how many games his aging body can play.  However, what is certain is that the Devils will be a defensive minded team with Jacques Lemaire back behind the bench!

In addition, Nikolai Khabibulin posted some impressive numbers last season after taking over from Cristobal Huet part way through the year in Chicago. There is some question as to his age, but Edmonton has hung their hat on him for the upcoming year and he is expected to carry the bulk of the workload for the Oilers.

Now that you have your goaltending strategy down, you need to find the most consistent points producers to fill out your fantasy team. I suggest taking a look at this article by Joe Pelletier where he breaks down the most consistent hockey pool performers over the past three seasons.

Best of luck to you this season! – unless you’re in a fantasy league competing with me

Talking With Messier About Fighting In Hockey

Fighting in hockey is always a hot topic.  However, due to some recent injuries and an unfortunate death last season, attention has been turned to whether or not players should be allowed to remove their helmets during fights.

I have my opinions on fighting in hockey, but rather than ramble on with my thoughts, why not ask one of the legends of the game?

So, I asked Mark Messier about his thoughts on the subject.

Messier fought no less than 19 times over the course of his career in the National Hockey League.  In addition, his son Lyon had a couple of fights last season as professional player in the Central Hockey League. This gives Mark, what I believe is, a unique perspective on the topic – addressing the subject from the view of both a player and a parent.

In addition, Messier also has first hand experience on the topic considering one of the first NHL fights of his career was with Dennis Ververgaert in 1980.  In this fight Messier was wearing a helmet, while Ververgaert was not. Messier landed several hard left hands, taking Ververgaert to the ice.  Fortunately, they were both okay.

However, if you watch the video , you will see that there is not much difference in the way that Ververgert fell compared to how Columbus’  Tommy Sestito hit the ice and was injured following a fight with Jordin Tootoo this pre-season.

Without any further adieu.

Messier On Fighting

NHL Digest: Do you have a position on fighting in the NHL?  In particular, what is your reaction to taking helmets off during fights?

Messier: Fighting in hockey has been debated for many years by team officials, players, experts, and fans. The one constant in all the discussions is that there are no easy answers or solutions. As a former player, fighting was an accepted aspect of the game. Of course when I first started, very few games were televised around the country, and every move the league or teams made was not scrutinized by millions of viewers.

Over the last few decades, fighting in hockey has changed tremendously. In the 70’s fighting really hit its peak, being lead by the Broad Street Bullies in Philadelphia. The Flyers were the Stanley Cup Champions and played a very aggressive in-your-face game, which often lead to fisticuffs on the ice. Bench clearing brawls were the norm, and of course, all this trickled down to the minor leagues and even into the grass roots level.

The 80’s followed with an invasion of highly skilled European players that started to make their way over to play in the NHL. And soon after came the games Greatest player ever in Wayne Gretzky, who possessed a game of skill and awareness that had never been seen before. Led by Wayne, the Edmonton Oilers became the benchmark for success, adopting a highly skilled, fast skating game, which forced the rest of the league to change their philosophy from a grinding up and down your wing, to a skating, interweaving game that resembled a more European style.

The league took tremendous steps to reduce fighting and eliminate bench clearing brawls. Requiring players to return to their benches as soon as a fight broke out and the institution of many other new rules greatly reduced the number of fights that took place in any particular game.

While the focus now is on a more skilled, high tempo game, fighting is still a topic of conversation, particularly when a player is hurt as a result of the fight. Players are bigger and stronger than ever, and have taken the skill of fighting to a new level. Hockey is a great game of passion, skill, discipline, courage and heart. However, in addition to these great attributes, intimidation has always played and will continue to play a part in the game.

One of the latest problems associated with fighting is players taking their helmets off before engaging in a fight. One of the reasons for this was the mandatory visor rule that was implemented in amateur hockey, much like the hockey helmet was back in 1979. Because of the shields and full cages, taking the helmets off became a way of showing respect and bravado.

Hockey, like life, is ever changing and evolving. We as a league must always have the best interests in our minds and hearts for the players, teams and fans. The changes that have taken place over the last 30 years have made our game better than ever. We will continue to make the necessary changes to ensure we not only protect our players, but provide the fans with the best product and entertainment possible.

Fighting has always been a part of hockey, and I personally believe that it will continue to be one aspect of our game. Part of what makes hockey so entertaining is that it requires physical and mental toughness. But as the game continues to evolve, I believe that player safety and better protection need to be our top priority. If that means instituting a rule – like Hockey Canada – that makes it mandatory to keep your helmet on in a fight, I would support it.

