JON^BLACKERTHE FIRST WORD
| 6 | THE HOCKEY NEWS ULTIMATE FANTASY POOL GUIDE 2019-
Brian Costello
Senior Editor
@BCOSTELLOTHNBRE AK
DOWN THE
BREAKOUT
H
OCKEY FANTASY POOLS ARE won or lost
with your picks in the later rounds of
the draft. That’s old information. You’ve
been hearing that from us for years.
What’s becoming more crucial to your suc-cess in these fun leagues, is being nimble and
adventurous around the streaky machinations
of the Johnny-come-latelys who cross our
paths during the NHL season. I’m thinking Erik
Gustafsson and Jordan Binnington last season,
William Karlsson and Yanni Gourde the season
before as classic examples. We know who they
are now. We just didn’t know who they were
before the light went on.
This is how the light went on for me.
Not having a goaltender to protect in one
of my keeper leagues a year ago, I drafted a
pair of free-agent stoppers fairly early on.
Playing time was very important. I reasoned
Mike Smith came off an outstanding 2017-
for a Calgary team primed to surge and that
last season was surely going to be the year
28-year-old Jake Allen became a top-10 goalie
for St. Louis. I went from having no goalies in
my 16-team fantasy league to having a middle-
of-the-pack tandem at the very least.
My thought process was sound, but there
was no execution. Smith started slowly and
lost the starting job to David Rittich. And Allen
started slowly and stayed being Jake Allen on a
team that slipped to last place by mid-season.
My mistake was not realizing early enough
a very real change was about to happen for
a couple breakout players. I rationalized Rit-
tich’s hot streak might be short-lived and the
Flames would go back to Smith before long. In
St. Louis, I had zero faith that fourth-stringer
Binnington would be the man and soon there
would be a revolving door in the crease. I
didn’t move on these breakout players.
My fantasy-league team had a solid group of
Ǥ β
-
ond place all season despite the uncertainly in
goal. I traded a bunch of early draft picks to re-
building team owner Michael Buble – yes, that
Michael Buble – for kingpin stopper Frederik
Andersen, who was a free agent in our league
at season’s end. Later, I acquired a red-hot
Semyon Varlamov from Buble. I should have
been set for a long playoff run. But Andersen
cooled off in a hurry down the stretch (when
our fantasy league was in its playoffs) and Var-
lamov lost the starting job to Philipp Grubauer.
By then I had learned my lesson and dumped
Varlamov for Grubauer. Too late. I didn’t make
ǦβǤ
The point is, you have to be willing to make
bold moves on breakout players before they
reach the apexes of their breakouts. You’re go-
ing to be wrong sometimes, but you’re going to
be rewarded handsomely other times.
Here are candidates for that breakout cate-
gory in 2019-20. They won’t be drafted in your
fantasy pool, and I’m not saying you should
take them, either. But keep them in mind as
free-agent pickups as 2019-20 unfolds.
Jake Allen: If rookie phenom Binnington
hits a cold stretch as a sophomore, the Blues
may give Allen an extended run to boost
his trade value or allow him to realize that
much-anticipated potential.
Brian Elliott: If Carter Hart isn’t quite
ready, the Flyers will turn to Elliott to keep
βǤ
ǯβǤ
James Neal: He embarrassed himself last
season and committed himself to improve.
With an untradeable contract, the Flames will
do everything they can to make him relevant.
Jack Roslovic: It’s his time to blossom.
Kyle Turris: Good health, 50 points is his.
Tim Heed: Great offensive instincts.ADVERTISING: [email protected]
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Digital editions are also available on Zinio and Press Reader.SENIOR EDITOR
Brian Costello
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