The NHL’s Back. Who’s Good?

It’s been, what, a year-and-a-half since the last NHL game no one bothered to watch. Now the season’s right around the corner and fantasy drafts everywhere are bogging down with the same problem: who’s good anymore?

It’s been so long since we watched these guys play that drawing up a mock cheat sheet is tough. A friend actually asked me a couple years ago to list Dave Lowry’s goal total for the 02/03 season. And I gave him an answer. Is Dave Lowry even in the NHL anymore? I don’t know.

That’s how far we’ve all fallen. So in the interest of at least not drafting retired players in the third round of your league’s draft let’s take a look at some of the guys in the NHL who can still get it done.

Martin St. Louis, Jarome Iginla, Ilya Kovalchuk, and Markus Naslund are all back. But we remember them. Who are the guys who might be slipping just below the radar? The breakout candidates some people in your league won’t even remember?

Martin Havlat: Scored 31 goals and notched 37 assists for the Senators in 2003/2004. Havlat was on his way to a breakout season when the lockout started. Now he’s going to put 70+ points on the board and you’re guaranteed to be able to pick him up in the third round of any snake draft. Why? Because, aside from the hardest of the hardcore fans, no one knows who this guy is. Here’s a clue: he’s 24, and he’s going to do his best Patrick Elias impression this winter.

Olli Jokinen: Aside from being a sideline participant in the worst punning you’ll ever hear ( You must be Jokin’-en!) Olli’s a guy who’s going to put up 60+ points this year. Now his +/- is going to be bad, but maybe, just maybe, the Panthers aren’t such a bad team anymore. We’ll have to wait and find out. But you’re getting 80 penalty minutes and 25 goals from a 5th round pick. He seems destined for a Patrick Marleau-esque career.

Mike Ribeiro: Ribeiro is a hard-nosed Martin Lapointe-esque player who racked up 25 goals, 40 assists, and a very nice +15 for the Canadiens in the 2003/2004 season. He’s 25, but he’s not a goal-scorer. I like his game and I guess it’s possible he matures into a Bill Guerin. But I think the Lapointe comparison is a better fit. I’m thinking 25 goals, but not much more than that.

Rick Nash: Nash scored 41 goals a couple years ago, but also posted a measly 16 assists and an absolutely awful –35. That’s guaranteed to kill you. But he had 87 penalty minutes and he’s the next Todd Bertuzzi. Columbus is going to be a much better team this season and there’s a very real possibility they make the playoffs. That –35 is probably going to be a –5.

Pavel Datysuk: If he signs with the Wings, which Ken Holland seems pretty sure he’ll do, he’s going to score 75+ points and give you a huge +/- boost. Datysuk finished ’04 with 68 points (30 goals, 30 assists) and is easily primed to move into the upper echelon of forwards. He’s a Sergei Fedorov clone who, at 27, is ready for a few big years.

Michael Ryder: Another Canadien with decent skills and a shot at 70 points. Ryder notched 25 goals and 38 assists in ‘03/’04 and seemed on his way to a Jason Arnott-esque career. My guess is he fulfills that promise with 65-70 points, a +15, and enough penalty minutes to make you happy.

Jason Spezza: He’s probably going in the second or third round of your draft. Spezza was very good a couple years ago and he’s a lead-pipe cinch for 70+ points, a huge +/- rating, and tons of power-play points. I wouldn’t be surprised if he scored 30 and added 40-45 assists.

Henrik Zetterberg: They compared him to Peter Forsberg. My guess is he breaks out in a huge way this year. This guy is going to be a late round pick who’ll return huge value for your investment. He tallied 15/28 in ‘03/’04, but he was only 23 playing his sophomore season. Now he’s 25, physically mature, and ready to anchor the Wings’ 2nd line and PP unit.

Tom Poti: This is his last chance. There’s not much more to say. This guy was supposed to be the next Brian Leetch

Eric Brewer: Now on St. Louis, he’s going to be spotting the power-play with Chris Pronger. He was supposed to be a star and he could come through with a 50 point season.

Other guys to look at: The Sedin twins, Alex Frolov, Pat Marleau might finally fulfill that promise.