Training camps are set to open in just a few short weeks. Which means fantasy hockey is back. Which means say goodbye to productivity.
On Friday,�Yahoo! opened up registration for the 2011-12 fantasy season and after a few bugs were worked out, we all began setting up our leagues for the year.
Always a hot topic, with the opening of registration also means the release of the player rankings. Here are the top 100 as per the Y! draft rankings:
1. Daniel Sedin, LW
2. Alex Ovechkin, LW
3. Steven Stamkos, C
4. Sidney Crosby, C
5. Corey Perry, RW
6. Henrik Sedin, C
7. Henrik Lundqvist, G
8. Martin St. Louis, RW
9. Nicklas Backstrom, C
10. Bobby Ryan, LW
As�we wrote on Friday, the Crosby question is one that is hovering over every draft this season. It's been routine that Crosby and Ovechkin were the top two picks, but given the concussion issues with the Pittsburgh Penguins captain and the defensive-minded shift in Washington, they're no longer a sure thing at the top.
Nos. 11-100 after the jump ...
11. Roberto Luongo, G
12. Anze Kopitar, C
13. Pekka Rinne, G
14. Pavel Datsyuk, LW
15. Jarome Iginla, RW
16. Ilya Bryzgalov, G
17. Evgeni Malkin, C
18. Tomas Vokoun, G
19. Brad Richards, C
20. Mike Green, D
Some serious potential here for some second-round studs with Malkin coming back at full-strength, Jarome Iginla coming off a 43-goal, 86-point season and some serious win totals of any of the four goalies listed.
21. Antti Niemi, G
22. Ryan Miller, G
23. Patrick Kane, RW
24. Jonathan Toews, C
25. Zach Parise, LW
26. Carey Price, G
27. Drew Doughty, D
28. Shea Weber, D
29. Ryan Kesler, C
30. Eric Staal, C
Nothing like having two guys in Kesler and Staal who are capable of 40 goals and 70-plus points a season sitting there in the third round.
31. Henrik Zetterberg, LW
32. Jeff Carter, C, RW
33. Patrick Marleau, LW
34. Tim Thomas, G
35. Ryan Getzlaf, C
36. Ilya Kovalchuk, LW
37. Corey Crawford, G
38. Alexander Semin, RW
39. Lubomir Visnovsky, D
40. Dustin Byfuglien, D
In his first full year with the New Jersey Devils, Kovalchuk posted his lowest goal total (31) since his rookie year. The Devils' first-half slump certainly had much to do with that and we expect vintage Kovalchuk this season in New Jersey.
Contract year players are always a good gamble and entering the final year of his deal with the Capitals, keep a close eye on Semin.
41. Marc-Andre Fleury, G
42. Keith Yandle, D
43. Joe Thornton, C
44. Mike Richards, C
45. Zdeno Chara, D
46. John Tavares, C
47. Matt Duchene, C
48. Jimmy Howard, G
49. Dan Boyle, D
50. Jonathan Quick, G
Year Three for both Tavares and Duchene and each has increased their point totals in their first two seasons by more than 10 points. Big things are expected from them.
51. Rick Nash, RW
52. Miikka Kiprusoff, G
53. Patrick Sharp, C
54. Claude Giroux, RW
55. Jeff Skinner, C
56. Thomas Vanek, LW
57. Dany Heatley, RW
58. Duncan Keith, D
59. Jonas Hiller, G
60. Nicklas Lidstrom, D
If you're in a fantasy league with me skip this part.
If there were a dark horse for this year, Giroux has that potential to breakthrough into elite status this season.
61. David Backes, RW
62. Kris Letang, D
63. Martin Brodeur, G
64. Christian Ehrhoff, D
65. Phil Kessel, RW
66. P.K. Subban, D
67. Milan Lucic, LW
68. Danny Briere, C, RW
69. Vincent Lecavalier, C
70. Marian Gaborik, RW
The great thing about fantasy hockey is the depth of quality players in the league. Between the potential production for guys like Backes, Letang, Briere and Gaborik, quality guys will continue to be there as your draft moves along.
71. Kari Lehtonen, G
72. Paul Stastny, C
73. Cam Ward, G
74. Johan Franzen, RW
75. Erik Karlsson, D
76. Jaroslav Halak, G
77. Joe Pavelski, C
78. Martin Havlat, RW
79. Loui Eriksson, RW
80. Dwayne Roloson, G
Karlsson took that next step offensively last season with 13 goals and 45 points. On what's bound to be another poor Ottawa Senators season, Karlsson will once again be looked up to supply offense from the back. Havlat in San Jose will be intriguing to watch and he's definitely a guy who, if he fits in well with the Sharks, could benefit heavily.
And as president of the Loui Eriksson Fan Club, we hope he's still sitting on the board when the eighth and ninth rounds come along.
81. Niklas Backstrom, G
82. Ryane Clowe, SJ
83. Dion Phaneuf, D
84. Mike Ribeiro, C
85. Brent Burns, SJ
86. Craig Anderson, G
87. Brenden Morrow, LW
88. Mark Streit, D
89. Alexandre Burrows, LW
90. James Reimer, G
Streit is a guy who will likely fly under the fantasy radar as some players may have forgotten about his previous production after missing last season with a shoulder injury. Burrows has scored 30-plus goals before and can definitely reach that mark again, if healthy.
91. Scott Hartnell, LW
92. Ryan Whitney, D
93. Dustin Brown, RW
94. Jason Spezza, C
95. Tobias Enstrom, D
96. Jose Theodore, G
97. Chris Stewart, RW
98. Mikhail Grabovski, C
99. Tyler Ennis, LW
100. Tomas Plekanec, C
If you need PIMs, look no further than Hartnell who's posted more than 140 a season the last four years. Stewart has put up back-to-back 28-goal seasons and with a full season in St. Louis, he should be able to pass that this year.
Notables sitting outside of this year's top 100 include Taylor Hall (105), Marian Hossa (113), Jaromir Jagr (142), Matt Moulson (150), Jamie Benn (160), Michael Grabner (172) and Teemu Selanne (183).
Sign up your team and league today.
Dobber will once again be back providing a weekly fantasy column, but in the meantime, what are your thoughts on the rankings? Who's too high? Too low? Who are some of your sleepers/potential busts for this year?
Photo credits: Getty Images
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