After Nine Picks

Unfortunately, Wednesday is more than likely going to be slow in the Waiver Draft again. It will likely be close to the end of normal business hours before we'll get Dieter's pick, but I thought I would go over some of the players who are still available in the draft... just to wet your appetite.

Well, since there's an injury in the ranks of available players, it would make Brad Boyes the next best available forward. Boyes is having a pretty good start to the season, one which the Leafs wish they could have harnessed when he was in Toronto. Boyes is sitting with 13 goals and 5 assists in 21 games this season. Boyes will be a popular look here in the next pick or two.

Also up at 18 points, 7 goals & 11 assists, Mike Comrie has worked himself into a good position to jump into the pool. Comrie has found some magic with some of the other new faces on Long Island. The Islanders this season are playing near the top of the Atlantic Division and Comrie is a big part of that effort.

18 points seems to be popular... 7 goals and 11 assists is also the total for Montreal's Tomas Plekanec. Plekanec is breaking out somewhat with the squad that is second in the Northeast Division. There's still some mixing of the lines in Montreal, but overall, Plekanec has performed quite well despite his mix of teammates.

One more player has 18 points in the pool, but this time it's only in 19 games... and he is coming off the injured list tonight. The Blackhawks are preparing to welcome back Jason Williams into the fold and the Hawks should have a pretty healthy line-up against Tampa tonight. Williams' point production before his groin injury was something else and now he'll have full advantage of a healthy team. Good news for all Blackhawk holders... and future ones.

The next best defenseman in the pool is now Chris Campoli of the Islanders. Campoli has had himself a great start to the season, but has slowed a bit in recent games, but the Islanders have only played 21 games. Campoli has 2 goals and 9 assists for 11 points this season, one goal better than two of his defensive counterparts (listed below).

There's a great big mess in Toronto at the moment and still Pavel Kubina has 11 points (1 goal). Kubina hasn't seen many points of late, but if the Leafs could ever right the ship, he'd be in line for a major production increase over the next couple weeks. But if you don't like the Leafs, there probably isn't enough reason in Kubina to start now.

An injured Cory Murphy isn't quite healthy yet, but he may be quite soon. His 11 points in 19 games is pretty good on a Panthers team, which historically hasn't seen much production from the blueline. Murphy is listed on the injured page already and he is still listed as out day-to-day, so he might be valuable come Monday, when all players get activated.

Goaltenders have been pretty popular in the top part of the Waiver Draft and since the starters are the most coveted, you may want to have a look at Mike Smith. Smith has been strong in the Dallas net this year, taking valuable minutes away from Marty Turco (Dieter). He's a bit of a gamble, if you're looking for a starting netminder, but when he does play, he seems to be invaluable to the Stars. Smith currently sits with 6 wins and a shutout for 14 points.

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