Eric Comrie – McKeen's Hockey

NHL: THE FANTASY WEEK AHEAD – 4 Nations Wrap – Trade Deadline speculation edition – Favourable schedules and players to target

Ryan Dadoun — Mon, 24 Feb 2025 17:20:17 +0000

BOSTON, MA - FEBRUARY 20: Team Canada forward Connor McDavid (97) drills a shot during the Championship game of the 4 Nations Face-Off between Team United States and Team Canada on February 20, 2025, at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire)

I have to give the league credit. I did not go into this season with a lot of confidence or excitement about the 4 Nations Face-Off. Sure, it’s always fun to see best-on-best play, but with the tournament being limited to just four countries and without any pre-existing prestige/history behind the tournament name, I was among those worried that it might end up looking like a series of glorified All-Star games and not attract any non-hockey fans. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

ESPN saw an average viewership of 9.252 million for the Final between Canada and the United States, making it the most-watched non-Olympic hockey game on record in US viewership history. Including Canadians, that rating increased to 16.1 million viewers (6.9 million between Sportsnet, Sportsnet+ and TVA Sports), which was on par for a Game 7 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final (16.3 million), per Braylon Breeze of Sports Media Watch.

The Final even took a political angle. I won’t stress people looking for an escape with the details, but the current climate between the United States and Canada was an undercurrent throughout this tournament and in the Final especially, only adding to the enthusiasm for this match.

When all that noise ended, and the puck dropped, the players didn’t disappoint. This was not a glorified All-Star Game. The players took the opportunity to represent their country seriously, and after the United States earned a 3-1 victory over Canada during the round robin, the Canadians got their revenge Thursday in a 3-2 overtime win over the States.

The winning goal was appropriately scored by Connor McDavid, who was left wide open due to a defensive breakdown by the Americans, took advantage of a nice pass from Mitch Marner to fire a wrist shot past Connor Hellebuyck.

Marner getting the primary assist on that marker and Sam Bennett’s game-tying goal at 14:00 of the second period -- the last goal before McDavid found the back of the net -- was a bit of a redemption story for the 27-year-old winger. Marner and McDavid didn’t seem to gel earlier in the tournament, resulting in the duo being separated for Canada’s 5-3 win over Finland on Monday and Marner logging just 12:46 of ice time. Had that been the end of the story, it would have been about Marner vanishing when things got tough, a story that would have added to the frustrations of Maple Leafs fans, who have seen Toronto flounder in the playoffs throughout Marner’s tenure. Instead, he added another chapter to the tale.

It was also a great showing for Jordan Binnington. Goaltending was the main question mark for Canada going into this tournament, and while Binnington certainly had some bad moments, in the end, he did step up for Canada, turning side 31 of 33 shots in the Final.

Of course, Nathan MacKinnon was also deserving of his MVP title. He scored a tournament-best four goals, including the overtime winner against Team Sweden and two markers versus Finland. Without MacKinnon’s efforts, Canada might not have made it to the final match. He also got Canada on the board first against Team USA on Thursday with his marker at 4:48 of the first period.

It needs to be acknowledged how well America played in this tournament. Both games between these two countries were intense, and not much would have had to change for Team USA to have emerged as the winner. In particular, Zach Werenski (six assists), Jake Guentzel (three goals, four points) and the Tkachuk brothers were fantastic in this tournament. Connor Hellebuyck also did his part in the 4 Nations Face-Off, largely proving his status as the league’s best goaltender, even if his team finished just shy of the title.

Canada can celebrate today, but they have every reason to be concerned about Team USA going into the Olympics. What a fun tournament that should be.

Boston Bruins

Boston will start next week at home, hosting the Maple Leafs on Tuesday and the Islanders on Thursday. The Bruins will then travel to Pittsburgh on Saturday and Minnesota on Sunday.

It seems unbelievable to even suggest it, but those games might be among Brad Marchand’s last in a Bruins jersey. Boston is 27-24-7, which puts the Bruins a point behind the Senators for the final wild-card spot despite having played in one extra game. To be clear, Boston still very much has a chance of making the playoffs, but the fact that it's now a borderline team is cause for retrospection.

There were tempered expectations for the Bruins going into 2023-24 after losing David Pastrnak and Patrice Bergeron. The squad managed to prove the rumors of their death were exaggerated with a 47-20-15 showing, but that success was led by elite goaltending, something the Bruins haven’t enjoyed this season. Linus Ullmark is gone and -- perhaps due to the pressures of his new contract, missing training camp or some combination of the two -- has underwhelmed with an 18-18-4 record, 2.98 GAA and .898 save percentage. Couple that with free-agent signing Elias Lindholm putting up mild numbers (11 goals, 30 points) as well as Charlie McAvoy (shoulder) getting hurt in the 4 Nations Face-Off, and it’s looking more and more like this isn’t a squad setup for a playoff run even if it does squeak in.

With all that considered, maybe it really is time to move on from Marchand. He’s 36 and in the final campaign of what’s proven to be an extremely team-friendly eight-year, $49 million deal. He is allowed to submit a list of up to eight teams he’d veto a trade from, so he does have some influence over his situation, but the return the Bruins could potentially get from him would still be significant. There are a lot of teams out there who would be happy to take a former Stanley Cup winner with a reputation for getting under opponents' skin. Especially given that Marchand is still performing at a high level offensively with 20 goals and 45 points through 58 appearances in 2024-25. His cap hit ($6.125 million) is also reasonable enough to make it feasible for most contenders to maneuver him below the ceiling, especially if Boston retains part of what’s left of his salary.

There’s a certain logic to trading Marchand while his value is still high and at the end of that contract, but there’s also a strong argument against it. He’s the Bruins captain and a fan favorite. Trading him away, especially after a summer that didn’t go Boston’s way, would likely result in strong pushback against GM Don Sweeney and president Cam Neely, even if the return is significant. It’d be one thing if Marchand wanted to go for the sake of chasing the Cup, but in his own words, his “goal is to play here forever,” per NBC Sports Boston. True, players will usually speak highly of whoever their current employer is, but in the case of Marchand, who has dedicated his entire NHL career to Boston, it seems reasonable to believe him and assume he wants to re-sign with the team.

Plus, even if he is getting up there in age, Boston might still enjoy another serious run with him. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Jeremy Swayman rebound next season. Hampus Lindholm (lower body) might have better luck on the injury front in 2025-26, which would go a long way towards stabilizing the blue line. The team would still have secondary scoring concerns that would need to be addressed over the summer, but this is far from a franchise that’s without hope in the mid-term.

In the end, I expect Marchand rumors to persist up until the trade deadline but for him to ultimately remain with Boston.

Los Angeles Kings

Los Angeles will open the week by hosting Vegas on Monday followed by Vancouver on Wednesday. The Kings will then hit the road with games in Dallas and St. Louis on Friday and Saturday, respectively.

The Kings hold a 30-17-7 record going, which gives them a decent cushion in the battle for a playoff spot, though they’ll have a difficult time catching up to Edmonton (34-19-4) or Vegas (34-17-6), which would be necessary in order to secure home-ice advantage in the first round.

Still, with the trade deadline approaching, the Kings are likely to be buyers if they do anything. They have all their draft picks over the next three years with the exception of their 2025 second-round selection (surrendered in the Tanner Jeannot trade) and a decent amount of cap flexibility (PuckPedia puts the squad’s deadline space at just under $4.5 million), so there is room here to get something done.

Los Angeles is rumored to be targeting Buffalo’s Alex Tuch, according to Russell Morgan of Hockey Royalty. Even if that doesn’t specifically happen, it does suggest that LA is in the market for a top six winger, which would make some sense.

Los Angeles is fine up the middle. Anze Kopitar is still performing well at 37 (13 goals, 46 points). Neither Phillip Danault (five goals, 230 points) and Quinton Byfield (11 goals, 29 points) has done enough offensively to be an ideal second-line center, but either one is serviceable in the middle six. Besides, with the Pierre-Luc Dubois experiment still fresh in the Kings’ mind, Los Angeles might be reluctant to take another swing at filling that role. Instead, the hope is probably for Byfield to grow into that job and push Danault to the third unit.

The defense looks solid now that Drew Doughty is back from his ankle injury. We haven’t seen much from him offensively yet -- just one assist in six appearances with the Kings and one helper in four outings with Canada -- but he’s averaged 26:57 of ice time with Los Angeles since returning, so he’s helped stabilize the blue line.

In goal, Darcy Kuemper has been a pleasant surprise, providing a 17-6-6 record, 2.22 GAA and .918 save percentage in 30 appearances, firmly putting his 2023-24 showing with Washington -- a 13-14-3 record with a 3.31 GAA and an .890 save percentage in 33 outings -- behind him. Maybe the Kings will seek an alternate to David Rittich, who has a 12-11-1 record, 2.59 GAA and .890 save percentage in 25 appearances, but that seems unlikely.