Messier On Head Protection

The Messier Project, my new collaboration with Cascade Sports, is committed to elevating head protection in hockey and we are working to change priorities in the sport. A helmet and its protective technology are just as important – if not more important – than the skates you wear or the stick you use.

In developing the M11, I worked very closely with the innovators at Cascade Sports to bring a player’s perspective to the design. One of the features I am most proud of is the ProFit system, which I think ties into this conversation.

During game play and especially if a player engages in a fight, it is extremely important that the helmet stays on to prevent potential head injury due to a blow to the head or the more serious threat of a player’s head hitting the ice.

The Pro Fit system creates a 360 degree fit- tapering the entire helmet in around the head for a snug, “toque” feel. When your helmet fits right, it is safer on impact and when adjusted properly, a good fit increases the level of protection the helmet offers. From a performance perspective, the M11 ProFit allows a player to fine-tune the fit and adjust it on the fly based on the situation and environment.

Thank you for your question. It is conversations and questions like these that are so important to the evolution and continued success of our game.

With respect,
Mark Messier

Final Thoughts

As you can see, Mark’s take on fighting in hockey is not simplistic. He is certainly passionate about the game and his venture with the Messier Project really is about protecting players.

He mentions that he would support a rule to keep helmets on during a fight.  This makes sense, but if that were the case, I certainly wouldn’t want to fight anyone with a Dany Heatley sized visor!

Maybe a quick-release visor could be developed?  That would be sure to appease both the “no fighting with a visor crowd” and the “keep your helmet on during a fight” crowd.

Hmmmm…maybe I just gave Mark and Cascade Sports an idea for the next big thing in hockey? I’m sure my check is in the mail!

Shawn Thornton Fights Jared Boll

It’s becoming more and more common in the National Hockey League to see players policing the game by their own hand. Such an incident happened once again last night. An inadvertent fall that caused Bruins’ goaltender, Tuukka Rask, to be tripped resulted in no penalty being called.

However, Boston players felt otherwise and as play continued tempers began to flare!

Chuck Kobasew started the skirmish by fighting Michael Blunden at the start of this video, but the bigger tilt was between two heavyweights.  Shawn Thornton and Jared Boll ended up fighting in the corner with both players landing some heavy shots.  The decision in this fight goes to Thornton even though Boll ended up on the top of the pile as they fell.

Flat Bottom V Skate Sharpening

I recently had my Easton Stealth S17 skates sharpened with a new technology from Blackstone Sports called the Flat Bottom V.

This new technology grabbed some spotlight with use by some NHL teams last season and now has 14  20 National Hockey League teams signed up to use the skate sharpening system for the 2009-2010 season. The guys at Blackstone really knew they had something when several NHL players proclaimed that they had to have it and wouldn’t go back to regular sharpening!

I’ve skated with the Flat Bottom V sharpening five times now and can certainly say that there is a noticeable difference between the FBV and the traditional skate sharpening.

The Technology

While the technology is based on physics principles of friction, the application to ice hockey compared to traditional skate sharpening can be most easily understood in the following images:

As we can see, the edges remain in tact producing a sharp bite for acceleration and agility but instead of the concave hollow, the middle of the blade is ground flat to increase glide.

I highly suggest that all serious hockey players take a shot at trying the Flat Bottom V. I’ve really enjoyed playing using this technology, noticing added ‘bite’ instantly during the first few strides. It took me a few minutes to get the feel for how the edges perform, but after the initial few shifts I had no complaints.

A quote from Cory Stillman describes the feeling best:

“For pushing and gliding and being on top of the ice, there’s a huge difference,” says Panthers’ veteran Cory Stillman who became a disciple in training camp after he tried it just once. “Because it’s not sinking into the ice, you don’t have to work as hard.”

One recommendation that I have is to make certain that you match up your current sharpening hollow with the associated FBV sharpening. This will reduce the adjustment period to the Flat Bottom V.

Here are the corresponding hollows for the Flat Bottom V according to Blackstone:

From our initial testing, we have determined that the 90/75 can be related to the edge of a 5/8 circular hollow and the 100/75 can be related to the edge of a 1/2 – 3/8 circular hollow.

Next time you hit your local Pro Shop to get a sharpening, try out the Flat Bottom V…I think you’ll be glad you did.

*P.S – I got my Flat Bottom V sharpening from a Sport Check store and there was no additional cost for the FBV versus a regular sharpening.

Shock Doctor Ultra STC Mouthguard

Over the past couple of weeks I have been using the Shock Doctor Ultra STC mouthguard during my hockey games.

