Looking Back – August 2009

Darren Kennedy

2014-07-24

Henrik Sedin

Looking back at August 2009 and the emergence of an unexpected superstar… Henrik Sedin

I can recall a draft in the fall of 2009 where I openly stated that the Sedin’s were “too old to build a team around.” They were 28 at the time, and if history was any indication, were approaching their decline. Of course with the benefit of hindsight this looks a tad foolish, as 2009 to 2013 represented the four best years of their careers.

Of the two, Daniel has always been the far easier asset to value. His propensity to shoot has given him a more well-rounded fantasy portfolio. Whereas Henrik, with his Joe Thornton-esque shot totals, can see his value move up and down wildly depending on the format.

This week I want to look back at August 2009. At the time, we were only a few months from Henrik Sedin becoming one of the five best multi-category players in the game, and arguably the most coveted points only option in fantasy.
His run as elite performer caught everyone (and me especially) off-guard.

 

In 2008-09 he finished with 22 goals, 60 assists for 82 points in 82 games. Great totals in virtually every format, but they in no way foretold the dramatic rise in production that was just around the corner. He and his brother had become consistent, very-good options in most formats. The kind of players you drafted in the early rounds but never seriously considered in the first.

 

That was about change.

 

Heading into the fall of 2009 Henrik had established himself as one of the league’s premier centermen. Considered a consensus top 30 pick in your pool. Dobber had him ranked 22nd overall:

 

Rank Player Team
1 Evgeni Malkin PIT
2 Alexander Ovechkin WAS
3 Sidney Crosby PIT
4 Ilya Kovalchuk ATL
5 Vincent Lecavalier TB
6 Joe Thornton SJ
7 Jason Spezza OTT
8 Nicklas Backstrom WAS
9 Dany Heatley OTT
10 Pavel Datsyuk DET
11 Ryan Getzlaf ANA
12 Eric Staal CAR
13 Jarome Iginla CGY
14 Zach Parise NJ
15 Marc Savard BOS
16 Henrik Zetterberg DET
17 Patrick Kane CHI
18 Anze Kopitar LA
19 Rick Nash CBJ
20 Jeff Carter PHI
21 Mike Richards PHI
22 Henrik Sedin VAN
23 Daniel Sedin VAN
24 Martin St. Louis TB
25 Alexander Semin WAS
26 John Tavares NYI
27 Marian Hossa CHI
28 Jonathan Toews CHI
29 Mike Ribeiro DAL
30 Thomas Vanek BUF
31 Mike Green WAS
32 Paul Kariya STL
33 Marian Gaborik NYR
34 Ales Hemsky EDM
35 Mike Cammalleri MTL
36 Derek Roy BUF
37 Corey Perry ANA
38 Paul Stastny COL
39 Daniel Briere PHI
40 Patrick O’Sullivan EDM
41 Patrick Marleau SJ
42 Brad Boyes STL
43 Olli Jokinen CGY
44 Bobby Ryan ANA
45 Devin Setoguchi SJ
46 Steven Stamkos TB
47 Shane Doan PHO
48 Derick Brassard CBJ
49 Jiri Hudler DET
50 Daniel Alfredsson OTT

 

Looking back at the names above him you can imagine the number of poolies left kicking themselves as the year wore on. I for one, was forced to look at our draft results knowing that I passed over him five or six times before he was eventually scooped in the mid-rounds.

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Heatley still had one more productive season to go in San Jose, but was on the edge of his precipitous decline. Mike Richards was coming off of a 30 goal, 50 assist season in which he looked like the next truly great multi-category star – he’s only broken 60 points twice since that time. There was talk of Lecavalier rebounding after a down 2008-09, but, sadly, his numbers have declined ever since. His point totals the last five seasons sit at; 70, 54, 49, 32 (lockout), and 37.

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