Frozen Fantasy: Challenge Yourself

How many leagues do you play in? And do you play multiple styles and formats? More importantly, does all that mess with your head?

It does with mine.

I'm the first to admit I'm not perfect. Sometimes I sit at the top of a league. Sometimes I sit at the bottom. Occasionally, I wander aimlessly in the middle. I'm OK with all of them. Most days.

I love keeper leagues, especially head-to-head formats.

I think it goes back to my childhood. I used to pore over my hockey cards, analyzing the stats. I'd create five-man units that always put a roving defender with my high-end forwards. And I'd keep a snarly, stay-at-home guy with them to keep my goalie happy.

And then I'd create an opposing five-man unit and play a game in my head.

Pre-internet. Pre over-analysis. Pre-fantasy leagues.

My latest adventure in fantasy pairs head-to-head keeper with daily roster changes. Within a game period. It's been an adjustment to say the least.

Daily changes have been my Achilles heel.

Until now. At least in this new league. It's a locked league, so I haven't found a way to show you the inner workings. But I highly recommend the format.

It's the brainchild of Jon Litterine, Rotowire's prospect guru and my partner on draft coverage. We count nine categories – four goalie and five skater – and roll 20 guys (12 F, six D, 2 G). Plus 10 reserves, 15 minor leaguers and – for the first time ever in one of my leagues – FIVE injury spots.

My draft strategy was simple – go for goaltending early and try to be the best in four of the nine categories. Then I'd only need one more category at any given time to win a week.

That might have worked if standings were based on wins and losses. Instead, we count cumulative categories. So I could get lucky and get a 9-0-0 win (won/lost/tied) and vault up the standings. Or win 3-2-4. Lesson learned. Again.

I know – it's complicated. I'll talk about this league more as the season progresses. I'm learning as I go. I'm still a firm believer in challenging myself. How about you?

Now let's take a look at who caught my eye this week.

Ryan Dzingel, LW/RW, Ottawa (13 percent Yahoo! owned) – The Sens are a whole lot better than anyone thought, stupid Uber confessions aside. And Dzingel is a big part of that success. He's on the top line and the second power-play unit, and has eight points, including five goals, in his last eight games. That gives Dzingel 12 points in 14 games – that's the best pace of his young career. And he's only minus-2 – a minor miracle considering his minus-17 finish last year. This seventh-rounder can help you.

Nikolay Goldobin, LW/RW, Vancouver (2 percent Yahoo! owned) – Go get Goldobin. He has been joined at the hip with Elias Pettersson five-on-five for most of the season. Sure, he started slowly. And he only has one goal. But Goldobin is one of the few Orcas with the kind of offensive creativity to keep pace with Pettersson. And Brock Boeser. Goldobin is on a three-game, five-assist streak heading into the weekend and six helpers in his last five games. And two of those have come on the power play. The goals will come. And they will come on my roster.

Matt Grzelcyk, D, Boston (1 percent Yahoo! owned) – This 5-foot-9 dynamo excels on the offensive side of the puck. Grzelcyk has seven points (one goal, six assists) in 13 games this season – that puts him halfway to the career mark he set last season in 61 games. Sure, some of his points came while Torey Krug was out. But the guy with too many consonants in his name is still running the second power-play unit. And jumping up into the play as the fourth man into the attack. Grzelcyk was especially sharp Thursday in an ugly 8-5 loss to Vancouver. He scored a goal, added an assist and managed to stay on the plus side of the ledger. His role may change when Charlie McAvoy returns. Until then, he's worth a shot.

Erik Gudbranson, D, Vancouver (4 percent Yahoo! owned) – This guy has always had so much promise, but he's been nothing but frustrating. Gudbranson has never been able to pull off a 30-point, 125-PIM season. Until now. Thanks to a bit of health (knock on wood) and a four-game, five-point streak heading into Saturday, Gudbranson is finally looking like the guy the Panthers thought he'd be. Penalty minutes are the lost category in most Yahoo! formats. This guy – if healthy – could be a fantasy rock star for you. I'm taking a chance on him.

Ben Hutton, D, Vancouver (1 percent Yahoo! owned) – Hutton's career in Vancouver looked over last spring. His coach had criticized him for being out-of-shape and failing to deliver any offence. But Hutton hit camp fitter and lighter, and coach Travis Green recently mused that Hutton might be able to play against the opponent's top lines. Hutton's overall numbers aren't impressive. But look closer and you'll see he has five points, including three goals, in his last five games. There may be valuable fantasy points on his stick.

Chad Johnson, G, St. Louis (6 percent Yahoo! owned) – Johnson was brilliant Friday night. He bricked up the twine tent against the Sharks and earned a shutout for his second-straight win. Jake Allen has been, well, Jake Allen. Snap Johnson up and stick the spurs in for as long as he showing off these skills.

Anton Khudobin, G, Dallas (8 percent Yahoo! owned) – Since the start of November, the Stars have gone back and forth between Ben Bishop and Khudobin. Little wonder. The latter has delivered wins over Toronto and San Jose, and only allowed two goals in a loss to Boston. Dobby's hot. It's hard to know what coach Jim Montgomery will do – he'd forgotten Khudobin even existed for a couple weeks before that. But if he's smart, he'll take advantage of this hot streak to get the Stars out of the wild card and solidly into a postseason spot.

Darcy Kuemper, G, Arizona (14 percent Yahoo! owned) – Annti Raanta is on the IR with a lower-body ouch. Kuemper hasn't looked good filling in this week. But he's better than the nine goals allowed in those two outings, both against Philly. This is all about how desperate you are for the chance of goalie points.

Anton Stralman, D, Tampa Bay (6 percent Yahoo! owned) – Stralman's best offensive days are over. But he and Ryan McDonagh have picked some of the slack with Victor Hedman hurt. Stralman has five assists and a plus-6 rating in his last four games. He's still the shutdown guy in Tampa Bay. But he can help if you're desperate.

Lucas Wallmark, C, Carolina (0 percent Yahoo! owned) – Wallmark may be the Canes' checking pivot, but he's much more than that. He has remarkable vision. His passes are crisp and always on target. And he's great at the dot. Oh yah – Wallmark can also put up points. He has four assists in his last four games and half have come on the power play. That's not a fluke – he led the Canes' AHL squad last season in scoring. His positional eligibility is limited, but he may provide value in deep leagues.

Back to challenging myself.

Getting my head into different styles and formats continues to sometimes fail me. Life gets in the way. But honestly, it's the best way to learn. It's humbling and sometimes embarrassing.

But that's OK. I'm sharpening my skills and I'm using strategies from this format to rethink how I manage in my other leagues.

With the hope that more knowledge will bring more success.

Unless I overthink. LOL. Tell me about the ways you continue to challenge yourself. I love hearing your stories.

Until next week.