That mostly just leaves help on the wings, especially from someone who can find the back of the net. Adrian Kempe and Kevin Fiala are the only Kings players with at least 15 markers -- 25 and 21, respectively -- while 3.7 players per team have hit the 15-goal milestone, so it’s fair to say that’s an area of need for the Kings.

Los Angeles is also an underwhelming 20th in goals per game with 2.83 and has instead relied on its fifth-ranked 2.53 goals allowed per game for its success.

If the Kings do add a top six forward, then Trevor Moore could see his playing time meaningfully diminish. Moore was great in 2023-24 with 31 goals and 57 points in 82 regular-season games, but he’s dropped to eight goals and 23 points in 45 appearances this season, making his average ice time of 17:05 less than ideal. Any addition up front might also push Moore off the power play entirely. As it is, he’s averaging just 1:11 with the man advantage, which has resulted in only one assist for the 29-year-old this season.

Minnesota Wild

The Wild have a full week, starting at home against Detroit on Tuesday before a back-to-back in Utah and Colorado on Thursday and Friday, respectively. The squad will then return to Minnesota to host the Bruins on Sunday.

Minnesota has a strong 34-19-4 record (72 points), but with the Jets’ dominance (39-14-3), finishing first in the Central Division still looks like a longshot. Instead, the Wild are battling with Dallas (37-18-2) and Colorado (33-24-2) for the second and third seeds in the division with the bottom of the three likely entering the playoffs as a wild-card club.

The big question for the Wild is when Kirill Kaprizov (lower body) will be back. When he underwent surgery in late January, we were told that he’d miss a minimum of four weeks, so while a return this week seems unlikely, seeing Kaprizov by mid-March isn’t out of the question. Minnesota deserves credit for managing a 4-2-0 record since Kaprizov was put on the shelf, but that stretch also included back-to-back shutout losses and an underwhelming 2.50 goals per game, so the Wild have shown some vulnerability.

Getting strong performances out of Matt Boldy, Marco Rossi and Mats Zuccarello during Kaprizov’s absence will be critical. Boldy had a poorly timed five-game scoring drought from Jan. 29-Feb. 6, but he bounced back with two goals and three points in the Wild’s final game before the break and held his own during the 4 Nations Face-Off, supplying a goal and three points in four outings with Team USA, so he might hit the ground running for Minnesota when play resumes.

Rossi has two goals and seven points across his past 10 appearances with the Wild, but he’s also been inconsistent during that stretch, going without a point in five of those outings. Meanwhile, Zuccarello hadn’t scored a point in five straight games before the break. Maybe the break -- Zuccarello wasn’t involved in the tournament -- has allowed him to reset and put that slump behind him.

That trio is likely to play together while Kaprizov remains out, though once Kaprizov returns, Boldy might shift off that unit to make room for the Wild’s star forward.

Nashville Predators

Nashville will open the week with a pair of difficult opponents at home, hosting Florida and Winnipeg on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively. The Predators will then travel to New York to face the Islanders on Saturday and the Rangers on Sunday.

Nashville showed some hope from Jan. 3-23, winning seven of nine games, but the Predators followed that with a six-game losing streak they couldn’t afford. Nashville now has a 20-29-7 record, putting the team 15 points out of a playoff spot. The team isn’t mathematically eliminated, but there is no longer a realistic path to the postseason for Nashville. To hit 94 points, Nashville would need to go 23-4-1 the rest of the way. That’s simply not happening.

That makes the Predators obvious sellers going into the deadline. Filip Forsberg, Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, Roman Josi and Brady Skjei all have no-movement clauses and significant term left on their contracts, so I wouldn’t expect any kind of blockbuster involving any of them.

Interestingly, Juuse Saros’ new contract, and thus his no-movement clause, doesn’t begin until the 2025-26 campaign, so technically the Predators could trade the goaltender, but I doubt they will. Saros’ eight-year, $61.92 million deal looked good when he inked it, but the 29-year-old has struggled this campaign with an 11-23-6 record, 2.95 GAA and .898 save percentage in 41 appearances prior to the tournament. He had a minus-3.5 goals saved above expected, per Moneypuck, which suggests he’s been below average even after considering the poor play in front of him. Teams might be hesitant to take on that big contract given his recent performance, and Nashville might be equally reluctant to trade him at a time when his value is down.

Still, Nashville should be active at the deadline. Gustav Nyquist, who is playing the final season of his two-year, $6.37 million contract, is likely gone. His 20 points in 55 appearances this campaign is a far cry from his 75-point showing in 2023-24, but the 35-year-old should still be a capable middle-six forward for a contender and, frankly, a move away from the Predators’ struggles should do him some good.

Perhaps Ryan O'Reilly will be moved as well. He’s signed through 2026-27, but his $4.5 million cap hit is fair for the two-way center who has 14 goals, 34 points and a 56.6 faceoff percentage in 53 outings this season. The 34-year-old is a former Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe winner, which is sure to appeal to contenders, and the fact that he’s got term left on his deal means that he would command more than a rental price. He also lacks a no-trade clause, making a potential move that much easier. That said, it really depends on how bad the Predators see their situation. Nashville still has a veteran core, and with so many players locked to NMCs, the franchise is unlikely to embrace a rebuild at this time. If that’s the case, then Nashville might prefer to keep O’Reilly under the belief that the team will bounce back over the next two years. At the least, the Predators likely aren’t motivated sellers when it comes to him, so they would need to be offered a very appealing return.

It'd be much cheaper for teams to pry Luke Schenn from the Predators. He’s in the middle season of a three-year, $8.25 million contract, so he’s not a rental either, but the 35-year-old defenseman is presumably not as big of a part of Nashville’s plans. For a team looking to win now, though, Schenn provides some value. He is a physical force with 41 PIM and 207 hits through 56 outings and would be a solid third-pairing option on a playoff squad. His cap hit might be a touch high for what he brings to the table, but at $2.75 million, it’s workable.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Moving from one seller to another, the Penguins aren’t quite out of the playoff race, but they probably won’t make it. At the least, Pittsburgh needs to be great down the stretch to close the gap, which means the Penguins need a big week. They’ll play in Philadelphia on Tuesday before returning home to host the Flyers, the Bruins and the Maple Leafs on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

Sidney Crosby looked great in the 4 Nations Face-Off, contributing a goal and five points across four games for Team Canada. The 37-year-old should be expected to continue to perform for the Penguins down the stretch after supplying 17 goals and 58 points across 55 appearances with Pittsburgh leading up to the tournament. Unfortunately, it’s already well established that the current Penguins can lose even with Crosby keeping up his end of the bargain.

Even if the Penguins are sellers, Crosby is unsurprisingly going nowhere. He has a no-movement clause, and it’s doubtful that either Pittsburgh or Crosby have interest in parting ways. He is the face of the franchise and will likely remain in that position until he hangs up his skates.

The same goes for Evgeni Malkin. The Russian star made his intentions clear in an interview with The Athletic’s Rob Rossi: “I not retire. I know what some people say -- like, I go back to Russia and play for my home team. But I never say it, you know? I retire with Pittsburgh. The Penguins are my team. I love this team. When I retire it’s here.”

So yeah, take him off the list, especially because his no-movement clause gives him final say over his status.

Still, the Penguins are likely to make some moves. Perhaps Matt Grzelcyk, who is playing on a one-year, $2.75 million contract, will be traded. He has a goal and 28 points in 59 appearances while averaging 20:18 of ice time, though he might see his power-play role decline with a new team, which would hurt his fantasy value. He has 10 power-play assists and has logged 2:11 per game with the man advantage this season.

Cody Glass might also be shipped to a team looking for forward depth, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see the same happen to Anthony Beauvillier. Neither has term left on his contract, though Glass has one season remaining of RFA eligibility.

If Pittsburgh is in the mood for something bigger, the team could take a hard look at moving Rickard Rakell. He’s having a strong campaign with 25 goals and 49 points in 58 appearances. He’s signed through 2027-28 with a $5 million cap hit, so I don’t think the Penguins will move him, but his trade value is good, so it would be a way to shake things up without touching the core. However, the Penguins aren’t expected to enter a full rebuild until after Crosby retires, so rather than move Rakell for picks or long-term prospects, Pittsburgh would presumably want at least one player who is NHL-ready in any Rakell trade.

St. Louis Blues

The Blues will alternate between home and away games next week. They’ll start by hosting Seattle on Tuesday before playing in Washington on Thursday, returning home to face the Kings on Saturday and finally traveling to Dallas for a clash Sunday.

St. Louis is in a similar position to Pittsburgh. It’d be wrong to say all hope for a playoff berth is lost, but with a 26-26-6 (58 points) record, squeaking into the playoffs seems improbable. Perhaps Jordan Binnington can ride the high of backstopping Team Canada to victory in the 4 Nations Face-Off to lead the Blues on a run after the break. It’s certainly something to keep an eye on because he’s a great netminder when he’s at his best, but the problem is that the 31-year-old can end up all over the place. Not to take away from what he just accomplished, but that inconsistency makes it hard for me to count on him to continue at that high level of performance for a sustained period of time.

