Usually the most difficult position so scout in acquiring a fantasy hockey roster is defensemen. Even though the position pales in priority to goalies, wingers, and centers - it often becomes the most important position. In the old days of the CDM Fantasy Hockey Challenge the strategy for defensemen was relatively simple - to grab a number of relatively cheap d-men who accumulate penalty minutes. Since shooting percentage was another category, acquiring scoring defensemen was actually counter-productvie - since the Brian Leetch's, Al MacInnis's et al took a lot of shots, thus hurting a teams shooting %.

In the world of point-style hockey, the strategy is different. If you manage to get some productive, cheap players at other positions - then you can easily plug in a Pronger or Blake which scoring wise is almost like having another winger or center. Or throughout the season you can improve your lot by finding cheap D-men who either (a) are with the first or second unit on a successful team and are assured of a good +/- to go along with occasional scoring or (b) get a lot of PIM's.

Speaking of +/-, D-men are traditionally among the league-leaders in the category, since they're on the ice more than offensive players. Look for someone for Colorado, Philly, St. Louis etc. who may step up and accumulate an insane + rating in the first month or two of the season. You will see a wider variety of D-men used among the top teams. That in itself is why the position is so important. Find the diamonds in the rough and you will have a huge advantage over the competition.

The following is a list of some of the better bets

• Rob Blake (3930 - COL) - Safest pick out there. Consistant 60 pt a year player, the big difference this year will be the +/- which hovered around zero in his LA. Blake accumulated a +11 in just 13 games with the Lanche. Forsberg's abscence puts a small damper on things, but still expect at least a +30 to go along with the points.



• Brian Rafalski (3890 - NJ) - Closest comparison to Blake in the Eastern Conference. 52 pts with a +36 last season plus 18 pts in 25 playoff contests. Only downside is lack of track record, the 28 year old has only been in the league two years. Did score 53 points in 53 games in the Finnish league a few years back.



• Sergei Gonchar (3870 - WSH) - 27 years old, so this could be his peak year. Has averaged .75 ppg a past two years to go along with a +26 and +12. Feeding the puck to Jagr, along with Bondra could also cause his totals to go through the roof. Will also contribute some suprising PIM's.



• Brian Leetch (2660 - NYR) - Best scoring defensemen in the game. 79 points last year. The problem is that he's an absolute minus machine, coming off years with -7, -16, and -18. If Lindros and the team around them improves he could actually see the plus side of the ledger.



• Lubomir Visnovsky (2620 - LA) - Actually managed a +16 to go along with 39 pts in his rookie NHL season. The scoring may improve but could be negated by a drop in +/-.



• Mathieu Schneider (2510 - LA) - Coming off career scoring season with 51 pts in 73 games, to go along with an even zero. Blake's departure assures a first-unit spot for him.



• Oleg Tverdovsky (2570 - ANH) - Has played every game for three straight season while the point total has improved from 25 to 51 to 53. Still only 25 years old. Downside was a -11 last season. There are worse players to feed the puck to than Kariya and Friesen.



• Ed Jovanovski (2660 - VAN) - Blossomed offensively with 47 pts to go along with 102 PIM and a -1. Don't see much improvement with the +/- this year however.



• Chris Pronger (4610 - STL) - Simply the best overall D-man in the game, but like Jagr, Sakic, or Broudeur, you will pay for it. Accumulated a ridiculous +52 two seasons ago, to go along with 62 pts and 92 PIM. Injuries curtailed his totals last season, but in healthy is the only guy who will help you in three areas.



• Martin Skoula (1780 - COL) - Best bet for a breakout season. Only 25 points and a +8 last year but came on late. Ray Borque's retirement also sends the 22-year old up the pecking order. And of course he's with one the league's best teams.



• Adam Foote (2000 - COL) - Can never have too many Lanche D-men. Was hurt for most of season but his offense did step up when in there, with 15 pts in 35 games, to go along with a +6 and 42 PIM's. Good bet to be a three-category contributor.



• Fredrik Olausson (1670 - DET) - 56 pts and a +17 with Anaheim three years back. Spent last year in a Swiss league before the 35-year old signed with the Wings. Look for some points and a good +/-.



• Sami Salo (1500 - OTT) - Players who had Salo to go along with Bonk and Hossa were treated to a couple of monster games a year ago. Managed a +20 in '98-99 but has only appeared in 68 games since. If he can stay healthy, and can click with the big guns, he could be a great bargain.



• Kimmo Timonen (1410 - NSH) - Went from 33 pts in 51 games and an All-Star berth in '99-00 to only 25 pts in 82 games last season. Still only 26 so a bounce back season is very possible. If the team around him approves he could also find himself on the + side of the ledger.



• Jiri Fischer (1230 - DET) - Only potted 9 points in a spotty 55 games last year, which included a brief stint in the minors. But he has one of the hardest shots around and is also good for about one PIM a game. Still a decent threat to emerge.



• Mathieu Dandenault (1690 - DET) - Merits mention only because Scotty Bowman continues to toy with the idea of moving the speedster to a forward position. But remaining a D-man is a more-likely scenerio. Did get 25 pts with a +11 last season, so you will at least get that.

Now for D-men I am not crazy about...

• Al MacInnis (4180 - STL) - 54 pts in 59 games plus 10 pts in 15 playoff contests, and the shot is as hard as ever. What works against him is the salary, turning 38, and possible lingering effects of last year's eye injury.



• Mattias Ohlund (1660 - VAN) - Vision affected by eye injury plus playing behind Jovanovski. Even when playing last year managed a -16.



• Janne Laukkanen (1930 - PIT) - In case you missed it, he even managed to get injured in the off-season. It was in a floor hockey game at a bachelor party. I believe it was Sami Salo's (surprised Sami didn't get hurt either). Anyways, don't expect to see Janne until November at the earliest.



• Tomas Karberle (2260 - TOR) - Nice dependable D-man who has played every game in the past two seasons, to go along with 40 and 45 pts. However, there was a contract situation at last report - so make sure the holdout dosen't spill over until the regular season.



• Vladimir Malakhov (1690 - NYR) - Be careful about ordering this cocktail. Is 33 and has only played 27 games the past two years. But you can be sure to find him on the local ski slopes. But cut him some slack, his teammates bungee jump and scuba dive in the offseason - and that's against the contract. Well that's at least what Malakhov says...

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