This is the time of year where it feels like everything is a blur. If people think I am kidding then just look at my Twitter and volume of posts in August and especially September. Yet, despite all the craziness, it truly is the best time of year. Hockey is getting closer ladies and gentlemen which means fantasy hockey is on its way. In most cases, the platforms already are up and running.
Hell, there are mocks going on already and some drafts have taken place. We did not forget the daily aspect and will focus heavily on that as well in the coming weeks. So on this Labor Day week, here are three simple edicts sprinkled in with a few players perhaps as illustrations. Let’s have some fun!
Three More Fantasy Hockey Edicts!
1. Snap out of it…it is now September!
That’s right! You should have probably done this already but it is time to get cracking! You don’t have to prepare all year round for leagues. Honestly fantasy hockey fans, most of the time I truly don’t get started with the leagues I am in until September. Why? Simply, there is such a thing as analyzing too much. The perfect example last year was a lot of pundits presumed Henrik Lundqvist would easily be a top three goalie and might repeat his Vezina performance. They kept looking at the second half of the schedule and were practically drooling all over themselves. In the end, Lundqvist ranked sixth (though he was third after the Olympic Break). There is a lot of material out there — Dobberhockey, RotoRob, RotoExperts, The Sports Forecaster, The Hockey Writers, etc…etc…etc.
2. Mocks may be more crazy than usual.
Look! ADP (Average Draft Position) is more volatile than usual. The reason is obvious. The 2014-2015 season features a normal season — 82 games, All-Star Break, and a trade deadline with a bit more cushion. As I said before, Michael Clifford, myself, and a series of pundits will be getting together for a pretty significant mock for ProjectRoto next week. I promise to post the results and provide some analysis on both sites for it. The goal is to keep the information amount reasonable without going overboard. Too many times, people just go nuts over players one way or the other. Being concise is always vital in analysis. Again, I may have said too much here, kind of like players like Jeremy Roenick, who didn’t know when to say when.
3. If you have a question just ask.
People are there to help and too many times fantasy hockey players just get over their head then become too afraid to pose a question or several or a couple dozen. Truthfully an expert is here to learn too. The minute we stop learning, we are the ones in trouble and not you. I wholeheartedly encourage a back and forth with people just sometimes because there are new wrinkles that can always be attempted. Did anyone expect Cory Schneider to have a better save percentage than Henrik Lundqvist last year? No. Did anyone see how Tampa’s rookies breaking out the way they did? No. Did anyone see the Kings acquiring Marian Gaborik? Okay, maybe! However, his chemistry with Anze Kopitar was well documented and boy were those projections nailed! Always just ask!