If he can’t lead St. Louis on a run in the near term, then the Blues are likely to be another seller at the trade deadline. Radek Faksa, who is in the final season of his five-year, $16.25 million contract, would be the most likely player to be dealt under those circumstances. He has three goals, 10 points, 83 hits and 31 blocks in 46 appearances in 2024-25. Those aren’t standout numbers, but Faksa would likely have a market among contenders looking to add to their bottom six.

Maybe trade offers involving Cam Fowler or Nick Leddy will be entertained too. Leddy has a full no-trade clause, while Fowler can limit his options to a four-team trade list, so the two blueliners have considerable control over their respective situations, but they’re also 33 years old and might be interested in the opportunity to play for a contender. Fowler and Leddy are signed through 2025-26, so each of them would come with a bit of term, which adds to their value, especially given that they also come with a reasonable cap hit of roughly $4 million (in Fowler’s case, that’s excluding the $2.5 million Anaheim has retained).

Fowler and Leddy are each capable of serving in a top four capacity. Fowler was already involved in a trade from Anaheim to St. Louis in December, so moving him again is a bit awkward, but given the Blues’ situation, it would make some sense to flip him to a team doing better. As for Leddy, he’s healthy after missing most of the campaign due to a lower-body injury. There seems to be a bit of load management going on given that he averaged just 17:21 of ice time over his first three games back -- his 2023-24 average was 22:22 -- but as he puts some distance between him and his time on the shelf, his workload should increase.

Ryan Suter will also probably get traded if there is interest in him. The 40-year-old isn’t the defenseman he once was, but he would be a nice veteran presence for a contender. Just don’t expect him to average anywhere close to his 20:29 in 2024-25 if he moves away from St. Louis.

If one or more of those blueliners do get traded, then Tyler Tucker will likely see an increase in playing time. We might also see Samuel Johannesson get called up from AHL Springfield to make his NHL debut. The 24-year-old has shown some offensive potential in the minors, providing three goals and 23 points in 46 appearances, so maybe he’d get a trial on the second power-play unit depending on who St. Louis parts with.

If the Blues make some moves up front, then Dalibor Dvorsky would likely get summoned from Springfield. The 19-year-old has looked good with 15 goals and 35 points in 44 AHL outings. It’s also worth keeping Jimmy Snuggerud in the back of your mind. He has 20 goals and 42 points in 32 games with the University of Minnesota as a junior. If he opts to go pro after the NCAA season, it’s feasible that he’ll immediately jump into a middle-six spot with the Blues.

So even if St. Louis misses the playoffs, there are some young players who might make those final weeks worth watching.

Washington Capitals

The Capitals will be at home next week and won’t have to deal with a back-to-back set. Washington will host Calgary on Tuesday, St. Louis on Thursday and Tampa Bay on Saturday.

Washington went into the break with a dominant lead in the Eastern Conference. The Capitals had 80 points (36-11-8) through 55 appearances, putting them nine points ahead of the second-rank Panthers despite Florida having played in two extra games. Although it’s too early for Washington’s spot atop the conference standings to be assured, we’re quickly approaching a point where the Capitals will have to resist the temptation to go onto cruise control until the playoffs.

While there are obvious benefits to the Capitals’ position, resting on your laurels down the stretch can make it hard to get serious again once the playoffs start. Fortunately, even if Washington soon finds itself in a position where wins feel optional, there will still be something to play for: Alex Ovechkin. The 39-year-old entered the 4 Nations break just 15 goals behind Wayne Gretzky and delivered a hat trick in his second game upon return to close the gap to 12 goals in the remaining 25 games. He’s scored at a pace of 0.67 goals per game this campaign, so becoming the all-time goal scorer by the end of the campaign looks attainable, should he stay healthy.

However, it has to be said that using that as the team’s motivation might be a double-edged sword. Getting the puck to Ovechkin is usually the right call -- he's converting on 18.4 percent of his shots after all -- but if the team puts all its focus into securing the record for Ovechkin, even at the cost of the fundamentals, then it might create bad habits. That’s potentially especially dangerous should the act of winning or losing become secondary.

Either way, he’s the best offensive weapon the Capitals have and should be well-rested after the break. He’s not the only one either -- no Washington player was included in the 4 Nations Face-Off.

Although Jordan Binnington got the job done, Logan Thompson would have also been a fantastic option for Team Canada after posting a 24-2-5 record, 2.23 GAA and .921 save percentage through 31 appearances with Washington this season, but he wasn’t included on the roster. The silver lining is that the time off should have given him a chance to reset -- he was working through a slump right before the break, posting a 1-0-2 record, 3.88 GAA and .867 save percentage across three outings.

That’s in contrast to Tom Wilson, who had four goals and six points across his final four outings before the break and has added three points in two games since returning. The 30-year-old has already suprassed his career high in goals with 26 and is on course to surpass his personal best of 52 points -- he has 45 through 57 contests this campaign.

Winnipeg Jets

The Jets will open the week by hosting the Sharks, and they’ll follow that up with a two-game road trip to Ottawa and Nashville on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. The Jets will conclude the week back home with a clash against the Flyers on Saturday.

Like the Capitals, Winnipeg’s biggest challenge going forward might be finding ways to stay motivated down the stretch as games potentially mean progressively less. The Jets already have 81 points (39-14-3) after just 56 appearances, so their playoff position is fairly secure. They’ve even opened up a nine-point lead in the battle for the Western Conference’s top seed thanks to their active eight-game winning streak.

One benefit of that time off will be the ability to manage Connor Hellebuyck’s workload down the stretch. The 31-year-old netminder should still be counted on to play regularly, but we might see Eric Comrie move up to playing once every third game to make sure Hellebuyck isn’t burnt out by the time the playoffs start. It’s a situation worth monitoring closely if you have Hellebuyck on your fantasy team. Adding Comrie would be a good hedge, especially given that he’s been a fine backup with a 2.57 GAA and a .912 save percentage in 13 appearances.

On the trade front, Winnipeg is projected to have $11.2 million worth of deadline cap space, per Puckpedia, but the Jets are missing their 2025 second and fourth-round selections due to trades before this season, so Winnipeg has a little less to work with when it comes to acquiring players.

Another tricky thing is that…they play in Winnipeg. That’s not me trying to throw shade at the city, that’s me acknowledging a genuine challenge that the franchise has to constantly overcome because of player perceptions. The Athletic recently polled 111 players and granted them anonymity so that they could speak freely. When asked what the first team on their hypothetical no-trade list would be, 48.78 percent picked Winnipeg.

As one player put it: “There’s not much to do out there. It’s (censored) cold. I haven’t heard a guy go to Winnipeg and be like, 'This is going to be my forever home.’”

The second-place Sabres weren’t even close at 19.51 percent despite the Jets being a dominant club while Buffalo hasn’t made the playoffs since 2011. It’s not fair, but if a player has a partial no-trade list, then you have to consider the probability that Winnipeg is on it. Even still, Winnipeg might be able to bolster its blue line or add a middle-six forward before the deadline.

Seth Jones has interest in leaving Chicago, and Winnipeg was mentioned as a potential destination by The Athletic. He’d help solidify the Jets’ top four and maybe serve on the second power-play unit. His $9.5 million cap hit is a bit rich, but the cap is going up, and the Blackhawks might be willing to retain part of that salary. However, Jones has a no-movement clause, and given what we’ve already discussed when it comes to players' feelings for Winnipeg, he might not be willing to waive it for the Jets.

Getting Ryan Donato from Chicago might be more viable. It’s a far less splashy move, but Donato would be a nice third-line option. He has 19 goals and 38 points in 55 appearances this season. Connor Murphy would also be a solid add for Winnipeg in a trade with the Blackhawks. After supplying a goal, 13 points, 38 PIM, 72 hits and 100 blocks in 44 appearances with Chicago this campaign, he’d look nice on Winnipeg’s third pairing. Like Jones, though, Winnipeg would have to overcome the NTC problem -- Murphy has a 10-team no-trade list.

NHL: DADOUN – THE FANTASY WEEK AHEAD (November 11th to 18th, 2024) – Winnipeg and Florida dominate

Ryan Dadoun — Sat, 09 Nov 2024 18:45:55 +0000

OTTAWA, ON - OCTOBER 10: Florida Panthers Right Wing Sam Reinhart (13) before a face-off during third period National Hockey League action between the Florida Panthers and Ottawa Senators on October 10, 2024, at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, ON, Canada. (Photo by Richard A. Whittaker/Icon Sportswire)

The Colorado Avalanche have problems, as I’ve discussed in previous articles, but going into Thursday’s action those issues hadn’t extended to their core players. In fact, defenseman Cale Makar opened the campaign with a 13-game scoring streak in which he provided five goals and 23 points, and after an injury scare, he was available for Thursday’s tilt against Winnipeg and ended up logging an impressive 25:16 of ice time.

