Dobberites,

A silver tongued GM last year convinced me to pay a 3rd round pick for Matt Beleskey. Size, speed, grit, and good hands were what I bought into. Speed, grit, limited playing time, and a demotion to the AHL in favor of Brandon McMillan was what I got.

So this year I read on Ryan Ma's "Earmarked for Success (West 2011)" that Beleskey could be penciled in as a top six foward, on the second line in favor of the aforementioned McMillan, depending of course on when and if Teemu decides to re-sign or resign.

Has anyone read anything recent about Anaheim's plans for Beleskey? Will he show the hands and offensive talent that I paid a draft pick for, or will it be more of the same this year?

Any insight is appreciated.

He's a utility player that will frustrate you if you own him in any fantasy leagues. Unfortunately kinda reminds me of a J-F Jacques type player who got chances to play a top-6 role but never materialized. Ironically they are both teammates now.

I don't think he's doomed, however next season he's likely to be passed by Emerson Etem, Peter Holland & Kyle Palmieri if he can't capitalize on his limited chances.

To be honest, it's too early to tell. On opening night I would have a much better idea of what's going on. With DSP and Etem potentially making the team it would make things a lot harder for Beleskey. If he get's a shot with Getzlaf and Perry and doesn't do well (which he hasn't done much the last few times he was given that chance), I don't think things look good for him in Anaheim. Right now, with no movements I would expect something along these lines:

Ryan - Getzlaf - Perry
Blake - Koivu - Selanne
McMillan - Cogliano - Sexton
Beleskey - x - Parros

Of course there's still time to sign FA's, time for Selanne to retire, and time for other prospects to stand out. And from what I've heard, DSP and Etem are the ones standing out. Beleskey mainly played last season with McMillan and Sexton, but now with the addition of Cogliano I think he's the one who moves down.

__________________
The Ultimate Fantasy Hockey League. (Keep 17)
3C 3LW 3RW 6D 2G 6BE.
G,A,+-,PIM,PPP,SHP,GWG,SOG,FW,HIT; GS,W,L,GAA,SA,SV, SV%,SO
(C) Bergeron, Spezza, Ribeiro, R. O'Reilly
(LW) Ovechkin(RW), Clowe(RW), Hagelin
(RW) Eberle, Stewart
(D) Subban, Pietrangelo, Green, Byfuglien(RW), Bogosian
(G) Crawford, Varlamov, Neuvirth

8 Person Farm:
(C), Couturier, Teravainen
(LW) Kreider
(RW) Etem
(D) Dumba
(G) Holtby, Ramo, Subban

Well, McMillan is a C, and Beleskey usually plays the wing, so I don't think you have to worry about McMillan or Cogliano stealing time from Beleskey. Beleskey is ready - he doesn't have much left to prove at the AHL level.

As far as Etem or Smith-Pelley are concerned - I don't think prospect camp means much. Etem has an outside shot at making the team if he has a great camp, but he'll have to work for top-6 minutes. Smith-Pelley has a lot to prove at the pro level before they hand him a top-6 gig in Anaheim.

Be patient - when he plays, Carlyle uses him in tough situations and gives him quality ice time with decent linemates. I think he's just following the slower power-forward development curve.

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20 Team Pool Points Keeper
G =1,A=1,PPG=1,PPA=0.5, SHG=1,GWG=1,PIM=0.1,+/-=0.25
Goalie cats (W=2, SO=3, SV=0.05)

F: Malkin, B.Richards, Voracek, O'Reilly, Downie, Burmistrov, Bailey, Mueller, Read, Boedker, Gomez, Adam
D: Green, E.Johnson, Elliott, Larsson, Jovanovski
G: Varlamov

Nowhere in my post did I state either Etem or DSP would be given top 6 minutes. Nor did I even say they were a lock to make the team, all I said was they had a chance. And (imo) Etem definitely gets at least the 9 game tryout.

Cogliano, while bad at faceoffs, 41.6% still had better than McMillan's 38.9% so I think he'll be 3rd line C. McMillan, while playing C last year, was used as a LW/C in Kelowna as well as Syracuse, so it's not a stretch to just move him back to LW. Beleskey might get a shot with Getzlaf/Perry if Carlyle tries to spread out the offense again but like I said if he doesn't click (and he hasn't before) then I wouldn't be surprised to see him back on the 4th line as McMillan's 2 way game as well as overall play has been more impressive than Beleskey's.

__________________
The Ultimate Fantasy Hockey League. (Keep 17)
3C 3LW 3RW 6D 2G 6BE.
G,A,+-,PIM,PPP,SHP,GWG,SOG,FW,HIT; GS,W,L,GAA,SA,SV, SV%,SO
(C) Bergeron, Spezza, Ribeiro, R. O'Reilly
(LW) Ovechkin(RW), Clowe(RW), Hagelin
(RW) Eberle, Stewart
(D) Subban, Pietrangelo, Green, Byfuglien(RW), Bogosian
(G) Crawford, Varlamov, Neuvirth

8 Person Farm:
(C), Couturier, Teravainen
(LW) Kreider
(RW) Etem
(D) Dumba
(G) Holtby, Ramo, Subban

Thanks guys,

I appreciate the insight. It sounds like I should take the following statements into account with Beleskey:

He should be given at least the opportunity to stick
A lot depends on Selanne and how several rookies perform
Don't hold my breath

Sound about right?