Starting a fantasy blog midway through a season is a little like teaching calculus to pre-schoolers -- three months in and nobody can point out your mistakes. And, in an effort to keep that streak alive, I begin by looking back at the season's biggest surprises before looking ahead:

Steve Mason, G, Columbus Blue Jackets
There was a time last year when the Blue Jackets may have considered Mason a lucrative carrot in trading for a much-needed No. 1 center to play alongside Rick Nash. Though Mason was a super hot prospect who last year backstopped Canada to its then fourth straight gold medal triumph at the World Junior Hockey Championship (Canada made it five straight last week), incumbent netminder Pascal Leclaire had enjoyed a breakout season in 2007-08, finishing with 24 wins and nine shutouts in becoming the apple of every fantasy owner's eye. But injuries this year to Leclaire and former backup Fredrik Norrena opened the door for Mason, who has been nothing short of exceptional this season. His six shutouts give him the league lead and his 1.75 GAA and .938 save percentage have him tops in those ultra-important categories. He's a big man -- 6-foot-4 -- who has, as Leclaire was last season, been helped by coach Ken Hitchcock's preference for a defensive style. Mason has firmly established himself as Columbus' starter and barring injuries, he will be this season's rookie of the year.

David Krecji, C, Boston Bruins
Even the most diehard fantasy hockey owner (yes, we exist, especially up here in Canada) may have been forced into an early-season hockeydb check on Krecji. (If you don't know about hockeydb.com by now you're in real trouble.) A native of the Czech Republic who played in Canada's major junior league (the Canadian Hockey League) for the Gatineau Olympiques, Krecji has improved immensely under professional coaching, specifically Boston's bench boss Claude Julien, who, ironically, led the Olympiques to a Memorial Cup triumph eight years before Krecji's time there. Krecji, whose highest point total in the junior ranks was 81 -- impressive for an import -- has certainly benefited from playing behind superstar Marc Savard, who occupies most of the time of the opposing team's top checkers. Krecji's 46 points (16 goals, 30 assists) in 42 games is impressive enough but, like most Bruins this season, his plus/minus is outstanding at plus-25, making him a fantasy darling.

Rob Blake, D, San Jose Sharks
A one-time perennial fantasy stud (and a hockey stud in general) Blake had become something of a fantasy liability in recent years while trolling the blue line for the lowly L.A. Kings. Though his point and penalty minute totals of the last two seasons -- 31 and 98; 34 and 92 -- were solid his plus/minus numbers -- minus-19 and minus-26 -- were hideous. (That point may be moot for those leagues that don't count plus/minus, but such leagues seem fraudulent in these eyes.) His perceived value immediately rose when he joined the Sharks, one of the regular season's best and most consistent clubs this decade, but his age -- 39 -- still made him a third or fourth option at best. However Blake is on pace to shatter the 40-point, 100-PIM barriers and a plus-10 thus far, there's no reason to think he won't at least hold that mark if not approach plus-20. Playing with fantasy stud Dan Boyle and emerging stars such as Marc-Edouard Vlassic and Christian Erhoff, Blake has reinvented himself as a fantasy star.

Kris Versteeg, LW, Chicago Blackhawks
Almost every year somebody in my rotisserie league, the highly competitive Shwa Cup, or any hockey pool for that matter takes a chance on a relatively unknown player because he gets placed on an NHL club's top line in the preseason and performs fairly well. (How's that working out, those of you who took Jesse Winchester?) I can remember taking former Hobey Baker winner Peter Sejna one year because he spent some time flanking then St. Louis Blue and playmaker extraordinaire Doug Weight in exhibition games. Enjoying the Swiss league these days Peter? But you struck gold if you opted for Versteeg in October, as the plucky winger has spent most of the year playing on one of Chicago's top two lines with lamp-lighters such as Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Marty Havlat and Patrick Sharp. His 33 points are most among NHL rookies (a race that will become ultra-tight down the stretch) and his plus/minus stat of plus-14 is an added bonus. Ironically, Versteeg was two seasons ago traded to Chicago from Boston for Brandon Bochenski, a player many took a chance on when he enjoyed a cup of coffee playing with Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley as a rookie in Ottawa. Bochenski, by the way, is now plying his trade with Norfolk of the AHL, somehow unable to crack the line-up of the miserable Tampa Bay Lightning.

Patrik Elias, LW, New Jersey Devils
It's likely only Elias owners, fantasy hockey writers and David Puddy know how good of a season the former Devils captain is having, and while it's somewhat difficult to call Elias -- he of nearly 700 career points -- a surprise, next to nobody would have predicted he'd among the top 10 in league scoring with 48 points through 42 games. Though he's never been a minus player since becoming a full-time NHLer 10 season ago, his point totals have been trending downwards since he fell ill with Hepatitis A during the lockout year, which he spent playing in Russia. But, like Blake, he is have a renaissance of sorts this season and, barring injuries, Elias has a very outside chance of breaking his personal best of 96 points, put up in the 2000-01 season when he finished third in league scoring. What's perhaps most surprising about Elias' point totals thus far is that he's doing it playing on New Jersey's perceived second line (with Brian Gionta and Danius Zubrus) and not on the top unit alongside Zach Parise.

