Every Sunday this season, we’ll share 20 Fantasy Thoughts from the writers at Dobber Hockey. These thoughts are curated from the past week’s “Daily Ramblings” on DobberHockey.com.
1. It should be a bit concerning for fantasy owners that Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is becoming more of a defensive guy but we’ve seen other players succeed when given defensive deployment so this shouldn’t be crippling. Rather, it shows he’s becoming a complete player who can produce in these situations. We just haven’t seen the production yet.
2. In case you were worried that Jaromir Jagr would never score a goal again, the 44-year-old scored a goal and added two assists on Saturday. The goal was Jagr’s first in 14 games and just his second this season. At what point is Jagr no longer a viable fantasy option and simply just a nice story? Maybe not yet. With a 4.8 shooting percentage after consistently averaging at least 10 per cent throughout his career, a minor improvement in the goal department could be near.
3. Anthony Deangelo has always had talent so I’d say the sky is the limit. Keith Yandle put up huge points alongside Oliver Ekman-Larsson a few years ago so it’s not a Highlander situation where there can only be one. The folks at Dobber Prospects can tell you more about Deangelo than I can but the early returns are positive. I’m on board with most prospects with pedigree who show well in their transition to the pros. Deangelo has scored 50 points in 77 AHL games.
4. Flames’ new top line: Sam Bennett, Sean Monahan and Troy Brouwer. Great spot for Bennett as he is freed of the added centre responsibilities he had been facing and also will see bigger minutes than if Johnny Gaudreau was still in the lineup. I expect to see Bennett receive LW eligibility in Yahoo leagues soon, which would only add to his value.
5. Perhaps flying under the radar, Brandon Sutter is riding a four-game goal streak, all at home. I’m not huge on Sutter as a fantasy option, but he does play on the Canucks’ first-unit power play with the Sedins. That means that 40 points should be considered a very real possibility.
6. Andrei Vasilevskiy has now started seven games this season compared to Ben Bishop’s 12. That means Vas is on pace for 30 starts while Bishop is on pace for the remainder. So if the Bolts decide that Vasilevskiy is the goalie of the future and continue the trend toward phasing him in, Bishop could very well end up with less than 50 games. Something to consider if you’re a Bishop owner.
7. Ryan Sproul is one of the few intriguing players on the Red Wings this season. He isn’t skating full time but he has potential. He skated over five minutes on the top PP unit beside Mike Green on Friday. Unfortunately, Thomas Vanek is due back on Sunday and probably gobbles up those minutes with the Wings going back to a four-forward look. Remember Sproul’s name should Green get hurt. Sproul is a natural replacement for Green as a right-handed shot.
8. That’s five consecutive games with at least one goal for Patrick Eaves, who has six goals over that stretch and now nine goals on the season. Eaves received the golden ticket to line up alongside Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn for this one. Eaves is by no means a long-term option for your fantasy team for a variety of reasons, but he’s someone to use in the here and now.
9. Joe Thornton. Anytime he runs into a slump fantasy owners are going to worry. He is, after all, 37. But he’s on pace for about 56 points and I believe he’ll be in that 60 to 65 range, and I think that’s where everyone’s expectations are, pretty much.
10. Jonathan Drouin’s talent screams 70 points but his usage screams 50 points. I’m inclined to lean towards the latter.
11. Marko Dano has points in three straight and six points in nine games overall. He has found a spot in the top six bouncing between the Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler lines. This is an excellent spot to be in. I doubt it continues once the Jets get healthy but Dano has the talent to make it stick. His usage isn’t great at just under 12 minutes a night with some secondary PP time.
12. The goals will start happening in Colorado and Tyson Barrie will be key to that. I’m still dressing him, as his modest totals are barely good enough. Now is not the time to trade or shop Barrie.
13. Derick Brassard was acquired to play with Bobby Ryan and he is indeed playing with the latter. But the strategy of bringing in a left-shooting centre for Ryan isn’t working. Looked good on paper but it hasn’t panned out. Kudos to the new coach Guy Boucher for pressing forward with this experiment, he’s going all in. But Brassard is a 60-point guy on a 30-point pace.
14. Lots of folks want to know what is up with the slow start for Patrice Bergeron. I recommend patience. His World Cup performance should be a reminder of his elite talent. He has been hampered by the lower-body injury that cost him some games early on and has also simply failed to get in on the scoring from his wicked linemates: David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand. Considering Bergeron skates with those two snipers and sees time on the top PP unit, it’s only a matter of time before he pops. Also, Bergeron has been a bit of a slow starter throughout his career.
15. The Wild have assigned Joel Eriksson Ek back to his club in Sweden. He’ll have a chance to star for Sweden at next month’s world juniors. This is a good chance for Eriksson Ek to develop playing bigger minutes than the Wild were willing to give him. Perhaps he even comes back for the playoffs as a black ace.
16. Eric Staal. If he failed in Carolina (at the end) and again in New York, should Minnesota be any different? Perhaps his off-season preparation changed and he came into the season in the proverbial “best shape of his life”? I’d still be cautious with him, but I’d tweak expectations up to 57-62 points now.
17. Auston Matthews and William Nylander owners are wondering when they’ll have their turn. I am certain they’ll pop soon enough. Regarding Matthews specifically, my projection for him was John Tavares’ rookie season: 24 goals and 54 points. 17 games in, Matthews is on pace for 29 goals and 58 points. He’s right on target.
18. I just want to see what the Panthers look like with a healthy lineup for a few weeks so that I know what I have in Vincent Trocheck. I was projecting a big 30-goal/60-point breakout season. He isn’t that far off track so I’m hanging in there.
19. Pontus Aberg scored his first career NHL goal. I think Aberg has potential long term but I can’t advocate for him in any one-year leagues. He is just too far down an ocean-deep roster.
20. Tyler Ennis gets hurt too much to develop into a game-breaker. So much potential and I honestly believe he could have been a star. But when year after year he gets injured (either playing through it or missing time), it eats away at any improvement/development he would have otherwise enjoyed. Now he’s out again with a groin injury and on injured reserve.
