Hockey World Blog

All Things Hockey

Posts Tagged Nathan Horton

2011-12 NHL Season Preview: Boston Bruins

Sep 9

Posted by Chris in Season Previews | No Comments

Key Offseason Losses: Michael Ryder, Tomas Kaberle, Mark Recchi (retired)

Key Offseason Additions: Benoit Pouliot, Joe Corvo

Last Season Ranking: 3rd in the East

Offense: The Bruins are a rare team that doesn’t rely on two or three superstars for most of their offense. Instead, the Bruins spread the wealth and get everyone to contribute on a nightly basis. Last season, Boston finished 5th in the league in goals scored per game with an average of 2.98. Six of the eight players who scored 40 or more points last season will return this year.

Milan Lucic, David Krejci, Patrice Bergeron and Nathan Horton form the foundation of the team’s offense. Each player had 50 or more points last season while Krejci was the only one of the four to not post 20 or more goals, although he led the team with 49 assists. These players will again form the nucleus of the offense this season.

To help shore up the departures of Michael Ryder and Mark Recchi, both Tyler Seguin and Brad Marchand will be looked upon to provide secondary scoring and take on more responsibility in their second full years in the NHL. While Marchand remains unsigned, his clutch performance in the playoffs gave a good indication of what he is capable of. A second 20+ goal season and 50 or more points may not be out of reach.

The player to watch this season is Rich Peverley. The trade to Boston from the Thrashers at the trade deadline last year was a bit under the radar, but Peverley is a solid contributor capable of posting 40-50 points a season. He certainly helps the Bruins’ depth and should get more attention now that he’s in a hockey market, much like Horton did last season after getting traded from Florida.

Defense: The Bruins play team defense. They are smart and they are accountable. In fact, nine players last season were plus-15 or better while five of those players were plus-25 or better. Not many teams can match those types of stats.

Captain Zdeno Chara remains the foundation of the team’s defense and is every bit the leader on the ice. His 44 points were good for 6th on the team and his plus-33 led the team. Beyond Chara, the team has a lot of talent defensively with Dennis Seidenberg, Andrew Ference and Matt Hunwick. Youngster Adam McQuaid also showed a lot of promise with 15 points and a plus-30 rating in 67 games and will get the chance to expand on those numbers this season.

The addition of Joe Corvo gives the Bruins another strong offensive defenseman capable of reaching the 40-point plateau. Corvo should be what the Bruins expected Kaberle to be last season. Kaberle never really materialized into the puck-moving defenseman they desired and were willing to let him walk this summer and take Corvo instead.

The Bruins finished 2nd in the NHL in goals allowed with an average of 2.30 per game last season. With most of the blue line from last season returning this year, and the addition of Corvo, expect Boston’s defense to be as good, if not better, than last year.

Goaltending: At 37 years old, everyone keeps waiting for time to catch up with Tim Thomas. But Thomas, like a fine wine, seems to only get better with age. While there remains the threat of a Stanley Cup hangover, Thomas plays the game with determination and heart and if he’s healthy, he will do whatever it takes to win.

Don’t count out backup goaltender Tuukka Rask, who successfully stole the number one job from Thomas in 2009-10. Rask is capable of challenging Thomas and together they push each other to greater heights and form one of the more formidable tandems in the NHL.

HWB Playoff Prediction: Playoff bound.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Nathan Horton is Boston Bruins’ MVP

May 25

Posted by EB in Soap Box | 3 Comments

The Boston Bruins are up 3 games to 2 in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Tampa Bay Lightning. What seems to be in a good place having home ice advantage if needed for game 7, the Bruins could not have made it this far without the help of forward Nathan Horton.

Horton’s career started in the 2003-2004 season with the not-so-solid Florida Panthers. While there, Horton immediately stepped onto the ice and had a positive impact. In his rookie season, Nathan had 14 goals and 8 assists for 22 points in 55 games. In the six seasons with the Panthers, Horton had 5 seasons above the 45 point mark and a career high of 62 points in back-to-back seasons from 2006-2008.

Today, Horton calls Boston home after competing in his first of three year deal. In the 80 games played, Horton had a balanced year with 26 goals and 27 assists for a total of 53 points. Overall, he had a +29 rating, the best of any Bruins offense.