Against every other team, Makar and Nathan MacKinnon, who took his own 13-game scoring streak into Thursday’s action, would have done some damage even if they hadn’t come away with the win. Winnipeg has been in a league of its own, though, especially with Connor Hellebuyck between the pipes. The goaltender shrugged off the Avalanche’s 35 shots to earn his second consecutive shutout, bringing him up to a 10-1-0 record, 1.91 GAA and .932 save percentage through 11 starts.

Hellebuyck being an amazing goaltender is old news. There’s a reason why Winnipeg inked him to a seven-year, $59.5 million contract that began this season -- a contract that’s looking increasingly good, especially with the way the goaltender market is heading. However, the Jets under new bench boss Scott Arniel are giving him more defensive support than he’s accustomed to. The Jets have an xGA/60 of 2.49, per Moneypuck, the second-best in the league. By contrast, Winnipeg ranked 10th last year with a 2.93 xGA/60. That suggests the quality of the shots making their way to Hellebuyck has gotten significantly lower, making it easier for the netminder to do his job. That might also be why Winnipeg is also 3-0-0 on the nights that journeyman goaltender Eric Comrie has started instead.

Winnipeg’s dominance doesn’t end there, though. The Jets rank first in goals per game with 4.50, which is a feat they’ve accomplished in part through depth. Kyle Connor (nine goals, 19 points), Mark Scheifele (seven goals, 18 points) and Gabriel Vilardi (six goals, 12 points) can compromise an amazing top line, and that still leaves you with the luxury of putting Nikolaj Ehlers (eight goals, 17 points) on the second line and a red-hot Nino Niederreiter (seven goals, 12 points) on the third unit to exhaust the enemy’s defense. It is worth noting that Moneypuck ranks Winnipeg 21st in xG/60 with 2.99, so there’s an argument to be made that the Jets have enjoyed good puck luck, and they haven’t endured anything close to the same kind of injury issues that a team like Colorado has.

It's also worth remembering the cautionary tale of the 2007-08 Ottawa Senators, who started 13-1-0 but faltered after that, finishing 43-31-8 and being swept in the first round of the playoffs. That said, there isn’t a lot of sample size when it comes to 13-1-0 starts. Ottawa showed that even a start as hot as this doesn’t guarantee success, but that doesn’t mean a fall from grace is inevitable either. And sure, maybe the Jets’ offense won’t continue to perform at this level, but if the defense stays effective and Hellebuyck remains healthy, then Winnipeg won’t necessarily need that much goal production. This is a strong team, potentially far stronger than analysts rated the Jets to be going into the campaign, and they’ll certainly be one to watch going forward.

While some might still view the Jets as a team with something to prove even after starting 13-1-0, not many would question Florida’s 10-3-1 start. Back-to-back trips to the finals, including a Stanley Cup championship, affords you a great deal of faith. That’s not to say every player on the team receives that level of belief, though. Sam Reinhart is probably raising some eyebrows after scoring 11 goals and 22 points through 14 games. Sure, he had 57 goals and 94 points in 82 appearances in 2023-24, but his 24.5 shooting percentage was insanely high, so it must have been a fluke, right?

Those who read my articles from last year would know I pushed back against the assumption that his high shooting percentage was unsustainable.

More specifically, this is what I said about Reinhart back in January: “His shooting percentage of 27.5 is by far the highest of any player with at least 100 shots -- next is Brock Boeser at 23.3 -- and more than double his 2022-23 finish of 13.7. Digging a little deeper, Reinhart is selective with when he shoots, firing 40.4 percent in high-danger areas. By contrast, Nikita Kucherov has nearly the same number of goals (28) while firing nearly double the shots (amounting to a 15.4 shooting percentage), but just 18.1 percent of his shots are in high-danger locations, so by that measure, Reinhart’s higher shooting percentage makes some sense.”

This year tells a somewhat similar story. Of his 39 shots, 13 (33.3 percent) have been in high-danger areas while another 12 (30.8 percent) have been mid-range. By contrast, Nikita Kucherov, who has 11 goals on 54 shots has fired 12 (22.2 percent) in high-danger areas and 16 (29.6) at mid-range. In other words, while someone like Kucherov fires more shots than Reinhart, they end up with a similar number of high-quality shots, so there’s logic behind Reinhart’s high shooting percentage, making it less of a warning sign than it would be for some other players.

Carolina Hurricanes (Mon @ VGK, Wed @ UTA, Sat vs OTT, Sun vs STL)

The Hurricanes have done nearly as well as the Jets, posting a 10-2-0 record after Thursday’s 5-1 victory over Pittsburgh. Carolina will open the week with a challenging road match versus Vegas, but the schedule gets more manageable after that with a road game against Utah on Wednesday followed by home contests versus Ottawa and St. Louis on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

Carolina is still without Frederik Andersen (lower body), and there’s no guarantee he’ll be an option next week, so Spencer Martin might make his season debut. The 29-year-old is far from an ideal choice, but Carolina is one of the most goaltender-friendly teams in the league, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see Martin walk away with the win if he faces the Senators or Blues.

That’ll be especially true if Martin Necas remains hot. He’s on an eight-game scoring streak in which he’s provided six goals and 18 points. Necas took a step back last season with a 53-point showing, but he’s a good bet to rebound with the second 70-plus point campaign of his career. Just don’t count on him maintaining anything close to his current point-per-game pace, which stands at 1.75 (21 points in 12 outings). Necas has been impressive, but he’s unlikely to finish 2024-25 among the league’s scoring leaders. To give you some perspective, he had seven goals and 17 points through 11 appearances in 2022-23 and finished that campaign outside the top-50 in the scoring race despite logging the full 82 games.

Moving from the Hurricanes’ top offensive performer to a physical defenseman, Riley Stillman (lower body) will likely make his Hurricanes debut soon. He had a goal, eight points, 81 hits and 44 blocks in 50 outings between Vancouver and Buffalo in 2023-24. His presence won’t dramatically alter Carolina’s blue line, but we might see Sean Walker be an infrequent healthy scratch after dressing in all of the team’s first 12 games. Maybe Jalen Chatfield will end up being a scratch at some point too if everyone is healthy, though I suspect Walker’s position in the lineup is less secure.

Nashville Predators (Mon @ COL, Thu @ EDM, Fri @ CGY, Sun @ VAN)

Not secure describes the Predators pretty well. Nashville GM Barry Trotz even recently floated the idea of beginning the team’s rebuild plan if the team doesn’t start turning around -- a move that would be awkward after signing veterans Steven Stamkos to a four-year, $32 million contract and Jonathan Marchessault to a five-year, $27.5 million deal over the summer.

All the same, you can hardly blame Trotz for thinking that way after the club’s 4-9-1 start. Perhaps next week will offer more hope, though it would have to come on the road. The Predators will play in Colorado on Monday, Edmonton on Thursday, Calgary on Friday and Vancouver on Sunday.

Stamkos is finally showing life, providing three goals and six points across his past six games after being limited to one point (a goal) over his opening eight appearances. The problem is no other Predators player has stepped up recently -- outside of Stamkos, every Nashville skater has recorded three or fewer points over the team’s past six games.

Then there’s Juuse Saros, who is leaving plenty to be desired with a 3-7-1 record, 2.85 GAA and .904 save percentage in 11 outings. You might be wondering if his mediocre numbers are a reflection of struggles on his end or just a byproduct of poor play in front of him. Nashville ranks 24th in xGA/60 at 3.27 while Saros’ goals saved above expected is plus-3.9, which suggests Saros has been doing fine, but the Predators have been letting him down. If there’s any silver lining to be had there, it suggests that if Nashville can start tightening up defensively, then Saros will reward his teammates by putting up the kind of elite numbers we know he’s capable of. Imagining that scenario, though, might just be an exercise in wishful thinking.

Philadelphia Flyers (Mon vs SJS, Thu @ OTT, Sat vs BUF)

The Flyers haven’t been much better than Nashville, though Philadelphia doesn’t have the same burden of expectations. Either way, the 5-8-1 Flyers have a favorable set of adversaries ahead of them. They’ll host the Sharks on Monday, play in Ottawa on Thursday and conclude the week with a home game versus the Sabres on Saturday.

Samuel Ersson (lower body) and Aleksei Kolosov (lower body) weren’t able to play Thursday, which left Ivan Fedotov, who had a 5.35 GAA and an .821 save percentage through his first three starts, to get the nod against Tampa Bay while Kyle Konin signed an amateur tryout to be the emergency backup. Despite those challenging circumstances, Philadelphia earned a 2-1 shootout victory over the Lightning, but I wouldn’t count on seeing continued success out of Fedotov if Ersson and Kolosov remain on the sidelines. Not that I have much confidence in any of the Flyers’ current goaltenders.

