You know this guy you picked last year? Or two, or three years ago? (Fantasy owners can have particularly long memory with some experiences). Scouting reports from all sources assured you he was a good pick, that this year would be THE year when he would finally become the player everybody excpected when he entered the league. Confident that you have found the wild card that will carry your team on his shoulders, you put your trust – and all your prayers – on this player, just to see him as disappointing as always. But that’s not even the worst part of it. The year after, when you recommended him to your opponents so your chances of winning would be better, he’s having career stats. Frustrating? Hell, yeah!

With the 2002-03 NHL season coming to an end, here’s a review of some players you swore you would never take again on your team, and now you just hope they will still be available when it’s your turn to talk next september.

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The most “out-of-nowhere” player of the 2002-03 bunch is without a doubt 24 year-old Finnish Olli Jokinen. A third overall pick in the 1997 NHL entry draft, the 6’3” center had all the tools to become a star in the big leagues but scored only 35 goals in his first four complete seasons. So if someone told you before this season that Jokinen was going to do better than that this year alone ( he has 34 goals and 63 points with 8 games left), consider yourself totally normal if the only words that came out of your mouth are “Are you nuts?” Now the undisputable leader with goalie Roberto Luongo on one of the youngest squad in the league, Jokinen is making the two teams who have given up on him, the Kings and the Islanders, wish they would have been a little more patient with him.

When the Philadelphia Flyers drafted Vaclav Prospal 71st overall in 1993, they were sure they held a great piece of the league’s future. They were right, but probably did not expect the future being as far as 10 years later. Although he showed some flash of brilliance in his beginings, it’s in 2003 that Prospal really established himself as one of the finest playmakers in the game. Proving it is his impressive total of 52 assists with two weeks left on the calendar, placing him 4th in the league only behind Peter Forsberg, Joe Thornton and Mario Lemieux. His ability to find the open guy has helped him to have his best season ever, averaging a point per game, which is not banal nowadays in the NHL.

There’s one thing I am totally, 110% sure. If Martin St-Louis has been drafted in your league this year, he will be taken much sooner next year. St-Louis’ explosive season may not be as surprising as the previous’ because of his constant hard work and discipline, but nobody could honestly say they expected these kind of numbers from him this year. With 32 goals and 66 points in 75 games he’s almost on pace to double his best season’s stats and make Tampa a legitimate threat to any opponents in the playoffs with fellow canadian team-mates Vincent Lecavalier and Brad Richards. At 5’9”, the undrafted free-agent is an example of tenacity and a role model to all physically small athletes who wish to make it to the big leagues. His strenght and fierceness have made some big defencemen look like amateur more than once.

Tony Amonte, Shane Doan, Daniel Briere, Daymond Langkow, Ladislav Nagy. What do they have in common. Yes, they were all part of the Phoenix Coyotes organization at the beginning of the season and chances are they have all been taken in your league. Because nobody never expected Mike Johnson to have better numbers than them, right? Well believe it or not, Johnson is the leading scorer on Gretzky’s bunch. With his 20 goals, 38 assists ans 58 points, he is enjoying his best season since his rookie year with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1997-98. Cause or consequence, he has averaged almost 20 minutes on the ice each game, the second most among Phoenix forwards. These stats won’t make anyone excited about him for next year but may earn him a spot on some teams. After all, he earned a place on mine after his rookie season!

So poolers, next year, think twice before erasing Patrick Stefan, Tim Connoly, David Legwand or Dainius Zubrus from your list, cause they may be the next big names to make you regret ignoring them. You know what I’m talking about? Everyone deserves a second chance...or a third.

You can e-mail your comments at nicolas_landry@hotmail.com