The real news is that this is Horton’s first NHL playoffs. Yes, his first, the time where the men are separated form the boys. Quite common, new players experiencing the faster, tougher playoff tempo fall short of their fan’s and team’s expectations. Horton however has risen to the occasion with 7 goals and 7 assists in the 16 games played, 2 of which were game winning goals. His stats are second to only Patrice Bergeron.

At 6’2″ and 229 pounds, Horton is a physical and dominating presence. Factor in that he is coming into his peak years at 25 years old, now is better than any for the Bruins to have him don the black and yellow B. With his big presence and stats to back it up, Horton is by far the Boston Bruins MVP.

Tags: , , , ,

Hockey World Blog Season Previews 2010: Florida Panthers

Sep 11

Posted by EB in Season Previews | No Comments

nothing much to get excited about with Florida this year unless another flasher sighting happens.

Nothing much to get excited about with Florida this year. That is unless you watch intently for another flasher sighting.

Key Offseason Losses: Keith Ballard, Nathan Horton

Key Offseason Additions: Christopher Higgins, Dennis Wideman, Steven Reinprecht

Last Season Ranking: 14th, East

Offense: The Florida Panthers have a talented core in Stephen Weiss and David Booth. Weiss picked up 60 points last season to carry the team in the absence of David Booth’s injury from Philadelphia Flyer’s Mike Richards head shot. The two, if healthy, should each post 50+ points in a competition for the team’s point leader.

Florida lost their 3rd main man Nathan Horton, yet picked up veteran players Christopher Higgins and Steven Reinprecht. Together the two will add some experience, as well as the ability to put the puck in the net.Reinprecht had 16 goals and 22 assists last year with the Phoenix Coyotes while Higgins is coming off of two mediocre seasons, but has the ability to post 40+ points.

Returning players to keep an eye on are Michael Frolik and his balanced play style as well as Cory Stillman and his veteran point production performance.

Defense: The bad news; the team lost Keith Ballard to the Vancouver Canucks. Ballard was a solid defender and a good setup man. The good news; the team has gained an equally talented Dennis Wideman from the Boston Bruins. Wideman had 30 points last season with 11 of those being power play assists, a much needed addition for the Panthers.

Wideman will be lining leading point defender Bryan McCabe. McCabe had 43 points last season with the expectation of doing even better this year.

The downfall though comes after the first pairing, the Panthers have no one really worth mentioning. Perhaps their management team forgot the saying, “Defense wins championships”.

Goaltending: Starter Tomas Vokoun will get the majority of starts while sharing the net with backup Scott Clemmensen. The two together should be able to post some good numbers despite having weak defense. Vokoun has a career .916 save percentage and had a respectable 7 shutouts last season.

Season Outlook: The Florida Panthers had a tough break last season with the injury to star player David Booth. Losing one of your top players always hurts, but this year he is back and healthy. The team added some key role players and some veteran presence that always helps any team. Still though the offensive talent will go to waste with the lack of depth in defense. It will be short of a miracle if the team makes the post season.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hot Fantasy Free Agents You Can Pick Up

Nov 4

Posted by Eddie in Fantasy | 6 Comments

Don’t you hate it when you’re searching through the free agent wire in your fantasy league, only to have slim pickings? I went through this earlier this week when I was trying to get my team to rise out of the cellar. I usually give the players I draft the first month of the season to prove their worth before I drop them unless they were injured. The fortunate thing is, I did not have any injuries. The bad news, is that I’m in last place. Some of it was due to my own negligence such as owning four fantasy football teams and worrying about those more. But now I have a little time on my hands and I can handle what’s on my fantasy plate. Here’s a list of the best players available in the free agent world, along with the percentage of Yahoo! Fantasy teams own that player.

Note: Players owned on 60% or fewer teams were considered.

Center:

Ryan Kesler, Vancouver (5-8-13, 53% Owned)

Kesler is one of the hottest players on his team. With 5 goals the first month of the season, he’s shown that he can find the net as he is tied for third in goals and is second in points on the Canucks. He’s also valuable on special teams as he as six power play points.

Honorable Mention:

Mike Fisher, Ottawa (5-6-11, +3, 3PPG, 2GWG, 22% Owned)

Brendan Morrison, Washington (4-6-10, +6, 6 PIM, 2 PPG, 15% Owned)

Wayne Simmonds

Wayne Simmonds

Right Wing:

David Clarkson, New Jersey (3-6-9, 40% Owned)

Clarkson started off hot, but midway through October he went through a five game goal-less drought. Clarkson ended that drought last week. Don’t be afraid to pick him up. I strongly believe he will warm up or get hot before he becomes ice cold. His 20 penalty minutes are worth using if you need someone to raise your team penalty minutes.

