Post by Yzerman Is The Man on Sept 10, 2015 7:09:08 GMT -6
1. Sidney Crosby - This is the obvious choice for almost everyone. He plays in all situations (not the PK as much, though) and logs a ton of minutes every night as a forward. He's a possession machine and if he doesn't have the puck, he is doing the right things without it. He knows how to score goals and produces a large amount of assists each year. If Kessel is on his wing for the majority of the year, expect his goals/assists/+/- to actually improve over last year by a 15-20 point margin. The only thing that may hamper this is his injury prone self. One more concussion and he could go the way of Lindros.
2. Alex Ovechkin - Arguably one of the best pure goal scorers of all time. That one timer from the top of the left circle is an amazing feat in that no one seems to be able to stop it, despite him using it almost half of the time for his goals, especially on the power play. With a competent winger in either Oshie or Williams, his assists should go up and his +/- will rise as well. With the improved goaltending and solid defense, Ovechkin is going to be able to spend more time in the offensive zone, getting the puck from puck movers like Niskanen and co. His hits and PPP are OEL secondary numbers that make him the only super competition to Crosby for a first overall pick.
3. Steven Stamkos - Almost as good a goal scorer is Stamkos. This young phenom can shoot, he can pass, he's wicked fast and plays all three zones well. Whether he's a center or a winger, he's a lock for 40-50 goals and a decent amount of assists. If Drouin is on his line this year, those assists could sky rocket. The PPP and his time on ice will be extraordinary especially if he plays with the triplets on the power play or utilizes the skills of Filpulla's playmaking abilities. Not much of a hitter, he will be a force to watch out for.
4. Erik Karlsson - Probably the golden child for fantasy hockey in terms of defensemen. He puts up goals. He puts up assists. He plays in all situations, logs a huge amount of minutes, and is a possession driver. When he is on the ice, the puck is usually in the Senators ownership. He'll take a good amount of PIMS and a decent amount of hits. His PPP will rival a lot of forwards and expect him to be the GWG leader for the Senators, because, honestly, they suck up front.
5. PK Subban - Mr Hit-Pass-One Timer himself. He'll give Karlsson a run for his money in terms of fantasy potential for dmen. He hits a lot, he takes PIMs a lot, he nets a lot of points too. He's played a lot of the night and has a OEL partner to set him up on the powerplay. His BBC should have its own category in fantasy hockey just because.
6. Taylor Hall - This is the start of a long and lucrative fantasy career for the former first overall pick. Following up on an injured season that saw him transitioning line mates, coaches, and health, expect this year to be a return to the norm of a PPG rate for this youngster. The big difference will be the effect McDavid will have on him for 5v5 and the PP. If McDavid lives up to even half of his rookie potential, you could see Taylor Hall racking up 35 goals and 50-55 assists, maybe more.
7. Phil Kessel - I expect the Fat Attack to have a super awesome year playing beside Crosby. While a fancy article posted by Ryan Wilson showed his potential increase to be only nominal with playing Crosby's wing, I expect more just based on the eye test. I wouldn't be surprised if he potted 40-45 with similar assists. He's been working on getting in better shape while already being a super fast skater. He's a playmaker and a sniper, something that is hard to find in one player. He won't be taking a lot of hits or PIMs, but expect him to show that he's here and not to be fucked with in Pittsburgh. I expect more board play and more PPP than ever before.
8. Henrik Lundqvist - I don't really need to say more. Unlike goalies like Dubnyk, Price, Quick, etc.. this guy plays at an elite level year in and year out and shows no signs of slowing down any time soon. He is called the King for a reason and I do believe he is the best goalie in the league. And that's while being behind one of the worst defenses in the entire league, according to JimmyTimmy. Wins, SV%, GAA will all be in the top five with goalies this year. Smart pick up.
9. Cory Schneider - This is a dark horse pick as he won't get you 40-45 wins, but last year he helped me significantly in my goalie line up with his insane SV%, GAA, and games played categories. He might pick up 25-35 wins and is a OEL secondary goalie pick up. If the Devils young defense starts to grow even more, expect those numbers to continue to grow. But, a new coach and a new GM might prove different for him. I know I'll be probably hitting Schneider up in the middle rounds of drafts.
10. Tomas Tatar - I've been following Tatar since the day he was drafted and he quickly overtook Nyquist as my favorite young player in the system about 2 years ago. Last year saw a career high in goals, assists, points, TOI, PIMs, takeaways, hits, and GWGs. I expect those all to be increased this season with Richards, Zetterberg, Datsyuk and potentially Larkin getting to center him. He is a possession force and according to the HERO charts guy, Tatar is a top ten player in the league for points per sixty and he betters his teammates better than 98% of the league (I wish I had the links still, so these are off the top of my head). I expect a 30-35-65 total from him this year and see him transitioning to possibly the first line permanently.
