Compher hasn't plummeted but he has been passed by other players with more intriguing skillsets. I have only caught a few video viewings of Compher but he comes as advertised - smart, two-way responsible forward with good versatility.If he slides too far into the second round, he is going to make a VERY good value pick. Good NHL likelihood.

Butcher has had a trying draft year but his offensive potential from the blueline remains among the best of this draft class. There's some refining to do defensively but he's going to be one of those late 2nd-3rd round picks that a team drafts to "develop". I caught him a few times via video and he was "okay" (not great...skating needs improvement).

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Phillips was a dominant junior player who was allowed to do his "thing" so his adjustment to the AHL isn't surprising. The Wild will be working with him to develop his "total" game and that will take some time. I wouldn't worry about seeing too much production until year two in the AHL.

Jurco was a high risk-high reward pick. Offensive players take time to figure out how to make things "work" through trial and error. He may take some time...or never get it. One promising trend is that Jurco is shooting a lot, especially in recent games.

St. Croix has actually had good development and is a prospect I like but his statistics have been a bit odd. I don't think Samuelsson would cause that but it could be a chemistry issue. St. Croix and Samuelsson are skating alongside one another actually. I haven't watched too much of the Oil Kings this season to be honest.

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Murray was one of my favourite netminders last season when he backed up Jack Campbell in the Soo. He's a lanky kid but very athletic. The one knock against Murray is that he is either great or poor, so he needs to improve his game to game consistency. Playing infront of a solid D-line certainly doesn't make him look bad either. He has promising skills but needs a lot of refining and seasoning. He is definitely a long-term investment for Pittsburgh

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Vatanen I like the most.
Sgarbossa should develop into a serviceable complementary forward and you might get some value from him this season

Oleksiad comes with great pedigree but I am not sure if his offensive game will ever flourish so if he ever gets caught on a hot streak, I would consider moving him for a more valuable fantasy asset (sell high).

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I am not as tied into the college ranks but I have heard names like: Dan Dekeyser (D - DET invite), Kenny Morrison (D), Chris Casto (D- def. D), Andrej Sustr (D - 6'8"), Nate Schmidt (D), Eriah Hayes (F - Hawks invite), Ryan Walters (F), Austin Czarnik (F), Drew LeBlanc (F), Rylan Schwartz (F), Mike Boivin (D)


see bolded above for your second answer

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Stevie Y is creating competition throughout the Lightning organization and that hasn't helped Connolly. Him being selected 6th overall (Stevie's first 1st round pick) and his age (20) still are working in his favour but eventually he will need to crack the roster full time, especially with the likes of Namestnikov, Kucherov, Richard coming up over the next few years.

His AHL production is very promising and I think it's smart of the TBL to have him there this year giving more opportunity to it's mature prospects (Conacher, Killorn, etc.).

Next year he should be ready to step up. Keep your expectations leveled (60-70P player) for Connolly in his prime and you should be fine

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Hey Dean,

Could you tell me your opinion on Nathan Beaulieu and Slater Koekkoek? Where do you see their upsides, got any player comparisons for them (playing style and/or future multi-cat production) and what do you see their ETA's?

Thanks.

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UHL Pittsburgh Penguins

24 Team Fantrax Salary Cap H2H Dynasty League Daily
G, A, +/-, PIM, PPP, SHP, GWG, SOG, Hits, Blks, FOW
W, GAA, SV, SV%, SO
23 Man Roster - 3C, 3LW, 3RW, 3F, 6D, 1G, 4BN, 4IR
27 Man Minor Team

C- Tavares, Stepan, Hodgson, Shaw, Bjugstad
LW- Ryan, Perron, Downie, Killorn, Rinaldo
RW- Wheeler, Simmonds, Coyle, Frattin, Boyes
D- Pietrangelo, JJ, Bogosian, EJ, Josi, Cowen, Muzzin
G- Lehtonen

F: Granlund, Silfverberg, Jensen, Dalpe, Bowman, Knight, Fasth, JAM
D: Beaulieu, Koekkoek, Gelinas, Pysyk, McCabe, Irwin
G: Nilsson, Nilstorp, Ramo, Berra, Brossoit, Gibson

I'll form my question like Austeane. Any of these players have any fantasy relevance ... Simple yes or no will suffice

Stats are G, A, PPP, SHP, GWG, +\-, SOG, FW, W, GAA, SV, SV%

Jerry d'amigo
Brendan Ranford
Teddy Bluegar
Patrick Holland
Max Reinhart
Nikita Gusev
Daniel Catenacci
Kyle Beach
Jeremy Morin
Allen York

Thanks for doing this for everybody

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16 TM H2H DYNASTY G A +- PIM PPG PPA SHP FW SOG
Hits Blks GS W SV GAA SV% SHO
3C, 3RW, 3LW,2F,6D,1Util,2G,5BN,5IR
25 Player Farm

Penguins
C- Malkin, Crosby,J Thornton, Turris, Johansen, Cullen
LW- Hall, Nash, D Brown, Cooke,
RW- Gaborik, Wheeler, Clutterback, Tarasenko, Dorsett
D-Letang, Goligoski, Salo, Girardi, Faulk, Zanon
G- MAF, Rinne, Gustavsson

Farm - Grimaldi, Faska, JT Brown, Clifford, Rinaldo, Morin, Beach, Tangradi, Pulkinnen, Spooner, Miele, C Conacher, Welsh, Komorov, Rattie, Orlov, Dehann, Klefbom, Clendening, Thrower, Irving, Kuemper, Rynnas, Hovinen

Thanks! I appreciate it!
If anyone has any input on where those guys's potentials are and how many of the guys I have listed are worth dropping for these names, I would appreciate it!
Is Dekeyser worth picking up over say, Spencer Abbott or Nicolas Deslauriers (my prospect is the King's Dman not the goalie)?

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HUFA League:
Rules: http://goo.gl/gf0ix
Roster: http://goo.gl/Enq5m
2010-11 Season: Last
2011-12 Season (I took over in August): Last
2012-13 Season: 10th out of 14, rebuild almost complete
(Updated April, 2013)

Ask a former Canucks blogger and Dobberhockey article writer about Canucks/Fantasy Hockey: http://ask.fm/austeane

I don't like doing player comparisons as it's just too difficult to match players.

Beaulieu has good upside (45-50P) and will probably start to see spot duty as early as next season (2013-14) but won't be full time until the following year at the earliest. Very good puck moving defenseman that could develop into a Matt Carle type of D.

Koekkoek is a player all about "potential" and unfortunately he hasn't been able to stay healthy long enough to show it. Next year will be an important year for Koekkoek as he will get a fresh start on a young talented Spitfires team with increased responsibility. I liken Koekkoek's potential to someone like Alexander Edler's if he can put it all together ...but with more of an edge.

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