The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
October 14, 2003


Story by: Eric Theis

Well hockey fantasy fans, the first week is done and while it was shortened by a mid-week opening night, there was more than enough time for great performances as well as noteworthy debacles in the NHL. Hopefully you drafted wisely and are reaping the fruits of your wise drafting decisions. On the other side of the spectrum, perhaps you are reviewing with great scrutiny, the team you have fielded hoping to make some early tweaks. With both parties in mind, here is the inaugural The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly - a look back at some of the best and worst performers during the past fantasy hockey week.

The GoodPaul Kariya 2 GP, 2 G, 2 A, 2 PPP (8 Shots), + 2

Everyone in the hockey world has deemed the Colorado Avalanche this year's incumbent Stanley Cup champs; they need only play out the season to make it official. While pundits point to perennial goalie understudy David Aebischer as the chink in the Avs otherwise impenetrable armor, weekly numbers like this from Kariya et. al. suggests that management in Colorado could raffle off the starting goaltender position to the general public every night, and still the Avs would walk away with the Northwest Division.achuk 2 GP, 3 G (#399, 400, 401), 0 A, 2 PPP (8 Shots), 1 GWG, 2 PIM, +1

Whether you appreciate his style of play or despise it, you cannot ignore Tkachuk's effectiveness, especially now that he is healthy. Last year he suffered through an injury-plagued campaign, dressing for only 53 games over the course of the Blues regular season, which severely restricted his ability to play with physical presence (the hallmark of any power forward's game). So far, Tkachuk's three tallies represent all of the Blues' offense this season, a plus for Tkachuk fantasy owners, and a somewhat disconcerting trend for Blues fans. Undoubtedly the rest of the Blues offense will pick it up over the next few games, but it seems that in the interim, Tkachuk is fine to bear the offensive burden.etro 2 GP, 1 W, 0L, 0T, 1 SO, 0.00 GAA, 1.000 SV%, (23 Total Shots Faced)

Competition for the third spot this week was a heated affair, but the nod has to go to the Islanders 22 year old netminder. Drafted first overall in 2000, DiPietro was rushed up to the big club far to quickly, without any perceivable support (on ice and off) from a very dysfunctional Islanders team. Yet this kid has hung around at the NHL level, and took full advantage of training camp this fall to show the Islanders coaching staff what he is capable of doing given the chance. While not the declared (yet) #1 goalie for Coach Steve Stirling, DiPietro's performance on opening night (in relief of a shell-shocked Garth Snow), and his shutout against Buffalo in his first start of the season certainly indicate an inevitable ascent on the depth chart for DiPietro. If the Islanders blue line corps can play consistently at the high level advertised, and the offense starts to click, look for DiPietro to post some much improved numbers this year.

The Badndin 1GP, 0G, 0A (2 Shots), -1

Obviously it is way to early in the season to draw any conclusions about what a line score like the one Sundin posted in the Maple Leafs' Saturday night season opener loss, means for the Leafs this year. However the Blue and White played with zero intensity against the rival Canadians, led by their captain's dismal two shot effort. In Sundin's defense, it is hard to generate any offense when 4:20 of his 19:01 total ice time was spent shorthanded, as the Leafs had to kill 14 minutes of penalties accrued during the game. Sundin will either have to enforce a disciplined but intense brand of hockey from his team mates, or improve on the 5 short handed points he tallied last year. Either way, much more is needed from the big Swede, if the Leafs wish to better their performance from last season.

The Ugly Snow 1 GP, 0 W, 1 L, 13.64 GAA, .769 SV% (6 Goals on 20 Shots)

One of the only ways Garth Snow will ever have the word consistent linked to his name, is with the label of "consistently inconsistent." After turning in a very promising preseason performance between the pipes for the Islanders, Snow was appalling on opening night against the Washington Capitals. While not all the goals allowed were directly his fault, Snow's reputation for allowing regular softies was reinforced on a shot by Washington's John Gruden in which Snow found himself trapped helplessly behind the net after misreading the puck. As a result, Snow helped Gruden become the oldest rookie (at 33) to score his first NHL goal, since Helmut Balderis potted one at age 37, back in 1989. Not quite the milestone GM Mike Milbury was investing in when he re-signed Snow in the offseason. Repeat offerings such as this will all but guarantee Snow the backup job to Rick DiPietro, and possibly a quick trade off the island.