What are your thoughts? What do you agree with? What do you disagree with? And who'd you add to the players to watch out for?
2. Alex Ovechkin - Arguably one of the best pure goal scorers of all time. That one timer from the top of the left circle is an amazing feat in that no one seems to be able to stop it, despite him using it almost half of the time for his goals, especially on the power play. With a competent winger in either Oshie or Williams, his assists should go up and his +/- will rise as well. With the improved goaltending and solid defense, Ovechkin is going to be able to spend more time in the offensive zone, getting the puck from puck movers like Niskanen and co. His hits and PPP are OEL secondary numbers that make him the only super competition to Crosby for a first overall pick.
3. Steven Stamkos - Almost as good a goal scorer is Stamkos. This young phenom can shoot, he can pass, he's wicked fast and plays all three zones well. Whether he's a center or a winger, he's a lock for 40-50 goals and a decent amount of assists. If Drouin is on his line this year, those assists could sky rocket. The PPP and his time on ice will be extraordinary especially if he plays with the triplets on the power play or utilizes the skills of Filpulla's playmaking abilities. Not much of a hitter, he will be a force to watch out for.
4. Erik Karlsson - Probably the golden child for fantasy hockey in terms of defensemen. He puts up goals. He puts up assists. He plays in all situations, logs a huge amount of minutes, and is a possession driver. When he is on the ice, the puck is usually in the Senators ownership. He'll take a good amount of PIMS and a decent amount of hits. His PPP will rival a lot of forwards and expect him to be the GWG leader for the Senators, because, honestly, they suck up front.
5. PK Subban - Mr Hit-Pass-One Timer himself. He'll give Karlsson a run for his money in terms of fantasy potential for dmen. He hits a lot, he takes PIMs a lot, he nets a lot of points too. He's played a lot of the night and has a OEL partner to set him up on the powerplay. His BBC should have its own category in fantasy hockey just because.
6. Taylor Hall - This is the start of a long and lucrative fantasy career for the former first overall pick. Following up on an injured season that saw him transitioning line mates, coaches, and health, expect this year to be a return to the norm of a PPG rate for this youngster. The big difference will be the effect McDavid will have on him for 5v5 and the PP. If McDavid lives up to even half of his rookie potential, you could see Taylor Hall racking up 35 goals and 50-55 assists, maybe more.
7. Phil Kessel - I expect the Fat Attack to have a super awesome year playing beside Crosby. While a fancy article posted by Ryan Wilson showed his potential increase to be only nominal with playing Crosby's wing, I expect more just based on the eye test. I wouldn't be surprised if he potted 40-45 with similar assists. He's been working on getting in better shape while already being a super fast skater. He's a playmaker and a sniper, something that is hard to find in one player. He won't be taking a lot of hits or PIMs, but expect him to show that he's here and not to be fucked with in Pittsburgh. I expect more board play and more PPP than ever before.
8. Henrik Lundqvist - I don't really need to say more. Unlike goalies like Dubnyk, Price, Quick, etc.. this guy plays at an elite level year in and year out and shows no signs of slowing down any time soon. He is called the King for a reason and I do believe he is the best goalie in the league. And that's while being behind one of the worst defenses in the entire league, according to JimmyTimmy. Wins, SV%, GAA will all be in the top five with goalies this year. Smart pick up.
9. Cory Schneider - This is a dark horse pick as he won't get you 40-45 wins, but last year he helped me significantly in my goalie line up with his insane SV%, GAA, and games played categories. He might pick up 25-35 wins and is a OEL secondary goalie pick up. If the Devils young defense starts to grow even more, expect those numbers to continue to grow. But, a new coach and a new GM might prove different for him. I know I'll be probably hitting Schneider up in the middle rounds of drafts.
10. Tomas Tatar - I've been following Tatar since the day he was drafted and he quickly overtook Nyquist as my favorite young player in the system about 2 years ago. Last year saw a career high in goals, assists, points, TOI, PIMs, takeaways, hits, and GWGs. I expect those all to be increased this season with Richards, Zetterberg, Datsyuk and potentially Larkin getting to center him. He is a possession force and according to the HERO charts guy, Tatar is a top ten player in the league for points per sixty and he betters his teammates better than 98% of the league (I wish I had the links still, so these are off the top of my head). I expect a 30-35-65 total from him this year and see him transitioning to possibly the first line permanently.
What are your thoughts? What do you agree with? What do you disagree with? And who'd you add to the players to watch out for?
I wrote that especially for you. 