Other surprises include Jeff Carter (we knew he'd be good, but not this good), Simon Gagne (he's slowed down lately but he's certainly still a leading candidate for comeback player of the year), Dennis Wideman (he's usurped Zdeno Chara as the leading scorer among Bruins blue-liners and is third in the NHL with a plus-25), Phil Kessel (see comment on Jeff Carter) and Bobby Ryan (he's finally showing everyone why the Ducks chose him second overall in the Sidney Crosby 2005 Entry Draft.)

I will list my biggest disappointments next week.

Not so long ago, if you were in a deep league and wanted to shore up your plus/minus category, either before or during the season, it was logical to peer down the depth charts of either the Ottawa Senators or Detroit Red Wings to fill your final few roster spots. Players such as Chris Kelly, Peter Schaeffer and Dan Cleary had fantasy value and were types you could stick on your team with a guarantee they wouldn't hurt you. But while Detroit is still an option in this regard (though early on it was not thanks to some semblance of a Stanley Cup hangover and some shoddy goaltending by Chris Osgood), the Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Bruins are the wells from which to drink when making this play. Consider the combined plus/minus for Boston's roster (which includes any player with at least one game played) is +244. Chicago's is +137. Detroit and Montreal are next best at +115 and +106 respectively. Conversely, Ottawa is a combined -129, compared to the +294 mark the team put up in 2006-07. Those good/safe plus/minus bets now sport names such as Duncan Keith, Andrew Ladd, Brent Seabrook, Dennis Wideman, Blake Wheeler and Matt Hunwick.

One of my favorite fantasy players is Dallas left-winger Brendan Morrow, who, unfortunately, is out for the season with a torn ACL. Morrow is triple-threat player in the mould of former NHLers Kevin Stevens and Theo Fleury -- guys who can rack up decent point totals along with great plus/minus and penalty minute stats. Last year, Morrow had 74 points and was a +23 while racking up 105 PIMS, but his 2005-2006 season was even more impressive and one of the best all-around seasons in recent fantasy history. His totals from that year were 23 and 42 for 65 points, +30 and 183 PIMS. Interestingly, some of the league's top offensive players -- i.e. Ryan Getzlaf, Marc Savard and even Sidney Crosby - could reach 100 points, 100 PIMS with great plus/minus stats. So, excluding those high-scoring players, here are five more who play with a Morrow-like mantra:

Milan Lucic, Boston Bruins, 11, 15 = 26, +16, 84 PIMS: Currently on the shelf, Lucic is as tough as they come and had stretches in junior hockey when he completely dominated the game. He's been a top-line player this year with Marc Savard and Phil Kessel so he's been able to rack up decent point totals and, like most Bruins, good plus/minus stats.
Corey Perry, Anaheim Ducks, 10, 26 = 36, +6, 62 PIMS: A junior scoring sensation, Perry has become a solid NHLer. He's got great offensive wherewithal and a nasty side that saw him total 54 points and 108 PIMS last year.
Scott Hartnell, Philadelphia Flyers, 16, 14 = 30, +5, 70 PIMS: Love this guy. Scores in bunches, has averaged 110 PIMS the last six seasons. And he was a +19 playing on a very good Nashville team in 2006-07.
Alex Burrows, Vancouver Canucks, 9, 11 = 20, +3, 72 PIMS: In just his second full NHL season, Burrows racked up an astounding 179 PIMS last year while recording 31 points. He's had pretty decent point totals wherever he's played and in his final year of junior hockey his stats mirrored the Morrow example above: 70 points, +27, 184 PIMS.
Rene Bourque, Calgary Flames, 15, 14 = 29, +14, 50 PIMS: Bourque may be a bit of a stretch here but the undrafted former NCAA player (Wisconsin) is enjoying a breakout year with the Flames after Calgary stole him from Chicago two season ago. He doesn't drop the gloves a lot but has averaged close to a penalty minute a game in his NHL and AHL careers. He's also learning from a pretty good teammate in Jarome Iginla.

Two former fantasy studs in Steve Sullivan (Nashville) and Mats Sundin (Vancouver) returned to the ice last week, while a third, Brendan Shanahan, who found himself without an off-season suitor, signed with the New Jersey Devils. So which player will have the biggest fantasy impact? The easy answer, of course, is Sundin, one of the game's top players for the past 15 years. He has one goal (on the power play) in two games with the Canucks and is a -2 with six penalty minutes. The big Swede looked rather slow in an auspicious debut and while he is clearly still playing with some extra pounds, he looked much better Saturday against the Sharks, using his big frame to ward of defenders as was his custom for so many years with Toronto. He'll need a couple of weeks of game action before he gets going full-throttle. But Sullivan shouldn't be overlooked despite missing two years with back injuries. The Predators desperately need scoring (Nashville ranks fourth from the bottom in goals for this year), and Sullivan looked good in just over 12 minutes of action in his debut. (He was held out of Sunday's game against Chicago for "planned rest," according to the team.) And Sullivan has more value in position-specific leagues as the depth at right-wing is shallow (compared to Sundin's position at center.) New Jersey will have Shanahan in the line-up by week's end but it's unlikely he'll receive anything but third-line status since the Devils' top two units are already extremely strong. Take Sully before Shanny if Sundin has already been scooped up.