Thursday, September 8, 2011

30 in 30: Top NHL Fantasy Sleeper Picks - Calgary Flames

It’s almost time for those annual fantasy hockey drafts. While most drafts feature the same players going in the first two rounds, it’s those players that you take in the mid to late rounds that will win you your league. Here’s the fourth of the thirty players that could be great sleeper picks in your draft this year.
Mikael Backlund - Calgary Flames
Position - Center
Height - 6'0"
Weight - 200
Drafted - 1st Round, 24th Overall, 2007 NHL Entry Draft
2010/2011 Stats - 73GP, 10G, 15A, 25P, +4, 18PIM

It's fun to pick players with the assumption that they'll be playing on certain lines. Every year there seems to be that one player that you heard will play along side the Sedin's, be Philly's goaltender, or center Iginla's line. That player this year is sophomore center Mikael Backlund. 

Backlund was drafted in 2007 with the assumption that he was going to be that center that Jarome Iginla has needed for all these years. Backlund's going to get that chance this year to center the top line with Iginla and Alex Tanguay. Both Iginla and Tanguay had great chemistry last year combining for 155 points. Tanguay even ended up having a 69 point season which was his highest in four years. With Daymond Langkow being traded to Phoenix it's pretty safe to assume that Backlund could double his point total last season as the team's number one center. 

Previous Sleeper Picks:
Day 1 - Anaheim Ducks
Day 2 - Boston Bruins
Day 3 - Buffalo Sabres

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