Each week, I will dive into the numbers and offer some insights that should help when it comes time to make fantasy hockey decisions.
In this week’s edition of 20 Fantasy Points, super early observations from the first few nights of the NHL season. This week is less about the numbers and more about the opportunities. It is still time to look for potential.
#1 The Los Angeles Kings have been a grind-it-out team for the better part of the past decade but they appear to recognize that they could use a shock to their offensive system. Enter rookie wingers Arthur Kaliyev and Vladimir Tkachev, who are skating on the wings for the Kings’ third line, but 26-year-old Tkachev is even more appealing, getting a chance on the top power play unit. Playing for St. Petersburgh in the KHL the past two seasons, Tkachev put up 80 points (25 G, 55 A) in 100 games. Considering how well KHL points tend to translate to the NHL, Tkachev has a chance to be productive right away (and he had two assists in Thursday’s 6-2 win against Vegas).
#2 It is not like William Eklund is some giant sleeper in terms of his talent. He was the seventh pick in the 2021 Draft and could have very well gone a few spots higher but landing in San Jose looks like a great opportunity for him. Eklund is opening the season on the left wing of San Jose’s second line, with Tomas Hertl at center, and Eklund is getting a chance to play on San Jose’s first power play unit. That he would have such an opportunity is no surprise but having the opportunity happen so quickly is notable.
#3 A relatively popular sleeper pick coming into this season, after he scored three goals in 15 games for Tampa Bay last season, Alex Barre-Boulet ended up on waivers, where he was claimed by the expansion Seattle Kraken (it is hard to imagine that some of the teams higher in the waiver order would not be interested if they were trying to win). Barre-Boulet has started his Kraken career on the second line and second power play unit.
#4 Putting stock in an Arizona Coyotes goaltender this season does seem like a reach, but it is at least worth keeping an eye on Karel Vejmelka, the 25-year-old Czech goaltender who was a fifth-round pick in 2015. He had a .913 save percentage in the Czech league, which does not necessarily project to NHL stardom but with Carter Hutton as the starter, it’s possible that Vejmelka could earn a greater share of the playing time.
#5 With Colorado Avalanche defenseman Devon Toews out of the lineup while recovering from shoulder surgery, Bowen Byram has an opportunity to make his mark early. Byram was limited to 19 games last season due to his own injuries so he is still a rookie, eligible for the Calder Trophy, but the fourth pick in the 2019 Draft will be worth keeping an eye on because he may end up being too good to be stuck on a third pairing.
#6 Last season, the New Jersey Devils gave a lot of young forwards opportunities to sink or swim in the National Hockey League. While there are not as many opening this season, Dawson Mercer has earned a spot as New Jersey’s third line centre, nudging Pavel Zacha up to second-line left wing alongside Nico Hischier. Mercer was the 18th pick in the 2020 Draft and had a huge season in the QMJHL last year, putting up 53 points (25 G, 28 A) in 32 games between regular season and playoffs.
#7 While his value is at a relative low point now, Chicago Blackhawks forward Dylan Strome may be on the trade block and it will be worth keeping tabs on him because, for whatever flaws he might have, Strome has shown that he can be a productive scoring center in the NHL. Since arriving in Chicago, he has tallied 106 points (38 G, 68 A) in 156 games. The challenge now is finding a place where he will get sufficient ice time.
#8 Alexandre Texier has opened the season centering Columbus’ top line, between Patrik Laine and Jakub Voracek. Texier scored a goal in the Blue Jackets’ season-opening win against Arizona but that gives him 30 points (12 G, 18 A) in 88 career games, so the responsibility of playing on the first line does elevate expectations.
#9 The Nashville Predators waived Rem Pitlick and the Minnesota Wild swooped in to grab the Minnesota native who played college hockey at the University of Minnesota. Pitlick had just two assists in 10 games for the Predators last season but produced 10 points (8 G, 2 A) in eight AHL games to earn his promotion to the NHL. He did not play in Minnesota’s season opener at Anaheim but there is a chance for Pitlick to earn a role with the Wild.
#10 After managing just 10 points (5 G, 5 A) in 29 games for the Edmonton Oilers last season, it was fair to wonder that would be it for James Neal in the National Hockey League. He went to the St. Louis Blues camp on a tryout and had an outstanding preseason, scoring four goals and launching 17 shots on goal in four preseason games. That earned Neal a contract with the Blues and is set to start the season skating on a line with Robert Thomas and Vladimir Tarasenko.
