So You Think You Can Check?
April 11, 2001
Looking for sleepers in your playoff pool? Try a checker. They're the unsung hero of the post-season. They're stuck with the awful job of shadowing first line players. But from a playoff pool perspective there is a very important upside. Assuming that the checkers aren't 1st line players themselves (Peter Forsberg, Jere Lehtinen, Steve Yzerman are usually out against the top lines of other teams) there should be a significant increase in playing time. As well, they could very well be out on the ice against 1st line players who are inferior in the defensive zone. Below is a list of 10 players who could significantly benefit from the extra playing time provided by a checking role.
| Player | Team |
| Rob Zamuner | Ottawa |
| Mike Sillinger | Ottawa |
| Ian Laperriere | Los Angeles |
| Curtis Brown | Buffalo |
| Daymond Langkow | Philadelphia |
| Andrei Nikolishin | Washington |
| Randy McKay | New Jersey |
| Igor Korolev | Toronto |
| Stephane Yelle | Colorado |
| Shjon Podein | Colorado |
| Dallas Drake | St. Louis |
Don't count out the defensemen either. Teams tend to drop down to four core blueliners during the playoffs. As a result, we've picked our Top 5.
| Player | Team |
| Sean Hill | St. Louis |
| Martin Skoulla | Colorado |
| Karel Rachunek | Ottawa |
| Brad Lukowich | Dallas |
| Colin White | New Jersey |
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