To be fair, the Flyers’ netminders get sparse goal support even when they manage to put forth a strong showing. Philadelphia ranks 27th offensively with 2.50 goals per game. Matvei Michkov has been one of the Flyers’ few scoring threats with four goals and 10 points in 13 outings, but coach John Tortorella hasn’t been thrilled with the 19-year-old forward’s five-on-five play -- note that Michkov is minus-8 and only three of his points have come at even strength -- which led to him being a healthy scratch Thursday. It’s also worth noting that his production has slowed recently, resulting in him registering just an assist over his past five outings.

Michkov is still young, so some growing pains are expected, and with Tortorella certainly not being afraid to mix some tough love into his teaching regime, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the occasional healthy scratch sprinkled in there as the campaign progresses. Taking a step back, a reasonable project for Michkov’s rookie season would be about 50 points.

Pittsburgh Penguins (Mon vs DAL, Wed vs DET, Fri @ CBJ, Sat vs SJS)

Sidney Crosby is continuing to defy his age, but it hasn’t been enough. Pittsburgh is 5-8-2, putting more pressure on the squad to start to right the ship. The Penguins are set to host Dallas and Detroit on Monday and Wednesday, respectively. They’ll then play in Columbus on Friday and round out the week by hosting the Sharks on Saturday.

Cody Glass (upper body) was put on injured reserve Friday while Bryan Rust (lower body) was activated, enabling him to return to the lineup after a five-game absence.

As I already alluded to, Crosby has continued to dominate in Rust’s absence -- Crosby has six goals and 15 points through 15 appearances in 2024-25 -- but Rust is nevertheless likely to rejoin the top line. That would probably result in Evgeni Malkin moving off the top unit to his more standard position headlining the second line. For what it’s worth, Malkin and Crosby have shown up on the scoresheet together for just two even-strength goals this season, and Malkin has been quiet lately with a goal and two points across his past five games. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh has lost its last two games, along with six of its past eight, so it’s not like there are circumstances on a team level or a line level that would compel head coach Mike Sullivan to keep Malkin and Crosby together in five-on-five play at this time.

At the other end of the ice, the goaltending situation continues to be a question mark. Alex Nedeljkovic gave the Penguins hope with strong starts against the lowly Ducks and Canadiens, but he’s faded quickly, allowing eight goals on 44 shots (.818 save percentage) over his past two losses to the Islanders and Hurricanes. Meanwhile, Tristan Jarry has been rebuilding his confidence in the minors, posting a 1.69 GAA and a .946 save percentage across four games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Perhaps Jarry will get recalled soon and get another shot? Just as the Crosby-Malkin duo hasn’t done anything to force Sullivan to keep them together, Nedeljkovic’s play isn’t great enough to secure the No. 1 job, so the possibility of a Jarry comeback remains.

Seattle Kraken (Tue vs CBJ, Thu vs CHI, Sat vs NYI, Sun vs NYR)

The Kraken will stay at home next week, hosting the Blue Jackets on Tuesday, the Blackhawks on Thursday, the Islanders on Saturday and finally the Rangers on Sunday. We’ll see if that homestand will right the ship for Seattle, which has lost four straight games and seven of its last eight contests, dropping to 5-8-1.

Seattle has managed just 2.25 goals per game across its last eight matches, but interestingly, there have been some standout performers over that stretch. Jared McCann and Matty Beniers have each managed three goals and eight points during Seattle’s slump while defenseman Brandon Montour has contributed three goals and six points in that span.

The problem is other players you’d expect to do well have fallen short. Oliver Bjorkstrand is the most notable example of that. He set a career high with 59 points last season but has just three goals and five points through 13 appearances in 2024-25 and is heading in the wrong direction with a goal and an assist across his past eight outings. Those struggles reached a possible crescendo when he was scratched Tuesday, so it will be interesting to see if he uses that time in the press box to reset.

Jordan Eberle and Eeli Tolvanen need to rebound too. They have managed just two and three points, respectively, over Seattle’s past eight games. Neither is a major offensive threat, but they are important secondary scorers for the Kraken and lately, they have failed to fulfill that role.

Some of those cold stretches would have been swept under the rug if Shane Wright was adapting to the NHL, but the No. 4 overall pick from the 2022 NHL Draft has been disappointing thus far, providing just a goal and two points through 14 games in 2024-25. I wonder if he might benefit from a stint in the press box of his own. Either way, it’s impossible to recommend him at this time in standard leagues, but I will at least say the potential remains there, so he’s worth keeping an eye on. If you want a silver lining, you could say that the Kraken’s overall offensive struggles do open the door to Wright landing a top six spot if only he could start producing.

St. Louis Blues (Tue vs BOS, Thu @ BUF, Fri @ BOS, Sun @ CAR)

The Blues have a busy week ahead of them, but the competition isn’t the easiest. They’ll host the Bruins on Tuesday before heading on the road to play in Buffalo on Thursday, Boston on Saturday and Carolina on Sunday.

We could all breathe a sigh of relief after Dylan Holloway avoided serious injury after a scary incident Tuesday when he was hit by a high puck and taken away on a stretcher. He even managed to play in St. Louis’ very next game. His former Oilers teammate who came with him to St. Louis, though, will be out for a while.

Philip Broberg suffered a lower-body injury Saturday and is expected to miss the next 4-6 weeks. Broberg had been making the most of the increased role the Blues gave him, providing two goals and nine points through 12 appearances while averaging 19:34 of ice time. St. Louis is also missing Torey Krug (ankle) for the 2024-25 campaign and Nick Leddy (lower body), though at least in Leddy’s case, he might be back in the not-too-distant future.

Absences have likely contributed to Ryan Suter playing a bigger role than initially envisioned. Although he an insanely big minutes eater in his prime, Suter dipped below 20 minutes per game in 2023-24 for the first time since his rookie campaign, averaging 18:56 of ice time with Dallas. The 39-year-old initially looked like he would have a strictly supporting role with St. Louis in 2024-25, averaging just 16:02 across the Blues’ opening four games. Then Leddy got hurt, and Suter has averaged 23:53 since. Don’t be surprised if Suter’s ice time takes a notable hit once Leddy is back, though until Broberg is healthy too, Suter will probably still see at least decent minutes.

Leddy’s eventual return might also make things a little easier on Blues goaltenders Jordan Binnington and Joel Hofer. Neither netminder has gotten off to a good start, though Binnington has been encouraging recently. He’s still just 4-5-0 with a 2.78 GAA and a .904 save percentage in 10 outings overall, but he’s saved 75 of 81 shots (.926 save percentage) across his past three games. Going into the season, it looked like Hofer might challenge Binnington for the starting gig, but that hasn’t happened yet to any major extent, and Binnington’s recent success helps put more distance between the two.

Vancouver Canucks (Tue vs CGY, Thu vs NYI, Sat vs CHI, Sun vs NSH)

Vancouver is on a three-game winning streak, bringing the Canucks up to 7-2-3. They’ll look to continue that success next week with home games against Calgary on Tuesday, the Islanders on Thursday, Chicago on Saturday and Nashville on Sunday.

While things are going well for the Canucks overall, the same can’t be said for Elias Pettersson. He has two goals and five points across 12 appearances in 2024-25. He did discuss his slump last week, and unfortunately, not much has changed since with Pettersson providing one point (a goal) over his past three games despite Vancouver combining for a solid 12 goals during that stretch.

One thing I didn’t bring up then is Pettersson’s shot total, which is concerning low at 22, which translates to 5.7 shots per 60 minutes, a drop from 7.7 last year. That’s despite having one six-shot game in 2024-25 -- he also has been held to a single shot on seven occasions. He also has just 52 shot attempts, which is 4.3 per game, down from 4.9 in 2023-24.

I went to dig a bit deeper, and one thing that stood out to me is that his skating metrics are down from last year, and the same can be said about his shot speed. In terms of shot location, 60 of his 207 in 2023-24 were high danger, translating to roughly 29 percent while he has nine of 22 (40.9 percent) in high-danger locations this campaign, so at least when he is shooting the location is generally good, but still, some of those other metrics are concerning.

Pettersson is still just 25, so unless he’s playing hurt, I don’t think it’s fair to believe there isn’t a physical reason for his drop in play. Instead, it’s likely to be mental, which is a theory that gains credibility when you consider former Canucks head coach Bruce Boudreau’s analysis of the situation, per the Vancouver Province. Boudreau noted that Pettersson “doesn’t look excited when he plays and gets frustrated very easily.” Perhaps the pressure of his eight-year, $92.8 million contract, which he’s in the first season of, is getting to the star forward.