Honorable Mention:

Nathan Horton, Florida (3-7-10, 20 PIM, 55% Owned)

Wayne Simmonds, Los Angeles (4-4-8, +9, 9 PIM, 5% Owned)

Left Wing:

James van Riemsdyk, Philadelphia (2-11-13, +6, 3 PPA, 27% Owned)

While he may only have two goals this young season, #2 overall pick in the 2007 draft James van Riemsdyk has made an impact through the assist for the Flyers. You have to take notice of someone that has more points than games played, as the Flyers have played only 10 games. He leads the team in assists and is third in plus-minus. If you’re in need of assists because your defensemen aren’t coming through, I recommend his as only 1 in 4 teams own him. Unfortunately in my fantasy league, Chris picked him up Monday afternoon.

Honorable Mention:

Matt Moulson, New York Islanders (6-5-11, 6 PIM, 3 PPA, 45% Owned)

Jarkko Ruutu, Ottawa (4-3-7, 27 PIM, 6% Owned)

Defense:

Jason Demers, San Jose (0-10-10, +7, 4 PPA, 32% Owned)

Rookie Demers has been producing on the blue line for a solid Sharks team. While he haven’t scored a goal this season, his team-leading plus-minus rating is worth taking note of. Look for him to see increased playing time from coach Todd Mclellan.

Ryan Suter, Nashville (2-5-7 8 PIM, 2 PPA, 59% Owned)

I had several defensemen to consider picking. But Suter was the best out of a good bunch along with Demers. Suter is an experienced player who is in the top-five on his team in points and penalty minutes. He also has three power play points in 13 games this season.

Honorable Mention:

Jaroslav Spacek, Montreal (1-4-5, +6, 14 PIM, 49% Owned)

Roman Hamerlik, Montreal (4-2-6, +6, 12 PIM. 22% Owned)

Goalie:

Ondrej Pavelec, Atlanta (5 W, 2.75 GAA, .921 SV%, 42% Owned)

Just like everyone else before the season, I didn’t have much faith in the Thrashers. But they got off to a good start in the first month of the season, and that’s what they need. In goal, Pavelec has solidified his #1 spot over Johan Hedberg. He’s owned in 2 out of every 5 leagues, so chances are he’s available for you.

Honorable Mention:

Jaroslav Halak, Montreal (5 W, 2.85 GAA, .893 SV%, 39% Owned)

Dwayne Roloson, New York Islanders (4 W, 2.70 GAA, .914 SV%, 34% Owned)

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Florida Panthers

Sep 12

Posted by EB in Season Previews | No Comments

The Florida Panthers gives neither feeling of excitement nor any other feeling at all when thought of, but perhaps that is expected of a team who has not made the playoffs since 1999. Nonetheless, last season the panthers were only one spot short of the playoffs, only to be edged out by the Montreal Canadiens, and hope to build upon the improvement.

The Panthers are as confused as Nathan Horton on his scoring touch but hope this season it comes back to him.

The Panthers are as confused as Nathan Horton on his scoring touch but hope this season it comes back to him.

In the off season, the team made a few moves but none stick out more than the swapping of defense between the Calgary Flames; Jay Bouwmeester from Florida in exchange for Calgary’s Jordan Leopold. The trade is questionable seeing that Leopold has a rather long injury list, but with the additions of mixed aged defensemen Nick Boynton, Steve Emminger and Ville Koistinen, the team should be just fine.

The teams other major addition is that of goalie Scott Clemmensen from the New Jersey Devils. Clemmensen last year filled in for Martin Brodeur during is surgery recovery and put up some excellent numbers; 25-13-1 record with a .917 save percentage and a 2.39 goals against average. The goalie spot still could belong to Tomas Voukoun, but expect it to be taken rather quickly by the Panther’s new addition.

Last season the team was led by young fellas Stephen Weiss and David Booth who combined for 45 goals, 76 assists which totals 121 points in the 150 games between them. Veterans Cory Stillman and Steven Reinprecht look to add leadership and points as well, and the team is looking to jump start under achieving Nathan Horton. With the addition of some defense, a new goalie, and with the rest of the roster, it truthfully is a crap shoot if they will be competitive or not in the Eastern conference.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,