With training camp opening in the next couple of weeks, that means only one thing, it’s time for fantasy hockey! With that, Yahoo released their list of the top 100 players for the upcoming 2011-2012 season. Surprisingly, the top spot which was continuously held by Sidney Crosby has changed.
Daniel Sedin now leads the list as the top player to draft in fantasy hockey. Crosby has dropped down to the number four spot, most likely due to his nagging concussion that kept him out since January.
Within the first ten players, we notice one name that is representing the Blueshirts. His name is Henrik Lundqvist. While every other player in the top ten is a forward, Lundqvist is the only goaltender amongst those players. As we move into the next group of players, Brad Richards appears in the number 19 spot (Strange coincidence?).
The second list of players, ranked 11-20, is packed solid with potential. Anze Kopitar, Pavel Datsyuk, Evgeni Malkin, and Jarome Iginla are notable names within that list. Malkin could be a serious stud as he comes back to full strength from his knee injury, and Iginla coming off an 86 point season in Calgary.
Moving further down the list, we come across none other than Marian Gaborik. He has fallen quite a bit after his disappointing season on Broadway. Although it wasn’t terrible, it does not help in the rankings. I see Gaborik being the sleeper pick in the drafts. I see he having a serious bounce back season, along with Brad Richards at his side.
Overall, it’s not a bad list of players and has some serious potential. Follow after the jump for the entire list of players.
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, LW11. 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, D21. 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, C31. 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, D41. 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, G51. 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, D61. 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, RW71. 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, G81. 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, G91. 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