Whatever the case, other members of the Canucks have been picking up the slack. Not much was expected of Conor Garland going into the campaign, but he’s been great, providing four goals and 11 points through 12 appearances. That probably won’t last, but he isn’t showing signs of slowing down yet after recording at least a point in each of his past three games. Defenseman Quinn Hughes is also red hot, supplying a goal and five points over his last two outings, bringing him up to three goals and 14 points in 12 appearances this season.

Vegas Golden Knights (Mon vs CAR, Wed @ ANA, Fri @ UTA, Sun vs WSH)

The Golden Knights will start the upcoming week by hosting the Hurricanes, but after that, they’ll have to take to the road. Vegas will play in Anaheim on Wednesday, Utah on Friday and Washington on Sunday.

The Golden Knights have won six of their past seven games, elevating their record to 9-3-1. The top line of Jack Eichel, Mark Stone and Ivan Barbashev continues to be a major part of that with Stone leading the way with six goals and 21 points in 13 outings. The 32-year-old Stone is on a seven-game scoring streak (four goals,12 points) and has been held off the scoresheet just once in 2024-25.

It also helps to have a player of Tomas Hertl’s caliber on the second unit, who has four goals and 12 points through 13 outings. Meanwhile, Noah Hanifin is red hot from the blue line with three goals and eight points across his past two games.

Those two really highlight the amazing sticking power Vegas has managed thanks to its aggressive trade strategy. Those are two veterans who were added during the 2023-24 campaign and are locked up to 2027-28. Other teams add rental pieces leading up to a Cup run, but the Golden Knights tend to take a longer view when making trades, so even when a postseason run doesn’t work out, as was the case in 2024, the additions they made are still around to help them moving forward.

Eventually, the bottom might fall out of this strategy. In the cap era, we haven’t seen a team that has been able to sustain itself indefinitely on trades alone without going through a rebuild. But when you look at the team’s core of Eichel, Stone, Hertl, Barbashev, William Karlsson, Alex Pietrangelo, Noah Hanifin and Shea Theodore, you’re seeing a group that’s still largely in its prime and positioned to potentially be competitive for years to come.

The one thing that the group is missing is a star goaltender. Adin Hill can be solid, but he also has his rough patches, and the 2024-25 campaign has been more miss than hit for him so far, leaving Hill with a 3.01 GAA and an .882 save percentage through eight outings. On the plus side, he’s allowed just five goals on 64 shots (.922 save percentage) across his past three starts, and the Golden Knights are strong enough offensively to put him in a position to win even when he doesn’t have a great night, so there’s still plenty of value to be had here.

CULLEN: 20 FANTASY POINTS – Oilers missing McDavid – Woll pushing for playing time – McTavish and Sandheim stepping up – Plus much, much more

Scott Cullen — Fri, 27 Oct 2023 15:39:45 +0000

DALLAS, TX - OCTOBER 26: Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll (60) blocks a shot during the game between the Dallas Stars and the Toronto Maple Leafs on October 26, 2023 at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire)

Each week, I dive into the numbers to help make decisions when it comes time to make fantasy hockey decisions.

This week, the Oilers are reeling and are now missing McDavid. Shane Pinto’s suspension, Joseph Woll pushing for playing time, Mason McTavish ready to make the leap in his second season, Travis Sanheim stepping up for the Flyers and more.

#1 The season could not have started much worse for the Edmonton Oilers, preseason Stanley Cup favourites who have a 1-5-1 record and are missing superstar centre Connor McDavid for 1-2 weeks due to an upper-body injury. McDavid had eight points (2 G, 6 A) in five games before getting hurt and the Oilers have had to juggle lines, moving Ryan Nugent-Hopkins into the second line centre spot while Leon Draisaitl fills in for McDavid as the first line centre. The Oilers have been outscored 10-4 in two losses without McDavid and will hope to get on the right track with the season’s first installment of the Battle of Alberta, the Heritage Classic outdoor game, which goes Sunday in Edmonton.

#2 Ottawa Senators centre Shane Pinto, still without a contract as a restricted free agent, was suspended for 41 games due to activities related to sports betting. That would appear to solidify Ridly Greig’s position as the third-line centre behind Tim Stutzle and Josh Norris. Greig, who is eligible for the Calder Trophy, has five points (1 G, 4 A) with 16 shots on goal in seven games. Another player whose future in Ottawa should be more secure is winger Mathieu Joseph, who had been rumoured to be on the trade block at times – ostensibly in order to clear cap space to sign Pinto – but Joseph has started the season with six points (3 G, 3 A) and 13 shots on goal in seven games.

#3 It has not taken long, but Toronto Maple Leafs rookie Joseph Woll is challenging Ilya Samsonov for time in Toronto’s crease. Woll, the 25-year-old netminder, has a .961 save percentage in four appearances and that will get anyone a longer look in net, but with Samsonov delivering a meagre .831 save percentage, it is an easy choice for the Maple Leafs to give Woll more opportunities. Samsonov played well for Toronto last season, but the unpredictable nature of the position means that, unless a team has a surefire No. 1, the job should be up for grabs so that the goaltender that is playing best can earn more playing time.

#4 Second-year Anaheim Ducks centre Mason McTavish scored in overtime Thursday to cap Anaheim’s surprising late comeback win in Boston, handing the Bruins their first loss of the season. The 20-year-old now has six points (3 G, 3 A) with 16 shots on goal in seven games and with the Ducks playing more competitively than might have been anticipated, it’s all the more reason to expect McTavish to obliterate his rookie season production of 43 points (17 G, 26 A).

#5 While there has been plenty of early season fanfare for Dylan Larkin and Alex DeBrincat in Detroit – and deservedly so as they rank second and third, respectively, in the league scoring race – the third member of Detroit’s top line, Lucas Raymond, should not be overlooked. The third-year winger has six points (2 G, 4 A) and 18 shots on goal in eight games, and if he’s riding shotgun with Larkin and DeBrincat, that is an opportunity for Raymond to continue producing at a high level.

#6 Entering the season, there appeared to be plenty of holes in the Philadelphia Flyers lineup, not the least of which was a defencemen that would be able to contribute offensively. The early answer to that question is apparently Travis Sanheim, who had a career-high 35 points (9 G, 26 A) in 82 games in 2018-2019, but has busted out of the gate to start the season, producing eight points (1 G, 7 A) and 16 shots on goal in seven games. He is quarterbacking Philadelphia’s first power play unit and that should be enough reason to believe that the 27-year-old at least has a shot at the most productive offensive season of his career.

#7 The Colorado Avalanche took a chance on centre Ryan Johansen, acquiring him from the Nashville Predators in the offseason, and the early returns have been positive. Johansen has five points (4 G, 1 A) in seven games, but what is notable is that he also has 17 shots on goal. That rate of 2.43 shots on goal per game would be Johansen’s highest per-game rate since the 2014-2015 season. He has shown little interest in shooting the puck in recent seasons but if the Avalanche can change that approach, then the veteran pivot becomes a lot more interesting because he has the talent to score. Johansen has three seasons in his career with at least 25 goals, though only one since 2014-2015.

#8 Although he does not seem to be an ideal fit as a first line centre for the Minnesota Wild, Ryan Hartman does have seven points (4 G, 3 A) and 18 shots on goal in the first seven games of the season. Hartman had a career-high 65 points (34 G, 31 A) during the 2021-2022 season but that was the only season of his career in which he scored more than 40 points, so expectations for his production tend to be low enough that he could exceed them. The opportunity to play with Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello can drag many players into fantasy relevance.

#9 Veteran centre Sean Monahan has been a valuable contributor for the Montreal Canadiens early in the season. After groin surgery ended his 2022-2023 season prematurely, the 29-year-old was facing an uncertain future. He re-signed in Montreal and has been excellent early in the season, producing six points (3 G, 3 A) and 16 shots on goal in seven games. For a relatively young Canadiens team, having Monahan’s experience and production helps to insulate their emerging players.

#10 When Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy required back surgery, the immediate question was how would the Lightning address this issue so that they did not have to ride with Jonas Johansson as their starting netminder for more than two months. The Lightning have not brought in a proven NHL goaltender, instead giving Johansson the opportunity and he has a .925 save percentage in seven starts. Given his mediocre track record, seven games are not nearly enough time to declare that Johansson is now an elite goaltender, but he offers potential for fantasy managers as what looks like a secure No. 1 goaltender until the Lightning make a move.

#11 Los Angeles Kings left winger Trevor Moore has found a comfortable home on Phillip Danault’s wing and Moore has opened this season with six points, including five goals, in his first six games. Moore has 16 shots on goal and that has been one of his strengths since arriving in Los Angeles – he uses his speed to consistently generate shots – and while he is obviously not going to keep scoring on 31% of his shots, Moore could certainly surpass his career high of 17 goals, set in 2021-2022.

#12 While the Boston Bruins might have had modest expectations for 34-year-old left winger James van Riemsdyk coming into the season, he has contributed five points (3 G, 2 A) with 16 shots on goal in seven games, with three of those points coming with the man advantage. Even if he is not terribly fleet afoot at this stage of his career, JvR has always had excellent hands around the net, and he still makes sense as a net-front presence for Boston.

