Fantasy Hockey pool guides 2017-2018

Boxscore

HFBoards Sponsor
Sponsor
Jan 22, 2007
14,358
7,028
Dobber is good. Haven't seen THN out in the States yet. Forecaster not available on Amazon.com yet.
 

RedWingzz

Everybody loves Raymond
Apr 14, 2009
9,095
4,685
Canada
picked up THN pool guide at a Wal-Mart in Ottawa today. I have a feeling they put it out early by accident though because I haven't seen it anywhere else.
 

Maple Leaves

Registered User
Jun 25, 2008
154
0
TO
Was able to pick up THN and The Sports Forecaster fantasy mags today in Toronto (International News on University ave).
 
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WatchfulElm

Former "Domi a favor"
Jan 31, 2007
5,922
3,644
Rive-Sud
Just bought Forecaster, which has been my favorite magazine for the past 6-7 years. This has been their most deceiving edition so far.

First of all, on top of having the traditional depth chart, they added their "projected lines", which are often pretty random. They also added a useless "who connects with who" for every team, to know how many points each player got along with other players. I wouldn't mind too much about that if the direct consequence was not to cut severely the amount of players who are being given an in depth analysis (which has always been the strenght of this magazine). So for every team, you only have 10 or 11 forwards that are being analyzed, along with 3 to 5 defensemen. It used to be a lot more and that's what I liked, to read about every player of every team. Now you don't get any words on many up and coming prospects who might have an impact in the NHL this year.

If I take the Habs for example, you get no word on Hudon, Jerabek, Sherback, McCarron, Morrow and De La Rose. If you want to know how they project Hjalmarsson or Hainsey to perform this year with their new teams, well you'll have to look somewhere else. I'd much rather have this than a useless "projected lines" that won't matter anymore while training camps start.

Secondly, some of their projections are pretty bizarre this year. Top 4 scorers?
1- Malkin
2- Kucherov
3- McDavid
4- Tavares
I understand they're trying to be different, but come on... McDavid is the safe bet and there's no reason to believe Malkin would suddenly surpass Crosby after all these years. Also, they predict a massive rebound year for Ovechkin (55-36-91). I really don't see that... Massive rebound year for the Sedins too, at 37 years old...

Thirdly, there's a very annoying Leafs homerism. So apparently, growing pains are already over in Toronto. Each of their player will reach their ceiling as soon as this year and they will make the Stanley Cup final. Yeah, sure... :shakehead
 
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McTrashBoat

Show me the deed
Nov 28, 2014
9,536
3,078
has anybody in SK/western Canada seen any magazines on shelves since THN draft preview?
 

Deebs

Let's swim to the moon
Feb 5, 2014
16,730
13,260
has anybody in SK/western Canada seen any magazines on shelves since THN draft preview?

I was tired of waiting so I just bought the digital version of their yearbook. Think I'll skip their pool guide this year
 

Boxscore

HFBoards Sponsor
Sponsor
Jan 22, 2007
14,358
7,028
Found TSH Pool Guide in the States. Ordered Forecaster on Amazon and it arrived in 2 days.
 

Nalens Oga

Registered User
Jan 5, 2010
16,780
1,053
Canada
First of all, on top of having the traditional depth chart, they added their "projected lines", which are often pretty random. They also added a useless "who connects with who" for every team, to know how many points each player got along with other players. I wouldn't mind too much about that if the direct consequence was not to cut severely the amount of players who are being given an in depth analysis (which has always been the strenght of this magazine). So for every team, you only have 10 or 11 forwards that are being analyzed, along with 3 to 5 defensemen. It used to be a lot more and that's what I liked, to read about every player of every team. Now you don't get any words on many up and coming prospects who might have an impact in the NHL this year.

Yeah I used to collect it as my NHL yearbook basically, didn't care about the fantasy aspect and their projections were strange anyways but that's disappointing to hear.

Anyone know if one of the other magazines has better player analysis or at least more of those quick blurbs if Forecaster is doing less of them now?
 

pharling

Registered User
Mar 26, 2012
203
17
Kingston, ON
Been buying fantasy guides since 1994 as well. I really miss the print version of McKeens, but here is how I rank them today
#1 Dobber (yes I contribute so probably heavily biased)
#2 Forecaster (Print bias)
#3 McKeens (I also contribute to this)
These are the only guides worth buying IMO
To be fair, I have never bought LWL or RotoWorld guides
Love the Hockey News, but not their fantasy guide
SportsNets looks aweful as is poolers guide
Just my two cents
 

eFFeRR

Major League Hockey
Dec 11, 2013
978
28
Just bought the Forecaster this year for the third year in a row. I had bought the Pooler's Guide last year as well, and looking at their predictions from last season, they were WAY OFF.. so I did not buy again..

I like to buy two every year to compare, so this year I also went with Left Wing Lock for the first time.. here are my comparisons..

Forecaster: Inflated stats is most notable.. 7 players over 90 points, 15 over 80 points.. pretty ridiculous. I do appreciate there individual player write-ups though, and might be worth a buy just for them. I like there projected line feature as it can play a huge importance on a players stat line, although I am not sure exactly how accurate there line projections will be.

In terms of there rankings for points, I disagree with them pretty strongly. Malkin 102 points?, Tavares 96 points?, Ovechkin 91 points?, Kessel 81 points?, Eberle 78 points?.. I mean I can go on and on about there BAD projections..

