Hey guys, my name is Jeff and I'll be covering the Anaheim Ducks. I'm 22 and about to finish up at California State University Long Beach. I don't have an insider, but I do have a good grasp on hockey. I've been playing since I was 7, and I grew up in a hockey family (most of you know my brother duballstar). The Ducks were the closest team to me; therefore, I became a Ducks fan. I was lucky enough to go to Game 5 in Anaheim when they won the cup, and let me tell you it was one of the best feelings ever. However, the team has changed a whole lot since then, and I'm here to try to tell you the latest news.

Since I live in California, I get to see almost all the Ducks games. That is a luxury that I know most of you don't have. I also live only 15 minutes from Honda Center, so I can go to my fair share of games as well. (Most notably every Flyers/Ducks game). While going to school, having a job(on/off), and being in a fraternity keep me pretty busy I always try to find time for hockey. I would say I only couldn't watch about 5 Ducks games last season (in addition to the ones that weren't broadcasted). Hopefully this next year I can continue on that pace.

I don't have a general direction that I'm going to go with the thread, I just hope to pass along my knowledge and thoughts. Other people are welcome to contribute as time goes by, but in the off-season there's not too much going on. Can't wait for the season to start, and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPm_9YWRKMA

Jeff.

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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

congrats on the new section, looking forward to it.

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XBOX 360 Gamertag: praba911

Hey way to go Jeff, glad to have someone to turn to with Ducks questions!

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@B0ndon

Goalies: If I'm pickin em you best be sittin em!

Glad to see this Jeff.

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I am sorry you are a Ducks fan but very happy to have your insight into the team!

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Thats me on the street with a violin under my chin, playing with a grin, singing gibberish.





P=1 DPts=1.2 +/-=.32 PIM=.08 PPP=.4 SHP=.6 S=.015 Blk=.2 Hit=.08
W=2 OTL=.8 GA=-.64 SV=.08 SO=3

Pro (23 keep 17)
C- Filppula,Turris,Stastny,Backstrom
D-Boyle,MDZ,Karlsson,Robidas,Goligoski,Schenn,Seiden berg
G-Anderson,Hiller,Rinne
LW-Malone,Parise,Rolston,Eriksson,Ruutu
RW-Alfredsson,Callahan,Setoguchi,Brown,Ryder,Vrbata

Farm (9 keep all, max 200 GP, 100 Goalies)
Colborne,Leblanc,Loktionov,Perreault,Tangradi,Blum ,Poulin,Markstrom

Thanks guys. Should be fun.

First things first. What have the Ducks been up to this off-season? Well it's not been much. A lot of depth/AHL signings.
- Signed Brian McGrattan to a one year deal.
- Signed Jean-Francois Jacques to a one year deal.
- Signed Bryan Rodney to a one year deal.
- Signed former Washington Capital Andrew Gordon to a two year deal.
- Signed Nate Guenin to a two year deal.
- Re-signed Sean Zimmerman to a one year deal.
- Signed Finnish goaltender Iiro Tarkki to a one year deal.
- Signed Patrick Maroon to a one year deal.
- Signed Matt Smaby to a one year deal.
- Signed Nick Bonino to a one year deal.
- Signed Jeff Deslauriers to a two year deal, first year two-way second year one-way.
- Traded defenseman Mark Mitera for Matthieu Carle
- Signed Matthieu Carle to a one year deal.
- Traded a 2nd round draft pick in 2013 for Andrew Cogliano


The bolded:

*Andrew Gordon: If he has a good camp, he could easily make the big club right away. If he doesn't he will for sure be a Duck in 2012-2013. His contract in the first year is: $525,000 at the NHL level and $250,000 at the AHL level. His contract for the second year: AHL salary 550,000 NHL salary 550,000.
His take on signing with the Ducks:
“I felt like right away, they were the best option for me." “Anaheim was speaking very highly of me and where I fit in the system and where I fit in the future.

*Nick Bonino is on a two-way contract and could open up the season as the 4th line center.