Fitting the Ultra STC is very easy and similar to fitting other ‘boil and bite’ mouthguards.  The entire process takes just minutes and the result is as good a fit as you will get from any mouth guard that has not been fitted by a dental professional.  One word of caution when fitting the Ultra STC is that you MUST follow the directions for leaving the mouthguard in the boiling water for at least 90 seconds.

I made the mistake of taking it out too soon when I saw the edges soften and the fit was not as snug as I would have liked.  That said, I put the mouthguard back into the boiling water and re-fitted it after leaving it in for just over two minutes and it formed to my mouth much better.  I can’t help but think, however, that if I performed the initial fitting correctly it would have  resulted in an  even better fit.

In addition, it is important to fit the mouthguard correctly because Shock Doctor offers a warranty for the user of the mouthguard if fitted correctly according to the instructions.  This is a limited warranty that covers some dental work that may not be covered from your regular insurance.

Ultra STC Mouthguard Features

The most noticeable aspect of the Ultra STC versus other mouth guards is the pad on the bottom side of the guard that rests against the bottom teeth.  These Air Cushion Shock Pads re thick enough to help cushion the blow between the teeth, but not so thick that it is uncomfortable or restricts breathing.

The Ultra STC features what is called Mora Performance Enhancement. According to the theory, when fitted and worn correctly, it positions the lower jaw down and forward and the tongue up onto the roof of the mouth, which may increase strength and athletic performance.  It is very difficult to measure and notice for the average player, but if you play frequently at a high level, it may be more noticeable.

To be honest, I have never been a fan of mouthguards, but I have been using a custom fitted mouth guard that I had made at my dentists office.  The Ultra STC is, obviously, not as form fitting as my custom model, but it cost about 3X as much as the Ultra STC.

According to Dr. Robert Cantu, a widely recognized expert, there is no evidence that custom fitted mouthguards offer more protection than ‘Boil and Bite’ versions.

“There are no statistics to suggest that custom-fit mouth guards are better than boil and bite mouth guards” Dr. Cantu said. “There is a higher level of comfort with custom-fit but not more protection.”

For youth players who play many times per week, I highly suggest getting a custom fitted mouthguard as the more comfortable it is, the more likely they are.  However, for adults who don’t play frequently, I certainly think the Shock Doctor STC deserves some serious consideration.

The Ultra STC is available from Total Hockey.net for $22.99 or directly from Shock Doctor.com for $24.99.

Can You Feel It? It’s Hockey Season!

It’s been some time since I posted a collection of random hockey thoughts. Through the summer I mostly hung out and talked hockey on twitter conversing with the fantastic, and I mean fantastic, hockey community there.

With not much to speak of in the hockey world over the summer, with the exception of a couple of snafusby the Chicago Blackhawks and the neverending Coyotes debacle, the twitter hockey community was a great place to get my hockey fix.

I even tried to help out NHL.com correspondent and hockey blogger Paul Kukla with his NHL column this summer.  However, even on the slow hockey news days of August, he still didn’t like my advice…check out what he wrote:

Tyler of NHL Digestsuggested a few topics — “Free agents taking pay cuts; older Russians heading home; and goalies left unsigned. If all else fails — Avery, Emery or Burkie!” Some great topics without a doubt, Tyler, but some of them would take some deep research on my part, and I need sleep.

Paul hit the nail on the head in that column with regard to how fans are just itching to get some hockey news from “on the ice”.  Well, fellow fans, that time has come!

Over the past week it has sure been nice to get some actual hockey news. The rookies are back on the ice and the veterans are back in their respective communities and getting ready for another season of hockey goodness.

Too Much Time On Our Hands

Prior to this past week I was itching for anything hockey related. So deprived of the game that I set out to make an NHL player birthday calendar consisting of the birthday and birthplace of every hockey player to play in the National Hockey League.

Am I obsessed? Maybe. But, I take solace in the fact that I am not alone in my hockey pursuits.

In fact, Dirk over at On The Forecheck created an even more complex tool this summer. Upon the release of the 2009-2010 NHL schedule, Dirk created a spreadsheet that details the amount of travel that each team logs during the season. This data is not frivolous. Travel and fatigue can seriously play a role in the performance of players and, therefore, can influence the outcome of a game.

 Yes, this is the time of year when we hockey fanatics start to get excited. Between praying that the acquisitions our favortie team made over the summer will finally put us over the top, to poring over stats in the quest to create the ultimate fantasy hockey team…Indeed, this is a great time of year!

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