#13 It appeared that the Edmonton Oilers secured outstanding value when they signed right winger Connor Brown coming off a season in which he was limited to just four games before tearing his ACL. Brown had established his credentials as a winger who could play in all situations before that and had played with Connor McDavid in junior hockey, so this was a great chance for Brown to re-establish his value, but that has not been the case thus far. Through seven games, Brown has failed to record a point and has just eight shots on goal. He has fallen to the third line on the Edmonton depth chart and, according to Cap Friendly, is due a performance bonus of $3,225,000 after he plays in 10 games. Would the Oilers abandon Brown this quickly in order to save the cap space?

#14 Seattle Kraken sophomore centre Matty Beniers is off to a tough start to the campaign. The 2022-2023 Calder Trophy winner, Beniers has yet to score a goal and has three assists and 13 shots on goal in the first eight games of the season. Shot generation has not been a Beniers strength to this point in his NHL career, but he has to be able to produce more. Right now, he has rookie Tye Kartye and veteran Jordan Eberle on his wings, which is not exactly driving the Kraken attack, but Beniers is capable of more and probably counts as a buy-low candidate for fantasy managers.

#15 In the second half of last season, New Jersey Devils winger Dawson Mercer erupted for 20 points (11 G, 9 A) during a 12-game span, on his way to a 27-goal season. He has been out of sorts this season, however, still looking for his first point after six games. Even more troubling is that Mercer has been held without a shot on goal in four straight games. He has been buried in shifts when he has been skating with rookie Alexander Holtz, with the duo managing a 34.5% Corsi in the 28 minutes of five-on-five play that they have been together.

#16 The Arizona Coyotes made several moves to bolster their forward talent in the offseason and one of the results of those acquisitions has been that Lawson Crouse’s role has been decreased. Coming off back-to-back seasons with 20 or more goals, Crouse had fantasy value because of his high hit totals to accompany his goal-scoring numbers. His ice time is down 2:42 per game from last season and Crouse has managed just one assist and eight shots on goal in six games.

#17 The Calgary Flames have staggered out of the starting blocks this season and centre Nazem Kadri is one Flames skater who could produce a lot more than he has to this point in the season. In eight games, Kadri has one assist and 23 shots on goal. Flames head coach Ryan Huska tried to shake things up by moving Kadri to right wing on the top line, with Jonathan Huberdeau and Elias Lindholm, but that has not snapped Kadri from his early-season funk.

#18 Chicago Blackhawks left winger Taylor Hall has landed on the injured list, forcing another change on the wing for rookie centre Connor Bedard. With Tyler Johnson on right wing, the Blackhawks have Nick Foligno stepping into Hall’s spot. With all due respect to Foligno, this is not an ideal situation for Bedard, who could use more offensively gifted linemates If he is going to maximize his production. Through seven games, Bedard has four points (2 G, 2 A) and 22 shots on goal.

#19 Columbus Blue Jackets centre – yes, centre – Patrik Laine suffered an injury when Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson unloaded on him with a high hit late in a Flames loss to Columbus. Laine has not returned to action yet, missing three games since the incident. Boone Jenner and Jack Roslovic have joined Johnny Gaudreau on Columbus’ top line in Laine’s absence. Andersson was suspended for four games and MacKenzie Weegar has moved into the quarterback role on Calgary’s first unit power play.

#20 The Buffalo Sabres entered the season with hopes the rookie goaltender Devon Levi would be the one to carry the starter’s load between the pipes. Levi had a mediocre .892 save percentage in the first four games of the season before a nagging lower-body injury sidelined him. That has allowed Eric Comrie and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to see some action. As noted earlier, riding the hot hand in net is becoming a way of life for NHL teams and it has helped the Sabres pick up a couple of wins.

CULLEN: 20 FANTASY POINTS – First line opportunities have popped up for Anthony Mantha, Phil Kessel, Rickard Rakell and more

Scott Cullen — Sat, 01 Oct 2022 13:09:41 +0000

20 FANTASY POINTS

Each week I dive into the numbers and offer some insights that should help when it comes time to make fantasy hockey decisions.

In the first 20 Fantasy Points of the season, first line opportunities have popped up for Anthony Mantha, Phil Kessel, Rickard Rakell and more. Here are players to keep an eye on as the new season approaches.

BOSTON, MA - MAY 21: Washington Capitals left wing Anthony Mantha (39) gains the blue line on the power play during Game 4 of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs First Round between the Boston Bruins and the Washington Capitals on May 21, 2021, at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire)

#1 A rare combination of size and skill, Washington Capitals right winger Anthony Mantha is potentially looking at the opportunity to play on the first line with Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov, at least while Tom Wilson remains out of action as he recovers from a torn ACL. Mantha had his own trouble last season, limited to 37 games by shoulder surgery, he produced 23 points in 37 games, playing 15:10 per game, which was his lowest average time on ice since a 10-game stint with Detroit in 2015-2016, his first action in the NHL. A healthy Mantha, with a prime opportunity could score 20-plus goals for the first time since the 2018-2019 season.

#2 He will be 35 by the time the puck drops on the new season, and he scored just eight goals last season, but Phil Kessel is looking at an excellent opportunity with the Vegas Golden Knights. Kessel could find himself skating with Jack Eichel on Vegas’ top line and that brings significantly higher upside than what he experienced in Arizona last season, when his most common linemates were Lawson Crouse Travis Boyd, Johan Larsson, and Alex Galchenyuk.

#3 Acquired by the Pittsburgh Penguins from the Anaheim Ducks last season, Rickard Rakell contributed 13 points and 48 shots on goal in 19 games for the Penguins. While Rakell moved around the Pittsburgh lineup, he had great success playing with Sidney Crosby, controlling 58.9% of the 5v5 shot attempts and 61.9% of the expected goals, outscoring the opposition 11-1 in the 98 minutes that they played together. If Rakell starts the season with Crosby and Jake Guentzel on the Penguins’ top line, it is a fantastic opportunity for the 29-year-old winger who has consistently been able to generate shots, with inconsistent finishing results.

#4 San Jose Sharks winger Kevin Labanc had just six points in 21 games last season before shoulder surgery ended his campaign. However, he is healthy now and not only is he looking at a return to a scoring role with the Sharks, but Labanc will have first crack on San Jose’s top power play unit. He has struggled since producing a career-high 56 points in 82 games during the 2018-2019 season, but Labanc has the talent to be a productive player and it appears that he will have the opportunity.

#5 After a one-year hiatus in Czechia, 36-year-old David Krejci returns to Boston and it’s important to note just how well Krejci fit alongside Taylor Hall. At the end of the 2020-2021 season, after Hall was acquired from Buffalo, the duo played 193 minutes together and controlled 65.7% of 5v5 shot attempts and 67.1% of expected goals, outscoring opponents 14-1. A full season together should bring positive results for Krejci and Hall.

#6 Yanni Gourde scored 48 points in 74 games in his first season with the Seattle Kraken, playing a career-high 18:29 per game, but he also returned early from shoulder surgery, missing a couple of weeks when it was expected that he would miss the first two months of the season. With Seattle improving its forward depth in the offseason, Gourde should have stronger linemates, giving him a shot at better production in his second season for the Kraken.

#7 When Kailer Yamamoto skated on Connor McDavid’s wing last season, they controlled 54.2% of the 5v5 score-and-venue-adjusted shot attempts and 57.9% of the expected goals. If Yamamoto can secure that right wing spot, beside McDavid and Evander Kane, there will be ample opportunity for Yamamoto to build on his career-high 41-point season. The next step for Yamamoto involves taking more shots, as he has averaged 1.41 shots on goal per game in his career, not enough to sustain higher offensive production over a long period.

#8 Even though he played just 11:32 per game as a rookie last season, Nashville Predators right winger Philip Tomasino contributed 32 points, including nine on the power play. There may be an opening in Nashville’s top six and if it goes to Tomasino, his ice time should get a significant boost. He is a skilled playmaker but struggled in the brief moments that he moved up the depth chart to play with centers Ryan Johansen or Mikael Granlund as a rookie. In his second season, Tomasino should be expected to elevate his game.

#9 The departure of Nazem Kadri from Colorado could open up the second line center spot for Alex Newhook, the second-year pivot who produced 33 points in 71 games as a rookie last season. The Avalanche also have J.T. Compher and Evan Rodrigues available for that spot, but Newhook should have the higher ceiling, which ought to make him the better fit. Like Yamamoto and Tomasino, Newhook could stand to shoot the puck more frequently. He averaged 1.59 shots on goal per game last season.

