Draft Player News (Nov. 13)

It was a pretty solid jolt that Sabres goalie Ryan Miller took from Bruins forward Milan Lucic on Saturday night, a play that had a mighty effect on the game. At the time of the hit, it was 1-0 for the Sabres, but when the 2nd period rolled around, after the hit, the Bruins were alive, putting three goals past Miller in the middle frame and then another three past Jhonas Enroth, when Miller was pulled from the game with a sore neck.

There is no immediate word as to whether or not Miller will miss any extra time, due to his sore neck, but you'll know the Sabres will be paying close attention to this situation.

The Sabres number one keeper is off to a bit of a slow start in the 2012 season, having only 5 wins in 11 appearances for the newly renovated Sabres team, plus the keeper does have 1 shutout for 12 points this season, but there was certainly some higher expectations for him, with all the money spent to put a better team in front of him.

Peter H. had some large expectations for Miller this season, taking him in the 1st round, 13th overall, but he sees his goaltender mired in 103rd, unofficially, in the pool rankings, which likely hurts quite a bit at the moment.  With the threat of Miller possibly losing a start or more with a sore neck, Peter, sitting in the thick of a race in 13th spot, is hoping for the best-case scenario, so he can climb back into the game with the top dogs.

Halfway through the 3rd period of the game between the Red Wings and Stars, Detroit defenseman Ian White blocked a shot with his face, having to leave the ice for some stitches and likely some other various repairs, not to return to play the remainder of the final frame.  On Sunday morning, there wasn't much of an update to speak of, so we'll wait and see on White.  The Wings do not play again until Tuesday, so there is plenty of time to diagnose the defender properly, I would expect an update on Monday or early Tuesday.

White has been a productive member of the Red Wings in the early part of this season, picking up 3 goals and 4 assists in 15 games with the club, playing some quality minutes with some of the team's other top defensemen.  If White has to be out longer than a game or two, it could be a bit of a blow to the team.

In the week, White picked up a single point for Stacey C. in the draft, who has seen a bit of a bargain display of production from the veteran defender, getting about two rounds better of play than where he had picked him.  Stacey is in the conversation at the moment, sitting in 9th spot with 128 points, 21 points out of 3rd, but nothing a few good weeks cannot sort out.

News out of Pittsburgh is that the Penguins lost the services of veteran forward Steve Sullivan on Saturday night, as he left the game with a lower-body injury, not to return to the game. The post-game report from the coach was not laden with details, but it is something to keep an eye on.  We'll call Sullivan out day-to-day for now, but stay tuned to the blog if the prognosis gets worse.

In 17 games with the Penguins this season, Sullivan has 1 goal and 6 assists, which has him unofficially ranked in at 257th in pool scoring, at the moment.  As much as he has been productive for the team, he isn't among the team's best scorers, which is one of the primary reasons why he was picked in the draft.

On the bright side, Dale B. did pick Sullivan up a little bit later on in the draft, 279th overall, so he's getting just the right amount of production, if not a touch better, but the injury looms large to that ranking.  Dale currently sits in 5th place in the standings through Saturday's action, 13 points out of 3rd spot.  It was a pretty good week for Dale, moving up in the pool and he still has a number of games on Sunday to play through, so it could be a great week.

Defenseman Roman Hamrlik reportedly didn't skate in the 3rd period for the Capitals against the Devils, after taking a cross-check in the 2nd period and had to leave the game. If we were to judge by the casual responses from the coaching staff, they would suggest that the injury is somewhat minor and they don't expect him to be out very long, but I think we should all wait until there is an official update for any decisions, as per your hockey pool roster.  The Capitals don't play again until Tuesday, so there is an extra day off to manage whatever injury there is.

The defenseman is currently ranked 558th in pool scoring this season, with only 1 goal in 15 games for the Captials, which is not good returns on the free agent signing, who was supposed to add a little bit of a punch at both ends of the ice.  The Capitals are still doing fine with him in the line-up, but there is always that argument for just a little bit more.

Hamrlik has been the most disappointing player on Niesa S.'s draft team, in theory.  Really, it has been her goaltending that has let her down, but Hamrlik is the lowest scoring player on her team.  When you add it all up at the moment, Niesa sits in 14th spot, but she is a couple good weeks from making a good push into the top 10, but it'll take everyone getting onto the same page for that to happen.