Antoine Roussell, deep left wing pick?

[hipcheck]

Looking for picks in the late round that could really help me out. I wonder what the feeling is on Roussell in Bid D?

I feel the top line of Benn, Seguin, Nichuskin is getting all the hype. Who fills in on LW on line two? Any chance Roussell moves up to line two with Spezza and Hemsky? Dallas looks a bit thin at LW Cole would be the only other player that might move ahead of him I would think. I would expect a uptick in points and a few less PIMs if he was given a chance but still he was a top 5 PIM player last year. I would take a shot in late rounds on someone who could put up those PIMs and have some upside.

Do you see 20G 25A 180 PIM and 150 SOG (talking upside) in his future if on line two with Spezza? I like the contract extension as a good sign also!

Steve

[ericdaoust]

Offensively I'd be more willing to bet on him staying closer to where he is now. But where he is now is an excellent player in some formats.

[VincentVega]

All the predictions on him have him at around 30 points, i.e. exactly what he did last year lol. Looks like prognosticators are really going out on a limb here. Anyway, he is a stud for PIM and Hits and the points may or may not be higher at his peak. I don't think it's unreasonable to expect him to get 20G, 25A at some point in his career but that is probably if everything aligns just right for him. I see him staying on the 3rd line this year with Eakin and Garbutt but that could change of course as the season progresses. For this year I have him at around 35 points.

[tomastop]

I saw him play in the World Championship this year and he was really really good. Not your typical goon or something. He had 11 points (6+5) in 8 games and voted into tournaments All Stars team (together with P.Rinne, S.Jones...). Of course, he had plenty of opportunities on that team, which obviously won't happen in Dallas.

I think he has a lot more upside then the other PIM guys (like Neil, Rinaldo etc) and could get 20G/25A at some point, but I wouldn't count on it for this season. Nevertheless, he's a great late pick in the PIM/HIT leagues.

[hipcheck]

Guess I was being "I have a feeling" guy here

[Daydream Nation]

All the predictions on him have him at around 30 points, i.e. exactly what he did last year lol. Looks like prognosticators are really going out on a limb here. Anyway, he is a stud for PIM and Hits and the points may or may not be higher at his peak. I don't think it's unreasonable to expect him to get 20G, 25A at some point in his career but that is probably if everything aligns just right for him. I see him staying on the 3rd line this year with Eakin and Garbutt but that could change of course as the season progresses. For this year I have him at around 35 points.

I think this is spot-on. Somewhere between 30-40 pts is where I think he'll wind up with 40 being if he spends time on the 2nd line at some point in the season. I picked him up off waivers a couple years back in a deep league with PIMS and hits. I've been very happy with Roussell.

[Teh Doktor]

I like him and his stats - never seen him play.
8 teams, 3 LW... I'd say no. But with 5 bench players, if you get him late enough in the draft, I would probably do it and see how he does the first month or so in the season.

[Buck Fush]

I saw him play in the World Championship this year and he was really really good. Not your typical goon or something. He had 11 points (6+5) in 8 games and voted into tournaments All Stars team (together with P.Rinne, S.Jones...). Of course, he had plenty of opportunities on that team, which obviously won't happen in Dallas.

I think he has a lot more upside then the other PIM guys (like Neil, Rinaldo etc) and could get 20G/25A at some point, but I wouldn't count on it for this season. Nevertheless, he's a great late pick in the PIM/HIT leagues.

I agree with this.. At the world championships he was playing a top line / top pp role but when you consider the best player he played with was Stephane da costa, his production was really impressive. In my roto cap league he could potentially get me 1 or 2 spots higher in the PIM cat all on his own, which not many players can do (while not being totally useless in the other cats). It helps that I have the offensive guns to be able to play a 30 pt forward, that is all I am expecting out of him and anything more than that will be gravy. He is a very valuable player in my pool, and I think he is only going to get better as his performance at the WC will surely have boosted his confidence as far as what he thinks he is capable of offensively in the nhl. With the firepower his team now has and some more progression on his part (he is only 24 still), I think a 50ish point 200 PIM season is doable at some point if the stars align (no pun intended).

[Bubba55]

I don't see him having keeper value (think Backes, Lucic and Simmonds) but as a later round pick he could be the difference and win you a championship.

[mister_mcgoo]

You're smart to be asking these questions, if he can play his way on to the 2nd line he's gold in multi-cats, and lets face it, both Spezza and Hemsky are pussies so maybe they put him out there to protect their fragile little bodies sometimes?

I would look at it this way...if he's worth that pick for 30-35 pts and close to 200 PIMs and 150+ hits then grab him.

On the plus side, the Stars clearly love him, he's played hard and earned his contract, he adds a lot of grit and grind so I think his ice time goes up a bit from last season and he gets a few more pts. The downside is that he is a PERFECT fit on the 3rd line, he's not going to get PP time or appreciable top 6 mins unless he has some untapped offensive potential we've not yet seen from him. He's young though, it could happen, but I wouldn't bet on it, as it stands now he definitely doesn't fit in with finesse guys like Spezza and Hemsky.

[Rad64]

Roussell is definately worth a pickup for pims/hits alone, but I think we might see some regression due to Spezza and Hemsky being added to the team. Roussell will likely see a reduction in ice time...

[Daydream Nation]

Roussell is definately worth a pickup for pims/hits alone, but I think we might see some regression due to Spezza and Hemsky being added to the team. Roussell will likely see a reduction in ice time...

Spezza and Hemsky are top 6 guys. Are you projecting Roussel be placed on the 4th line and get less than the 13+ minutes per game he averaged last year? That would surprise me.

[mister_mcgoo]

Spezza and Hemsky are top 6 guys. Are you projecting Roussel be placed on the 4th line and get less than the 13+ minutes per game he averaged last year? That would surprise me.

Exactly. Last year he split time between the 3rd and 4th line, I think going forward he's a lock for the 3rd. Similar guys in that position (Cooke, Clarkson for example) play around 15 mins a game, which is 2 mins more than Rousell was getting last season.

[hipcheck]

I know he is a perfect fit for the third line. In fact Garbut, Eakin, and Roussell is a pest line that will piss off many teams. there is some speed and all have chips on their shoulders!

Better Question, who do you see as line 1 and line 2 forwards in Dallas? I was asking because I could see a window of Antoine moving up due to depth @ LW and his work effort.

[austeane]

I think both Cole and Sceviour have chances at the second line, but Roussel (I love the spelling variations in this thread) is next after that. If Nich has a sophomore slump, he might even get the chance to Burrows it on the top line.