Left Wing Lock: Take everything I said about the Forecaster and flip it.. I was impressed with all the added stuff to read in there guide. As a Head-to-Head player in Yahoo leagues, they have some fantastic information in there guide. They break down things such as which teams play on off-nights the most (a huge thing in Head-to-Head leagues that have a small bench), they also break down Back-to-Back matchups (great for finding out how many starts a backup goalie could get). They go very in depth with their point projections as well. Stats such as Shooting Percentage get a big influence in there projections. Guys such as Crosby, Marchand, Granlund, Oshie.. etc all shot well above there career shooting percentages indicating that they could expect a dip in Goals this season. Things like this are what make a guide great.

There projections are an exact opposite to what the Forecaster is putting out there. Left Wing Lock's projections are somewhat on the "light" side. With only a handful of players finishing with over 82 points.

In the end, I make my own projections every season and use that to go into my drafts with, there is a nice balance between these two guides this year that I can use going forward.
 

Garbage Goal

Registered User
Apr 1, 2009
22,699
4,591
I buy The Sports Forecaster most years, I did not the last two though. The magazine is organized extremely well and is very aesthetically pleasing. I find their depth charts, line projections, and off-season additions and losses to be the most helpful though. I can generally make my own projections pretty well based off the raw stats most fantasy sites give, my own knowledge, and the team's lineup. The only information there that isn't easily accessible (at least in an organized, convenient fashion) is the lineup information (off-season additions and losses included). That's mostly why I use it.

So basically nothing.

Just checking.

That's a silly oversimplification to the point where I'm not sure what you are even trying at here or why you're posting in this topic. The point of a fantasy magazine, much like any magazine, is to read up on a topic or hobby you enjoy in a way that is easily accessible, well-organized, and aesthetically pleasing. The information most guides offer can be found elsewhere, but it's not aggregated in one place in an easily accessible fashion. When you play money leagues, like myself and many other people, it's also good to have as much pertinent knowledge on hand as you can. I could just go through a web address spiral every time I need access to lineup projections, depth charts, and off-season additions and losses for every single team but I won't because it's impractical and inconvenient. Most things people buy are because of convenience, not necessity.
 

PG Canuck

Registered User
Mar 29, 2010
62,739
23,887
I buy The Sports Forecaster most years, I did not the last two though. The magazine is organized extremely well and is very aesthetically pleasing. I find their depth charts, line projections, and off-season additions and losses to be the most helpful though. I can generally make my own projections pretty well based off the raw stats most fantasy sites give, my own knowledge, and the team's lineup. The only information there that isn't easily accessible (at least in an organized, convenient fashion) is the lineup information (off-season additions and losses included). That's mostly why I use it.



That's a silly oversimplification to the point where I'm not sure what you are even trying at here or why you're posting in this topic. The point of a fantasy magazine, much like any magazine, is to read up on a topic or hobby you enjoy in a way that is easily accessible, well-organized, and aesthetically pleasing. The information most guides offer can be found elsewhere, but it's not aggregated in one place in an easily accessible fashion. When you play money leagues, like myself and many other people, it's also good to have as much pertinent knowledge on hand as you can. I could just go through a web address spiral every time I need access to lineup projections, depth charts, and off-season additions and losses for every single team but I won't because it's impractical and inconvenient. Most things people buy are because of convenience, not necessity.

It's personal preference, I guess. That's all. It's not worth arguing over.
 

PecaFan

Registered User
Nov 16, 2002
9,243
520
Ottawa (Go 'Nucks)
So, how about we sticky this topic instead of last years?

Looking at how the various sources did last year for just the 17 guys I drafted, it's surprising to me, but TSN's free list is by far the most accurate. Forecaster the worst by far, and likely to be again as eFFeRR mentioned.

For example, when everybody is way off like on A. Duclair, TSN was only 26 over, while THN and Forecaster were 38. For V Rask, TSN was 1 point under, while everyone else was 8 or 9 points over. Just consistently a few points closer, 16 off when the others are 22 or 33 off, etc.

I'd much rather have a guy under predicted, because then I'm getting a small bonus on a guy at that point in a draft.

Pooler's Guide is actually better than I give them credit for, I've always kind of scoffed at them and mentally put them at the bottom. But they were right in the middle of the pack with McKeens, almost identical (a net 97 points out vs McK's 101, and closer on 9 guys while McK was closer on 6, 2 ties).
 

Leviathan

Registered User
Nov 25, 2008
1,305
112
I dont think Sportsnet do the pool guide any more. They stopped printing their magazine and it appears the guide went with it.
 

eFFeRR

Major League Hockey
Dec 11, 2013
978
28
Still waiting to see TSN publish there free one on their website. Nothing yet.
 

NewtJorden

Unitas est Invicta
Aug 9, 2006
3,420
455
Rimouski
I dont think Sportsnet do the pool guide any more. They stopped printing their magazine and it appears the guide went with it.

Yeah, they ended their print magazine last december, wich probably ended the pool guide and the official NHL yearbook.
 

razor2112

Registered User
Aug 2, 2017
60
16
New York
I know I'm not well-known but have been involved in fantasy hockey since 1995 and now have a fantasy hockey website that has been around since 2011. If anyone is interested in seeing last year's copy of the PrimePucks Fantasy Hockey Draft Guide, just message me your email here at HFBoards or email me at [email protected] and I will send you a PDF version from last year. Or check out the site www.primepucks.com

Thanks for your time!
 

Mike62

Registered User
Sep 8, 2017
1
0
Ultimate Pool Preview is out, but before I spend on it, I have to ask, is this publication a compilation of all the other magazines (in which case it would be a good buy) or just another person's opinion.
 

Standardly

Registered User
Apr 7, 2008
653
8
any guides or sources show who had the most points after last season's all star break? So tough to find
 

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