the forgotten men

“Oh man. I forgot about him.” Inevitably, you’ll hear this curse multiple times in any fantasy hockey draft. It usually comes from the guy whose drafting consisted of printing last year’s stats. That guy always overlooks players who missed a good chunk of time, or even the entire season, due to injury. It seems that 2010-11 had an unusually high number of quality fantasy options falling on the IR early on. So it’s critical to keep these guys in mind as you prepare for this fall’s draft. Unless you want to be that guy.

Zach Parise (F-NJ)
The first and foremost in this group is Zach Parise. It may be easy to forget, but not too long ago, Parise was regularly mentioned among the top 10 most talented players in the league. A slow start last season, followed by a season-ending injury in Week 3, quickly pushed him to the back of fantasy owners’ minds. I’m by no means prepared to immediately reinstate him in the top 10 of my draft list, but he’s a player you shouldn’t overlook in the early rounds based on his 6-point scoring last season. The Top 25 is certainly within reason, and among left wingers, he should be in their Top 10. He’s had almost a year to recover and should put up at least 70 points for the Devils in another contract year.

Mark Streit (D-NYI)
Another completely forgotten product that should not be overlooked is Mr. Streit. In the previous two seasons, Streit established himself as a top-tier fantasy defenseman for the Islanders. He missed all of last season after getting hurt in preseason. He was talked about returning him down the stretch, but it wasn’t worth the risk, given the Islands’ position in the standings. He should be back and ready to resume his role as New York’s No. 1 defenseman. He is a strong bet for the top 25 of his and a case could be made to push the top 15.

Kyle Okposo (F-NYI)
Another early victim on the island last fall, Okposo returned midway through the season, but took his time getting up to full speed. His shoulder injury should be behind him by now, and he should be back on track to become the best power forward in New York. Expect goal scoring to pick up on the island this season, and Okposo should be a big part of that progress.

Peter Mueller (F-COL)
It’s hard to know what, if anything, to do with Peter Mueller at this point. He missed all of last season due to a concussion, but recently started skating and hopes to wear the uniform for this season. After arriving in Colorado at the end of the 2009-10 campaign, he broke it, scoring 9 goals and 20 points in 15 games. Before that run, he had been a fringe fantasy forward during his time in Phoenix. If you’re in a deep league, keep him on your radar for a late-round pick.

Marc Savard (F-BOS)
Once upon a time, not too long ago, Savard was a top 10 fantasy forward. His story is infamously tragic with the concussion problems he has suffered. Although he continues to fight, there is no guarantee that he will play again. If he does, it seems unlikely he’ll ever return to star status. Until he a) comes back, b) plays a few weeks, and c) puts up some decent numbers, I wouldn’t bother putting him on any draft list.

Andrei Markov (D-MON)
The only question you need to answer here is whether you think you are and will remain healthy. When he’s in the lineup, he’s proven to be in the top 15 of all fantasy defensemen. Missing 112 games the last two seasons is enough to scare me. In his 10-year career with Montreal, he played 80 games or more just once. If he’s available around 10, I’d give him a serious look. Any earlier than that is not worth the risk.

Yevgeny Nabokov (G-NYI)
The Islanders can’t buy a break at the net. When they finally slip away and catch a top tier goalkeeper, he refuses to show up. After sitting out all of last season on various continents, Nabokov has shown marginal interest in donning an Islander jersey, so his potential placement on your draft list is worth considering. First, the facts: 1. When he left the NHL last summer, he was still among the elite at his position. San Jose needed to save cap space, and Nabokov thought he would be happy to make more money in Russia. 2. That didn’t work out for him, so he spent most of the year at home. If he comes back, there is no reason to think that he will have lost his gift within a year.

If he really plays for the Islanders, you’ll be looking at a very good goalkeeper on average, but improving the team. In case he draws enough attention elsewhere and is sent to a contender, all the better. There’s certainly a risk factor in selecting him too high, but if he plays well, he could be the steal of the draft if you can catch him with a mid- or late-round pick.

Jordan Staal (F-PIT)
Amazingly, Pittsburgh’s top 3 centers missed almost exactly half of last season, with Crosby, Staal and Malkin playing 41, 42 and 43 games respectively. It seems unlikely he’ll overlook Crosby and Malkin, but Staal remains an afterthought for most fantasy owners. While he doesn’t seem to achieve fantasy stud status like his older brother has, don’t forget this guy is only 23 years old. There’s still a lot of room to grow in terms of fantasy value. Determining how high to place him remains a challenge on many fronts, particularly with the uncertainty of his role and playing time expectations based on the health of centers 1 and 2. It’s a fair bet to expect 60-plus points from Staal with potential for more. .

David Perron (F-STL)
Perron seemed to be on the cusp of a breakout last October, starting the year with 4 goals in his first 6 games. His season came to an early end due to a hit by Joe Thornton. He is still recovering from that concussion with no firm commitment back. That makes it a tough sell for an early pick. He has many advantages if he can take away the headaches. He write it for a round late sleeper and hear everyone else groan when they realize what they missed.

Derek Roy (F-BUF)
Roy was in the midst of a career season when injuries left him on the shelf last December. At the time, he was sitting on 34 points in 34 games and leading the Sabers in front. After that, he missed all but the last game of the season, which put him out of the minds of most fantasy owners. He should be fine to start the season and therefore he should be considered a pretty safe pick on your draft list. 70 points is within reason.

Some other notable picks you won’t find high on last year’s score sheet:

• Jaromir Jagr – topic for another article, to be sure
• Vinny Prospal: A decent depth option finds a new home in Columbus
• Steve Sullivan: latest experiment on the wing in Pittsburgh.
• Mike Green – probably not forgotten. But what to do with it?