There's a very good chance that you did not draft Sean Bergenheim in your fantasy hockey playoff pool. In fact, there's an excellent chance that no one in your pool drafted him.
But there is also a very good likelihood that IF you did select Bergenheim then you are doing quite well in your playoff pool right about now.
The reasoning for that goes beyond Bergenheim's league-leading nine goals in 15 post-season games to date, though that most certainly has a lot to do with the previous statement. But if you picked Bergenheim than 1) you also correctly believed Tampa Bay would make a deep run into the playoffs and 2) likely drafted other Lightning players who are also still contributing to your fantasy hockey playoff pool team and 3) likely chose more-skilled offensive producers ahead of Bergenheim, whom, it would be safe to guess, was one of your last selections in the pool.
Add all of those reasons up and, with Bergenheim on your fantasy hockey playoff pool team, you are likely to be riding high right now.
Bergenheim is a great story in these playoffs. A former first-round pick of the Islanders, Bergenheim has been a middling scorer throughout his six-year NHL career. This past season---his first in Tampa Bay---Bergenheim recorded a career-best 29 points, scoring 14 goals along the way, and he was a solid, if unspectacular, two-way player for Guy Boucher's club.
However every year in the Stanley Cup Playoffs there is always at least one---if not more than one---player who defies all expectations and explodes offensively with clutch, and potent, point production. A good example last year was Philadelphia's Claude Giroux---a good player on the rise---who had a sensational playoff run through four rounds.
After being blanked in the first three games of the post-season, Bergenheim has scored nine goals in 12 games, including a two-goal outing in the decisive Game Four to help eliminate Washington from the Eastern Conference Semifinals. He has at least one point in 10 of his last 12 games, notching 11 points in that span (9-2-11).
So kudos to you if you drafted Bergenheim.
However will Bergenheim make a Giroux-like leap to stardom in the year following his playoff breakout? The answer here is No. Bergenheim likely will carry renewed confidence into next season, but it's hard to imagine him ever scoring more than 20 goals---which is still a five-goal jump from his previous career-high.
There are going to be those who will snag Bergenheim in their fantasy hockey drafts next year expecting big things based on his play in the 2011 playoffs , and they will be left sorely disappointed.
Enjoy Bergenheim's ride now, and appreciate him---from afar---for the solid third-line player he is next season.
Send your fantasy hockey questions and comments to jimcerny@gmail.com.