#11 The Top 10 preseason scorers:
EDM C Connor McDavid 3 G, 6 A, 4 GP
FLA C Aleksander Barkov 1 G, 6 A, 3 GP
CBJ RW Jakub Voracek 2 G, 5 A, 4 GP
EDM C/LW Leon Draisaitl 2 G, 5 A, 4 GP
CGY LW Matthew Tkachuk 3 G, 4 A, 4 GP
MIN RW Mats Zuccarello 7 A, 4 GP
ANA C Trevor Zegras 2 G, 5 A, 5 GP
STL C Robert Thomas 1 G, 6 A, 5 GP
TB RW Corey Perry 4 G, 2 A, 3 GP
TB LW Ondrej Palat 1 G, 5 A, 2 GP
#12 The Winnipeg Jets had openings available on right wing coming into training camp and it looks as though Cole Perfetti has taken one of those jobs. The 10th pick in the 2020 Draft is starting on the third line but offers offensive potential that could give him upward mobility in the lineup. In 32 AHL games last season, the 19-year-old delivered 26 points (9 G, 17 A), so his time is coming but Perfetti might be accelerating that timeline, too.
#13 Winning enough to be a playoff team is not the likely outcome for the Anaheim Ducks so give them credit for taking their top rookies and giving them prime reps. Defenseman Jamie Drysdale and centre Trevor Zegras are both on the Ducks’ first power play unit. Zegras had 13 points in 24 games for the Ducks last season, with no points on the power play. Drysdale contributed eight points in 24 games, with one point on the power play.
#14 In deep leagues, there was already some appeal to Arizona Coyotes left winger Lawson Crouse, who could score double-digit goals and pick up 200-plus hits. On a thin Coyotes depth chart, Crouse is getting an opportunity on the top line and first power play unit.
#15 How thin is the Coyotes lineup? They are giving 35-year-old Andrew Ladd the chance to play on the second line – he played more than 17 minutes in Arizona’s season opener. Ladd was buried by the Islanders and did not play in the NHL last season and played just four games in 2019-2020, so it might require blind optimism to expect anything out of Ladd, but it is also worth seeing what happens to that spot in the lineup.
#16 Vancouver Canucks rookie Vasily Podkolzin had an opportunity to skate on the top line with J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson Friday in Philadelphia. It didn’t last. Even though he scored his first NHL goal, Podkolzin was benched, and Nils Hoglander moved to the top line. That Podkolzin is getting such an opportunity so early in his NHL career is a very encouraging sign about how the Canucks view him as a contributor this season.
#17 The Buffalo Sabres are not the most fertile roster to seek fantasy value but, for deep leaguers, have an eye on Tage Thompson, who is playing center and getting first unit power play time with the Sabres. Your mileage may vary on how much value that could provide. Same goes for Vinnie Hinostroza skating on the number one line in Buffalo. There’s a chance that these guys might score a little bit, enough to be fantasy relevant, but there is also a chance that they don’t last in these spots for long.
#18 It was a bold move for the Carolina Hurricanes to sign Jesperi Kotkaniemi to an offer sheet in the summer but once the Montreal Canadiens failed to match, Kotkaniemi had a new home and he is getting a prime opportunity to start the season, skating with Sebastian Aho and Martin Necas on Carolina’s top line. Considering Kotkaniemi’s up-and-down production to this point in his career, it’s not like he warrants an immediate add, but anyone getting a chance to play regularly with Sebastian Aho should have a spot on your radar.
#19 An injury to John Klingberg might open the door for Miro Heiskanen to step up offensively for the Dallas Stars. Heiskanen had a goal and an assist in the Stars’ season-opening win at the Rangers and has shown, most notably in the 2020 playoff bubble, that he can be a point producing playmaker on the blueline when Klingberg is out of the lineup.
#20 The Toronto Maple Leafs are without Auston Matthews for the first week of the season, which has resulted in Jason Spezza getting top unit power play time but that is not likely to have a long-term impact as Matthews is not far from returning. However, with Ilya Mikheyev out for a couple of months due to a broken thumb, Michael Bunting is getting a nice opportunity, skating on the second line and second power play unit. Bunting’s agitating style of play should serve him well as a complementary piece in the Maple Leafs lineup.
BONUS - #21 At the end of last season, Sam Bennett and Jonathan Huberdeau were a potent offensive line, with Anthony Duclair skating on the right wing. The Panthers are starting this season with Owen Tippett in that spot, and that is a chance for the 10th pick in the 2017 Draft to take a big leap forward. He produced 18 points (7 G, 11 A) in 45 games as a rookie last season, playing just 11:29 per game.