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Fantasy: Powering through the middle rounds of your draft |
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As pre-season approaches all our beloved NHL players are preparing for the grind. Hopefully so are you with your Fantasy roster preparation. Many of the top players have been discussed in previous blogs to give you an idea of who belongs where. Of course you are expected to shuffle the players around accordingly to fit not only your predictions, but to fit the mold of how your Fantasy pool(s) are structured.
The more people in your hockey pool and the more players you have on your rosters means the more depth players you will be drafting. This is when it gets tricky…and this is where I thrive. Now, a few key things I look for before we get into some names…
- What line does this player play on?
- What line mates does this player have?
- Does he get power play time?
- Does he kill penalties?
- What team is this player on, and how good is this team going to be?
o Odds are, if this player is on a quality team the +- will be higher
- Does this player tend to fight or take a lot of penalties?
o In head to head pools each column is worth the same – therefore having a player who can put up points and fight; can be an excellent Fantasy player.
- What is this player’s injury history? How many games have been missed in the last 3 seasons is how I like to look at it, and compare their points/game ratio…is it worth the risk?
Looking forward, I predict only a few rookies will have a big impact this season. But, I do see a few veteran players who I feel will revitalize their careers with above par seasons. Here are a few rookies and vets that I feel are worth drafting:
Rookies:
Jonathan Drouin – It would be insane to mention anyone before Drouin. Steve Yzerman picked this five foot eleven left winger in the 2013 draft with the intention that he will be putting up big numbers for the Tampa Bay Lightning for years to come. After three seasons with the Halifax Mooseheads, Drouin has produced 242 points in just 128 games. Now that’s production! This year Drouin will make the Lightning, and he should be getting top 6 minutes with Stamkos being the most likely candidate as his line mate. If you want the Calder Trophy winner on your roster, I suggest scooping up Drouin before someone else does. He should gather around 55 points this season, with the possibility of more if things really click.
Sam Reinhart – Sure Reinhart is 18 and was just drafted this past spring by the Buffalo Sabres…but that doesn’t mean he won’t have a good shot at some quality ice time. His last three years have been spent in the WHL playing for Kootenay Ice; with 199 games under his belt he produced 252 points, each year more impressive than the last. Coming off a monster post season with 23 points in 13 games Reinhart is ready to compete at the NHL level. Sam has great vision, but can also finish. You should expect him around 45-50 points, with more assists than goals. Wait until the final rounds of your pool to try and draft this young stud; points yes, but will lack +- and PIM.
Evgeny Kuznetsov – Washington loves their highly talented Russian forwards. Evgeny has been playing in the KHL for the last 5 seasons. He had a small stint on the Capitals last season playing just 17 games. He scored three goals and had 6 assists, nothing to gloat about, but still, production was evident. Kuznetsov can play the wing or center, he played the wing in the KHL but there is a chance he could take the second line center position for the Capitals. It’s hard to say whether he will end up on the top line with Ovechkin or not…that being said I think it’s a safe bet he will be at minimum on the second line for the Caps. With Ovechkin and Backstrom leading the NHL last year in powerplay points with a total of 83; it would be mind blowing to not consider picking up Kuznetsov in the later rounds of your draft. I expect him to put up just shy of 50 points, but more than 40. If Evgeny gets the opportunity to play with Ovechkin and Backstrom and things click, watch out; he could give Drouin a run for his money.
Aaron Ekblad – A defensive rookie with decent Fantasy value. This is the only rookie I see on the defensive end that might be worth drafting. The Florida Panthers drafted Ekblad first overall last spring. The OHL’s Barrie Colts were fortunate to have Aaron on their team for three seasons; he played 175 games and tallied 116 points. At this point it’s hard to say who Ekblad plays with, but I assure you he will have plenty of time on the power play to garnish as many points as possible. My prediction is that he plays with veteran Brian Campbell on the power play, who certainly has had some success in the past. Wait until the last few picks of your pool to grab Ekblad – unless of course you feel he will do better than my prediction of 33 points, which is pretty good for a rookie on a team that is rebuilding.
Honourable Mentions:
(G) John Gibson - Anaheim. *could take over as the #1 goalie at some point this season*
Veterans:
Loui Eriksson – What happened? Two big hits…that’s not the way Loui was hoping to start his stint with the Boston Bruins. There will be no player in the NHL who is going to have a better bounce back than Eriksson, book it! With only 37 points in 61 games last year, there is no way history repeats itself in this case. Expect Eriksson to have a quality season, expect in the neighbourhood of 65 points with 25 goals under his belt. Eriksson will have an excellent +-, but will hardly have any PIM. He fell just outside of my top 50 forwards, don’t be shy to draft Eriksson, remember, he is a former 70+ point player in his Dallas days.
Alex Tanguay – When you only play 16 games the season before you tend to fall off the Fantasy Radar a bit…This may be one of the best hidden gems of the season. I don’t see anywhere else on Colorado than the top 6 for Alex. Have you seen the other top 5 forwards for the Avalanche? Tanguay should slip into the middle rounds, maybe even the later rounds if you are lucky. Do yourself a favor and pick him up when you see the 60-65 point players getting taken, he should fall somewhere in that area. A healthy Tanguay on a powerhouse offensive team should have no problem getting 60 points, just hope his hip has healed well and he’s still got it.
Nathan Horton - Is the injury bug over? I think so. Horton is on a highly skilled exciting Columbus team and is hoping to revitalize his career. Coming off abdominal and shoulder surgery last year, you should see new life in this 230 pound forward. I have Horton collecting 57 points this season, and scoring just over 20 goals; back on track to where he should be. Grab him when you see the 60 point players falling off the radar, he just may surprise everyone with a 60 point campaign.
Next blog I will discuss a few more veteran players worth looking at, some of which had decent seasons last year, but will bloom even further this year. I will also go over some sophomore players who will be building up their stats after decent first year campaigns.
Thank you again for reading, and I look forward to hearing any feedback.
Blogger •Fantasy Hockey Expert • 
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