Bruce Fedyck-USA TODAY Sports
If you are someone who plays fantasy hockey, then this week is basically a sprint to the draft to have your team together before play gets underway on Saturday. There was a long time if you decided to make a list for draft day with the long lockout but the time has come to make the moves you have planned for all summer and early winter. There is no doubt who should come off the board at No. 1 in my opinion.
If I had the top pick, the name that comes off the board right away is Steven Stamkos. Stamkos is a scoring machine who is still young and could easily score 30-35 goals during a 48-game season. That kind of production isn’t out there with a lot of other players. There will be others who want to take Sidney Crosby right away with the top pick with the ability he has but he is too much of an injury risk for me with that top pick. Those concussion symptoms could easily come back.
Stamkos is the man to have though and if you don’t get Stamkos, it may be wise to try to swing a trade for him if you can. I had an owner in the league I play in try to trade Crosby for Stamkos and I declined it because it was too risky. This is the season to get all the stud players you can get with the season being so short. That means getting Stamkos at almost any cost for fantasy hockey in 2013.
Andy Schmidt is a columnist/writer for RantSports. Follow him on Twitter @ASchmidtSports or like his Facebook page.
