Bucket of Pucks

NHL Fantasy Hockey 2009: High Risk / High Reward NHL Players - Part 1

Every season there are players who are surefire bets and they get drafted accordingly. Then there are those guys that, due to their injury history or shaky previous performances, make it tough to judge if or when they should be drafted.

In this two-part article, we’ll take a look at some of these guys to make it easier for poolies to either snag a diamond in the rough or avoid drafting a horse apple on the big day.  As usual, all advice below is based on a 12-team, 16 round draft.

NHL Fantasy Sleepers 2009 – Eastern Conference

As I said last week, when draft day rolls around, the first few rounds are populated with the guys everyone knows about.  It always pays to have a few players stashed in your pocket in the hopes that you can surprise a few people in later rounds.

Last week we covered the Western Conference sleepers.  So now here’s some guys you should keep an eye on from the Eastern half of the NHL to help you rule on draft day. Remember, all advice below is based on a 12 team, 16 round draft.

NHL Fantasy Sleepers 2009 – Western Conference

 

When draft day rolls around, the first few rounds are populated with the guys everyone knows about.  The smart poolie always has a few role players and fringe guys stashed in his pocket in the hopes that he can surprise a few people in later rounds. Believe me, there is nothing better than snagging a player that other guys in your league totally forgot about due to their lack of preparation.

In the interest of keeping you from being that guy, Bucket of Pucks presents this early sleeper list to help you shock your league late in the draft – and even later on in the season. All advice below is based on a 12 team, 16 round draft. Next week we'll cover the Eastern Conference, this week we’ll cover the West: