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It always happens…at the beginning of the season,
a select few players end up making their way on to NHL rosters who many folks have
never heard of. As we close out the first month of the season, we try and give you
an idea of who some of the guys that are playing who, for one reason or
another we didn't have in our cheatsheets. These are mainly guys that we
felt were a year or two away (or in one case, a guy we thought would never
make it) but they are playing and could possibly make an
impact in your fantasy pool. Rather than hide, we thought we should let you
know who these people are and admit that we're not quite perfect. Every
month we'll list a few more players that didn't make it onto our cheatsheets.
Many will be players that will come and go, but it's possible that some will
stick around all year and have a decent impact.
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Vaclav
Nedorost - (LW/C) - Colorado: You will remember that the
Avalanche went and dealt Sandis
Ozolinsh to the Carolina Hurricane two years ago…? Well, Nedorost
was one of the players that the Avs got in return. A Czech junior
phenom, Nedorost took advantage of a sudden opening up front with the
leave of absence of Peter
Forsberg and has found himself, on occasion, patrolling the left side with Joe
Sakic and Milan
Hejduk. He's not an overly physical player, but his reputation is
that of a sound defensive player with a tremendous upside offensively.
Projected to step in and help the Avs next year, the 19 year old had a
great camp - and finds himself on the big club. The danger here is that
if Nederost does not produce early, that he could be the odd man out as
GM Pierre
LaCroix won't allow his team to flounder for too long. There is already
some evidence of this as Nedorost has been bumped to the 3rd line.
Although he is still picking up some PP time. Fantasy
Impact: If you have a deep pool, where you can protect rookies, than
pick up Nederost, if not, monitor his progress for now. The Avs still
have lots of veteran talent that will play on special teams before this
talented rookie.
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Pavel
Datsyuk - (C/LW) - Detroit: Not your typical rookie at the
age of 23, but playing on the elderly Wings, Datsyuk is the closest
thing that they have. He has some excellent offensive skills and
has seen some premiere PP time at the beginning of this season. He has
played on a line with Steve
Yzerman and Brett
Hull for a good chunk of this early season, and has looked good -
although he has not registered a point. Fantasy Impact: A good two
player, Datsyuk will have to take advantage of this opportunity, or
Wings' Coach Scotty Bowman may just banish Datsyuk to Adirondack in a
hurry. Don't pick him up too early right now, monitor his progress and
see how he plays.
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Scott
Nichol - (LW/C) - Calgary: A guy living a dream. Picked up by
the Flames with the expectation that he'd be filling a roster spot for
the St. John
Baby Flames, Nichol had a great training camp and has found himself
playing on a line with Rob
Niedermayer and Dean
McAmmond. Nichol started in the Sabres organization, but last year
found himself playing for Detroit of the IHL. Almost 27 and small by NHL
standards at 5'8", 180 lbs, Nichol plays a pretty straight forward
kind of game and doesn't put himself in positions to try more than he is
capable. With the recent injuries to Marc
Savard and the aforementioned Niedermayer, Nichol finds himself
picking up regular shifts as either the #2 or #3 center for the Flames. Fantasy Impact: In a deep draft, this guy
may be worth a look see because of the lack of depth on the Flames. It's
possible that he'll see some
PP time. Besides the Flames are hot right now and Nichol could surprise.
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Ivan
Ciernik - (LW) - Ottawa: Ciernik's development last year was
likely the deciding factor in Ottawa's decision to let Andreas
Dackell and Rob
Zamuner, good defensive players, leave the Canadian capital. Ciernik
played at a point a game clip last year in Grand Rapids and potted 27
goals as well. He's a swift skater, has good size, surprising strength
that likes the physical going. At 23, he's still young enough that
another year in the minors wouldn't hurt him if the Sens decide to go
with a more veteran line-up. Fantasy Impact: Currently, Ciernik projects
to be a solid 3rd line guy, but the Sens believe they have a diamond in
the rough that could be a top 6 forward in the future.
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