Week 1 Fantasy Stockwatch

Our Daniel E. Dobish

By Daniel E. Dobish

Oct 3, 2007 at 11:57 am ET • 4 min read

Each week during the season, we'll survey the Fantasy Hockey landscape and provide you with a list of players whose Fantasy value has increased or decreased over the course of the past week.

	Nicklas Bergfors, W, New Jersey It was thought Bergfors was on his way to Lowell of the AHL, but he is instead heading to the top scoring line for coach Brent Sutter instead. He has elected to split Patrik Elias and Brian Gionta up, as they were originally expected to skate with newcomer Dainius Zubrus. Gionta's loss is the gain of Bergfors and his Fantasy owners. Bergfors is a big-time prospect and a 50-point season would not be out of the question if he can stick on the top unit.
	David Aebischer, G, Phoenix Head coach Wayne Gretzky has elected to keep three goaltenders to start the regular season, which is no good for the Fantasy value of Abby, Alex Auld or Mikael Tellqvist. We expected the former Colorado Avalanche goaltender, who was traded to Montreal for Jose Theodore in 2006, to take control of the No. 1 job in training camp. However, he stumbled to a 1-1-0 record with a 3.38 GAA in four preseason games with a subpar .847 save percentage. Meanwhile, Auld was 0-1-2, but with a stellar 1.90 GAA and .918 save percentage and Tellqvist was 1-0-0 with a 2.54 GAA and .917 save percentage. Instead of a crowded but pleasant situation for Gretzky in the crease, it is just a big, big mess.
	Sergei Fedorov, C, Columbus Well, there will be no defense for Fedorov, at least initially. It appears that the former Red Wing superstar is about to be Fantasy relevant again, as coach Ken Hitchcock has elected to plug the veteran on the top scoring line with Rick Nash and David Vyborny. Fedorov has been awful since coming to the Blue Jackets, but skating with the two best offensive players on the roster might get him jump-started again. He is certainly worth a look as a No. 3 Fantasy center, at least in leagues of 12 or more teams.
	Cam Barker, D, Chicago The Chicago Blackhawks picked up some veteran talent off of the waiver wire and decided to give their young defenseman more seasoning in the minors. He is still owned in 13 percent of leagues and starting in five percent. You might want to rectify that, as he is only worth a look in long-term keeper Fantasy formats at this point. If you are a looking for a replacement, Duncan Keith or Brent Sopel are good pickups in seasonal leagues.
	Nick Foligno, W, Ottawa Second-generation rookie Nick Foligno not only won a roster spot with the Senators, but he'll play a prominent role, at least to start the season. The son of former NHLer Mike Foligno will skate on the second line in Canada's capital city, joining Patrick Eaves and Mike Fisher. That's not the greatest of company, but not too shabby, either. The Sens have re-united the 'CASH' line of captain Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley. While Foligno is the big winner and a player owned in just five percent of CBSSports.com Fantasy leagues, the biggest loser is Antoine Vermette, who plummets to the third line.
	Ales Kotalik, W, Buffalo It appeared that Kotalik was ready for a bigger role in the offense with two points and a plus-3 rating in three preseason games. However, he has been diagnosed with a strained medial collateral ligament in his knee and he has yet to be cleared to skate. In fact, head coach Lindy Ruff has said that he will miss the team's home-and-home on Oct. 5-6 against the New York Islanders. Ruff added that he might return for the Oct. 11 game against Atlanta. Since the Sabres only have two games in Fantasy Week 2 (Oct. 8-14), you might want to hold off on using Kotalik until at least the third scoring period. If you have patience and can afford to wait it out, keep him on reserve.
	Mason Raymond, W, Vancouver Raymond appears on two percent of CBSSports.com Fantasy rosters. Look for that number to go up rapidly, as coach Alain Vigneault has not only rewarded the rookie with a roster spot for his great preseason, but he has been promoted to the top scoring line to start. Raymond will skate with Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin, which should mean instant Fantasy success by default. We're usually a little leery of using unproven players like Raymond while dropping more proven options, but skating with the Sedin twins is just too tempting.
	Jason LaBarbera, G, Los Angeles Okay, okay. It's one game. LaBarbera and Jonathan Bernier split the starts for the Kings in London against the Anaheim Ducks, with Bernier earning a win in the opener and LaBarbera allowing three goals in a loss. However, the Kings are a lot more apt to ride their 19-year-old prospect goaltender than LaBarbera, as the franchise has been thirsty for a franchise goalie for a while. Bernier is the closest thing that they've had for a while and the only way for him to get better is to play and gain valuable experience. While LaBarbera will still see plenty of time and is a decent Fantasy option in average points leagues, his value will continue to fall if Bernier gets off to a good start. Don't forget about Jean-Sebastien Aubin, who is also in the mix, but currently on injured reserve to start the year. He'll take time away from LaBarbera and might even force him back to Manchester of the AHL before too long.

Do you have a trade you'd like reviewed by our experts, or feel that we're missing someone from our Stockwatch? You can e-mail us at DMFantasyPucks@cbs.com. Be sure to put Attn: Fantasy Hockey in the subject field. Please include your full name, hometown and state. Be aware we do not guarantee personal responses to all questions.