By JIMMY D / Fantasy hockey, hockey keeper pools| Jimmy's archive

The flags have put away for another year and everyone has filled their canuck hearts with world-junior-gold-medal joy.

Now it’s time for hockey poolies to take stock of the next generation of youngsters who will stock your fantasy leagues.

Top Goalie
And as always, it’s a Canadian goalie who has everyone in a pool lather. This year, it was Carey Price, who really did swipe this gold medal for Canada. He was electric in the semi-final OT vs. the Yanks and showed big-game savvy that should endear him to Habs management in a few seasons.

But don’t always buy high when a canuck goalie has just led the country to gold. They don’t always pan out at all and always take a few years to blossom.
Last year, Leaf Nation was going mad over Justin Pogge. He’s a nice prospect, a big guy who can move. But there are few guarantees at the goalie position in the NHL these days.

Who else surprised and disappointed at the latest showcase of the world’s best under-20 talent?

Top Forward
Alexei Cherepanov shot to the top of the ISS rankings before Christmas and cemented his claim to the No. 1 slot by winning Top Forward honours at the WJC. Central Scouting Bureau will update its mid-season rankings shortly, but the consensus is the shifty Russian has replaced Halifax Moosey Jakub Voracek.

It’s rare that a 17-year-old wins the best-forward award and he did with goal-scoring flair reminiscient of Evgeni Malkin and Alexander Ovechkin. Cherepanov is a different type of player and projects as less of a goal pig and more of a playmaker.

The other members of the WJC all-star team were Jonathan Toews, the two-way stud who was taken third overall by Chicago last year, and American Patrick Kane, who is draft-eligible in 2007 along with Cherepanov.

Toews is a lock to be a solid NHLer. He is bright, hard-working, responsible defensively and quick and creative offensively.

Kane has some question marks, starting with this stat: 5 foot 9, 160 pounds. True, the new NHL has made more room for speedy dwarves and less room for clunky giants but the preference will always be to have players with size.

So while he is ranked in the Top 10 for 2007, there will questions about whether Kane is abel, I mean able, to cut the mustard physically.

Top Defenceman
American Erik Johnson was the No. pick overall in 2006 and the Blues await his arrival. He scored well and was an offensive dynamo in Sweden, leading the tourney in scoring. But when push came to shove on the defensive side, he was frequently a stride behind or lacked the to-the-death commitment some of the Canadians showed (Darren Helm outskated him for a puck in round-robin play in the 6-3 Canada victory.)

Kris Letang was the other member of the all-star team and he will get to the show quickly for Pittsburgh. Or maybe Kansas City, depending on where the Penguins end up.

Mid-season rankings
As mentioned, Voracek (who would qualify for the 2008 draft if he were born a month later) slipped a bit to No. 4 in the ISS list. Defenceman Karl Alzner of the Calgary Hitmen jumped to No. 2 after a sudden burst in offensive upside and American winger James Van Riemsdyk (U.S. Under-18 program) is up to No. 3.

The first round of the June draft will likely see three sons of former NHLers called to the podium as well.

Sam Gagner, who played on the WJC team, is ranked ninth. He is tricky and fast and can score. His dad, Dave, was a late bloomer who had five straight 70+ point seasons for the Minnesota North Stars in the early 1990s.

Colton Gillies, son of former Islander power forward Clark, is rated No. 11. The 6 foot 4, 210-pounder plays for Saskatoon in the WHL.

And Brandon Sutter, son of Brent, is rated No. 20. He’s a whopper at 6 foot 4, so if he plays with the same tenacity and anger that the rest of his twirpy Sutter uncles played with, he’ll be a handful. He plays for his dad (and alongside his cousin Brett) in Red Deer. Soon time to change the name of that league to the SHL (Sutter Hockey League).

The goalie crop doesn’t look stellar in 2007, with Peterborough Pete Trevor Cann rated as the top goalie, but he projects as a second rounder overall.
Stay busy and stay lucky.

Jimmy D