*Cogliano, RFA, is in talks to sign with the Anaheim Ducks though no contract has been worked out. Eric Stephens offers the latest news: http://ducks.ocregister.com/2011/07/...h-ducks/69075/ When he signs he will be placed on the 3rd line.

__________________
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

Love it. Great start my friend! Looking forward to your new section!

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Gates Imbeau
Assistant Manager - DobberSports.com
Writer - Fantrax.com
Regular Guest - The York Report via NextSportStar.com
Email: gates@dobbersports.com
Twitter: @GM_Gates

Injury updates:
Teemu Selanne:
Teemu Selanne has had successful knee surgery over the off-season. He's been skating and feels about 80%, but his knees are having trouble with fast sprints. Considering he played the last season on a pretty bad knee, and Koivu is signed for one more year I'm almost certain Teemu signs another one year contract.

Jonas Hiller:
Carlyle on Hiller: "He's been at a goalie camp in Switzerland and things have gone well with his progression…He has no symptoms, so this is a huge step for him. He'll spend two weeks [working there]…We think it's behind him, but you really never know with these things. We feel he's moving forward and expect him to be available in training camp."

Toni Lydman:
Anaheim Ducks defender Toni Lydman is likely to miss the beginning of the season. Toni Lydman is expected to be sidelined for about five months after undergoing shoulder surgery on May 2nd to repair a torn labrum. Ducks GM Bob Murray said Lydman played with a torn labrum for more than two months. He might not be healthy in time for the start of the Ducks season and recovering from this injury will definitely consume the entire summer.

Matt Beleskey:
Duck's Beleskey Out Five Months Following Shoulder Surgery On May 5th. Beleskey underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder, the Orange County Register reports, adding that he could make a full recovery in five months.

__________________
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

Prospects:
- Scott Valetine and Stefan Warg have rejected Anaheim's offers and are going back into the draft.

-2010 draftees Emerson Etem and Devante Smith-Pelley have been standing out by far in prospect camp. Due to bottom 6 spots being available DSP might get a look. His 2 way game is really good, he plays aggressive, and is a force in front of the net. He's only 19, but so is Fowler . Etem and DSP are both signed to entry level contracts already. Guess we'll find out more as it gets closer to the season.

- Justin Schultz. Have been told he looks NHL ready already, but he's elected to spend one more year in UW. Look for him to make the team in 2012-2013 barring any setbacks.

- Hockeysfuture has a good writeup on the 2011 draft. http://www.hockeysfuture.com/article..._draft_review/

- A little extra excerpt on Max Friberg:
"Standing, a mere, 5'10", Friberg plays like he's a towering 6'4" forward. A relative unknown prior to the World Junior Championships, Friberg got the call up to Team Sweden ahead of players who were regulars in the SEL. If that doesn't attest to just how good Friberg is at getting the job done, then I don't know what does. Needless to say, Friberg impressed not only me, but many others who had the opportunity to watch him.
Friberg plays for his hometown team, Skövde IK, in Sweden's First Division. A boy amongst men, Friberg has put up 40 in 34 games. He knows what it takes to be a good player, but if you get a chance to talk to him, you will realize he knows more about the game than what his stats say on the score sheet."
Full article here: http://hockeyspy.blogspot.com/2011/0...how-swede.html

__________________
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

Jeff, i'll be looking forward to your posts in this thread with great anticipation. You see, I am a triple Duck owner, Getzlaf, Visnovsky and Hiller! Glad to hear you'll be reporting locally, the Ducks have decent blogs but it's always good to have someone who's watching the team day in day out.

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"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."

Twitter: @ross10019

CBS Sportsline 14 team H2H keeper (21-man roster, 14 keepers), weekly lineup changes
G, A, PPP, SOG, BS, +/-, GAA, W, SV%
Montreal Maulers - 2011/12 and 2012/13 League Champions
C: Zetterberg/Getzlaf/Granlund/Roy/Desharnais
W: Hossa/Gaborik/Moulson/Marleau/Fleischmann/Horton/Brown/Baertschi(IR)
D: Markov/Karlsson(IR)/Letang/Byfuglien/McDonagh/Tyutin/Spurgeon
G: Lundqvist/Hiller/Brodeur