...seriously, it’s like borderline…uh,…how do I put this?…insanity…how this stuff germinates...
I mean, I started this on Monday and it turned into this?
(You’ve got a bunch of musical references coming up, so seatbelts and headphones please).
Genres include:
- Early 2000’s Electronic/Chillout
- House/Underground
- NYC (no sleep till Brooklyn) electronic rock
- Classic Rock
Weekend Planner
Let’s tee this thing up with this underrated tune.
There’s a Chinese proverb that goes, “Keep your broken arm inside your sleeve.” Kind of cool, right?
So why am I leading off with that? A few reasons which are coming to me as I write. Hang on a second…There now.
To begin with, I was contemplating recounting the horror show (that’s a bit hyperbolic Professor) of one of my team’s losses in Week 3 I think it was. Anyway, a last second(s) penalty by The Popsicle Stick (Martin Pospisil) against Edmonton led to an empty net assist by Uncle Leon (Leon Draisaitl..ugh. The spellings on these names! Killing me here Blake) which lost me my match by like .0 something points in the last game of the week on a Sunday night…but I digress.
…Keep your broken arm inside your sleeve Professor.
Anyway…
Wait what? Tage Thompson just got hurt?! Are you kidding me!? And now Jarvy?
O.k, nevermind that whole here’s a quote to set the tone and theme for the article. My arm hurts.
The Fantastic
Over the years, I’ve played all of the fantasy sports games. But nothing compares to fantasy hockey for engagement, excitement, and variance. Not even close.
Fantasy hockey has the ability to lock you in like no other. Additionally, and perhaps more importantly, the community of like minded folks who participate in it are so solid.
So here’s how I do this. For this week at least.
First, dinner is over, the kitchen’s been cleaned up, and my doggie has been walked around the block here in the little corner of my New Jersey world. Yeah, we like hockey here too, brothers and sisters.
Next, I fire up the StatTracker on Yahoo, open up multiple tabs on my computer, and while monitoring the games and commentary on the Discord Channel, I take turns writing stuff and reclining on the day bed (with my phone in hand of course so I don’t miss any alerts while obsessively checking the scores in my three leagues, because I have no life…actually it’s a good life), all the while going back and forth with jotting (what’s with the jotting?) thoughts down and ruminating on what to put down next.
It’s not quite Stephen King’s process, but it’s what works for this stuck inside my head multi-tasked guy.
O.k, so before we get into the gritty, how about another that best reps The Professor’s musical vibe you say. I can do that with this one…
Limelight
JJ Peterka: drafted him late to stack with my early round Tage Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin picks. And tbh, I’ve often thought about dropping him because I have a pretty solid roster of skaters and I sometimes feel a little too shuffled off to Buffalo. However, just like I did three years ago with my Skinner, Tuch, and Thompson tripod, I feel like riding out the potential sky high ceilings while keeping my fingers crossed on those nights when all three work on their conditioning. So far, so good…Thompson’s recent injury notwithstanding.
Brad Marchand: being a NJ Devils homer has prevented me from rostering Bruins in the past out of spite (to myself). This year, however, I found myself with the 5-7 picks in all of my drafts and felt compelled to pick Pasta in two of those leagues. Another manager dropped The Rat in one of my leagues where I roster Pasta and I scooped him up to stack with the Boston macaroni (that’s what we called it growing up) maker. And so far, Marchand has been a nice additional chef to have in the kitchen.
Moritz Seider: another situation where a rival manager got impatient and dropped him in one of my leagues. With banger weighting, and even with Detroit’s crummy potential +/- potential (yeah I’m still in one of those leagues. But I sort of like it. I think of +/- as a sort of self-imposed governor for those who tend to get a bit too far ahead of themselves. Like me). Anyway, with Seider on board, this particular team is super heavy on D with Josi, Clarke, Dahlin, Dobson, Werenski, and Chychrun rounding out my midsection. Yeah it’s value above replacement on steroids but I’m a contrarian.
Brandt Clarke: not sure I care or not what happens once Drew Doughty returns because this beautician has been solid floor city so far. And I thought I was using a spec add for his ceiling?
Thomas Chabot: boring and always seemingly hurt, Chabot has been as much of a plug and player as any on my team this year. Sneaky good value thus far in my points leagues with banger weighting…
…o.k, two and a half chocolate chip cookies later…back to writing.
Let’s do one more.
You know.
For old time’s sake…Que sera, sera.
(D)evan Bouchard: ..get on the 10 and get outta here!. (Shout out to you Blake Creamer). I’m not so sure that the New York City scene gets the credit it deserves for its influence on music. With that in mind, I thought this song might sum up my feelings (albeit so far) for someone who’s been a perennial Fantasy Hockey Professor favorite over the years. Earbuds/headphones hopefully still in place and with pretty much full on volume please.
(And you can thank me for the reverse jinx, cuz Bouch just went off Tuesday night).
D-Core
As a gentle reminder:
1. Deployment: how much are your players playing i.e, time on ice (TOI).
2. Opportunity: who are your players lined up with and what line are they on? Are they on Power Play 1 or 2?
3. Metrics: this is where Nate, Blake, Josh, and Gugzy come in. These boys know the numbers and are so adept at putting and keeping things in perspective. Listen to the pod. It works folks.
4. Ride Your Horses: when confronted with sit/start conundrums, I follow the concept of always playing my best players REGARDLESS of matchup. That’s the only thing I default to when agonizing over my lineups. And it can be really hard sometimes especially if you’re wont to over think things. So I get it.
Keep those four concepts in mind when you are making your add/drop and sit/start decisions.
In A Roundabout Way
In the series of articles I’ve written and continue to write for this site, I’ve tried to add a little levity and poetic license to an endeavor which can sometimes get a little too I’m not smart enough to figure this stuff out on my own.
Hopefully this did the same and “brought you some value.”
There now. That was about a thousand words.
Until next time,
Thanks for reading.
Oops. Almost forgot. Where’s the tie-in to the title Professor? Living right here on a lighted stage.
One final shout out to my north of my border brothers and sisters in fantasy.
Apples and Ginos 