It's that time of year. Now that everyone has their fantasy football teams, it is time to get down to business: Fantasy Hockey. Teams are in training camp and are beginning the preseason. Now all of the fantasy managers will be doing their homework to get ready for drafts or to improve an already drafted team.
Everyone knows about the fantasy powerhouse teams like the Red Wings and Blackhawks, where all of their players are fantasy options. The way to win leagues is to scoop up players on the other teams that people don't know as much about. One good example is the St. Louis Blues.
The Blues made a ridiculous run to get to the playoffs last season, after being in last place in the Western Conference. The amazing thing is that they didn't have many of their top players because of injuries. This season they are healthy and should be a fairly dangerous team.
The players on the Blues that are getting drafted early are right wingers Brad Boyes and David Backes. They are going anywhere from round three to round six. Both had about 30 goals. Boyes with 33 goals and 39 assists, and Backes with 31 goals and 23 assists.
Boyes had 43 goals two years ago and he feels like he can get back there. I would not be surprised if he did get back to 40 goals, but draft him with 33 to 36 goals in mind and see if he can give you more.
His down side was his +/- of minus 20. That should not be a problem this year. The team is better and they are not expected to give up as many goals with Chris Mason and Ty Conklin in goal. Boyes is a number one right wing option.
David Backes should have a season similar to last year when it comes to points. The thing that will probably change with him is his penalty minutes. He had 165 penalty minutes last year, but the team was missing many of their enforcers. Backes stepped up and replaced them early on.
This year he will be more offensive minded. His upside of being a big offensive player who gets over 100 penalty minutes will probably be gone, but this could lead to more goals.
The other thing that could change is his position. He is listed as a right wing, but could gain eligibility as a center as well. He played center a lot last year and could play some this year as well. Backes is probably more of a No. 2 right wing option, but could pass as a No. 1.
Aside from Boyes and Backes, the only other Blues that are being drafted consistently are goalies Chris Mason and Ty Conklin. Mason is getting drafted in the second tier of goalies, while Conklin is being drafted in the late rounds as a backup.
After Manny Legace was sent to the triple-A Peoria Rivermen, Mason played every game the rest of the season and was one of the best goalies for those months. Previously Mason has been an average to below average goalie.
His real ability is somewhere in the middle. He will be the No. 1 goalie for the Blues to start the season, but there is a real possibility that his amazing stretch was a mirage. Then again it may have been for real. Only time will tell how good or bad Mason really is. He seems safe enough to draft as long as you back him up.
Mason's counterpart, Ty Conklin, would be a good option, whether you have Mason or not. He was stellar for the Detroit Red Wings last year.
"Conks" got to play as the No. 1 for much of the year while Chris Osgood struggled. He will have a similar chance with the Blues. If Mason struggles, Conklin could steal the No. 1 job, making him very valuable.
The tricky part about Conklin is his playing time. The Blues have not said how they plan to use their goalies. Many think that they will split time fairly evenly.
If this happens or if Conklin even plays one third of the time, he will be a valuable fantasy option. He will provide solid production and will not eat up games (if your league has a limited number of games played).
There is also the chance that Mason plays all but a few games, making Conklin fairly useless. I would still take a chance on Conklin. If he plays, he will be solid. If not, you can always get someone else.
Boyes, Backes, Mason, and Conklin are the only Blues getting drafted regularly, but they are not the only valuable Blues. There are actually more sleepers than obvious options. They include Andy McDonald, T.J. Oshie, David Perron, Patrik Berglund, Paul Kariya, Keith Tkachuk, and Erik Johnson.
Center Andy McDonald missed much of last season with a broken ankle. When he was playing, he was one of the more productive Blues players. He had 15 goals and 29 assists in a little over half of a season. He had a chance to double that and have near 30 goals. I would expect a potential 20 to 25 goal season.
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