#10 A 26-year-old winger who put up 53 points in 45 KHL games for SKA St. Petersburg last season, Andrei Kuzmenko is an NHL-ready winger who is looking at a good chance to produce right away for the Vancouver Canucks. Even though the Canucks have improved their forward depth, Kuzmenko should still have a spot in the top six and with the talent supporting him in Vancouver’s lineup, Kuzmenko could be a sleeper candidate for the Calder Trophy.

#11 This season looks like it will be difficult for the Philadelphia Flyers, and Sean Couturier’s continuing health problems only make it more difficult, but while Couturier is out to start the season, there is yet another chance for 23-year-old Morgan Frost to establish his place in the Flyers lineup. He has 23 points in 77 games over the past three seasons, but if Frost could take advantage of an early opening, he might be able to stick in the lineup full time.

#12 Boston will be starting the season with some major absences due to injury, including defensemen Charlie McAvoy and Matt Grzelcyk, which could leave Hampus Lindholm a role on the Bruins power play. The Bruins also might run five forwards on their top power play unit, but if Lindholm gets a shot on the power play, that would upgrade his offensive contribution. Earlier in his career, he had 15 power play points in 2015-2016, but has been in single digits with the man advantage ever since.

#13 For leagues that do not count plus-minus but value hits and blocked shots, Arizona Coyotes defenseman Dysin Mayo might be worth a late-round look. Mayo played almost 21 minutes per game as a rookie last season and while he produced a modest 12 points in 67 games, he recorded 133 blocked shots and 129 hits. On a Coyotes team that will not have the puck very often, Mayo should be served up many opportunities to record more hits and blocked shots.

#14 A 27-year-old who has started a total of 24 NHL games, Eric Comrie is looking at a much bigger workload with the Buffalo Sabres this season. While the Sabres have some goaltending prospects on the way, it looks like Comrie will be sharing the net with 41-year-old Craig Anderson, and that should mean plenty of reps for Comrie. Although the Sabres are probably not going to be a playoff team this season, they should continue to improve and, after posting a .920 save percentage in 19 games for Winnipeg last season, Comrie has a chance to be fantasy relevant (at least in deeper leagues) with more games coming this season.

#15 The Edmonton Oilers paid a lot of money to lure Jack Campbell to be their starting goaltender, so this is not some suggestion that will not be the case, but when looking at backup goaltenders, keep Stuart Skinner in your sights. The 23-year-old had a .913 save percentage in 13 games for the Oilers last season and Campbell does not have a track record of handling a heavy NHL workload, playing a career-high 49 games last season. If Campbell gets injured or slumps, Skinner could step in and provide immediate value playing behind a strong Oilers squad.

#16 The St. Louis Blues have a lot of veteran forwards, and yet 20-year-old Jake Neighbours still could find his way into a top six role. He had two points in nine games for the Blues last season before getting sent back to the Western Hockey League, where he scored 45 points in 30 games for the Edmonton Oil Kings. Neighbours is further down the list of potential Calder Trophy candidates, but if he sticks in a top-six role with the Blues, that is the kind of situation that would allow him to produce enough to contend for the award.

#17 Returning to the NHL after scoring 94 points in 93 games in Switzerland over the past two seasons, Denis Malgin has a chance to not only secure a spot with the Toronto Maple Leafs, but potentially even in a scoring role. He has managed 60 points in 192 career NHL games, playing mostly in a depth role, so there is no rush to grab Malgin off the waiver wire, but it is worth monitoring what his role could be on a high-scoring team.

#18 There will be precious little to get excited about in Chicago this season, but there may be some deep league value for players that will get overlooked. The Blackhawks acquired Taylor Raddysh from the Tampa Bay Lightning as part of the Brandon Hagel trade last season and Raddysh produced 10 points and 43 shots on goal in 21 games for Chicago. With such a lacklustre lineup, Raddysh has the opportunity to play in a scoring role and on the first unit power play, which might be enough to give him some fringe fantasy value.

#19 26-year-old New York Rangers winger Sammy Blais missed most of last season after tearing his ACL. That limited him to just four points in 14 games and while scoring is never top of mind when it comes to Blais’ contributions, he had 28 points in 76 games while playing a limited role for St. Louis in the previous two seasons. There might be an opportunity on Broadway for Blais, that if the Rangers are looking for someone to fill the right-wing spot on the top line with Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad, Blais might get a shot in that role. If he sticks, that should elevate his offensive production to go with hit totals (403 in 133 career games) that make him a worthy contender for a spot in banger leagues.

#20 When the Seattle Kraken upgraded their forward group in the offseason, it looked like it might squeeze Ryan Donato out of a spot. The 26-year-old winger ultimately re-signed later in the summer. Coming off a season in which he tallied a career-high 16 goals and 31 points, Donato is worth tracking because he has been able to generate shots at a good rate while playing in a depth role, and if he manages to find a spot with better talent in Seattle, he probably has some untapped offensive potential.

*Advanced stats via Natural Stat Trick.

MCKEEN’S 2022-23 NHL YEARBOOK – BUFFALO SABRES – NHL Player Profiles

Joe Yerdon – Forwards and Defense, Catherine Silverman - Goaltending — Thu, 15 Sep 2022 21:41:19 +0000

FORWARDS

ST. LOUIS, MO - FEBRUARY 25: Sabres center Tage Thompson (72) during a NHL game between the Buffalo Sabres and the St. Louis Blues on February 25, 2022, at Enterprise Center, St. Louis, MO. (Photo by Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire),

Tage Thompson

As breakout seasons go, perhaps none were more out-of-the-blue and stunning as Tage Thompson’s 38-goal, 68-point year in 2020-2021 all while playing a position he hadn’t played in the NHL. Coach Don Granato moved Thompson to center and watched the six-foot-seven score more than twice as many goals in one season as he did in his first four with Buffalo and St. Louis. Thompson going from a player you wondered if he would ever pop off in the NHL to suddenly being the Sabres No. 1 center without a doubt is an incredible glow-up. Thompson’s rise to the top of the line-chart saw him team up with Jeff Skinner and Alex Tuch to provide the Sabres’ first dangerous top line since Skinner skated next to Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart. Of his 38 goals, 26 came at even strength and 10 on the power play. Adding a couple of shorthanded tallies was a chef’s kiss on top of an incredible season. On top of that, Thompson trailed only Skinner in shots taken and he was fourth among six players on the roster to have a greater than 50 percent CorsiFor at 5-on-5 last season. The Sabres believe he can do it again and signed him to a seven-year, $50 million contract prior to training camp.

Jeff Skinner

Jeff Skinner’s Sabres career has been an incredible journey and he just finished his fourth season in Buffalo. After he scored 40 in his first season and landed an eight-year, $72 million contract his following two seasons had him buried in the lineup by then coach Ralph Krueger and his offense disappeared posting the worst seasons of his career in back-to-back years. With Krueger out and Don Granato in, Skinner found himself back on the top line and thrived. Skinner finished second on the Sabres behind Tage Thompson in goals (33) and points (63). As he’s done throughout his career, he thrived at even strength scoring 28 goals and his time on the power play increased greatly and led to five goals. Having a player with the offensive ability of Skinner made it seem like a no-brainer to put him with other players who can drive play and teaming up with Thompson and Alex Tuch helped make everyone better. Skinner’s ice time even recovered to a normal level as his average per game jumped by 2:35. What Skinner will look to avoid is the roller coaster effect he’s had year to year going from a big goal season to a more average one. After breaking free of the restrictions of the past, Skinner will aim to keep the good times rolling.

Alex Tuch

It’s not often when a player is traded for a superstar that he turns into the breath of fresh air needed to give a team life. This was the story for Alex Tuch after arriving in Buffalo from Vegas in the Jack Eichel trade. Tuch embraced being a Sabre as he was a fan of them growing up outside of Syracuse, NY and impressed fans in Western New York with his big frame he uses to drive the net and create opportunities close to the net. Tuch returned from offseason shoulder surgery to play 50 games for Buffalo and posted 12 goals and 38 points tying him for fifth with Dylan Cozens on the team. Tuch teaming up with Jeff Skinner and Tage Thompson on the top line for most of the season allowed him to be the power forward while Thompson and Skinner thrived with the room he provided. Tuch’s scoring rate of 0.76 points per-game was also a career high and his best since 2018-2019 with the Golden Knights. He was second on the Sabres behind Rasmus Asplund with a 51.6 percent CorsiFor at 5-on-5 and when you’ve got the puck more than the opponent does, you’re doing it right. Tuch also showed characteristics of being a possible future captain of the team, if not this season, then certainly down the road. With a complete offseason of training and a full season, it should mean the best is yet to come for Tuch.

Victor Olofsson

Victor Olofsson has one of the best shots in the NHL and he found ways to grow his game when his shot wasn’t there. For a span of time that’s somewhat unclear, Olofsson dealt with a wrist injury that appeared to take the speed and accuracy away from his laser beam of a shot and held him to 20 goals. Although he missed only 10 games, having his best weapon unavailable for any amount of time would be frustrating. Consider that he scored on 12.2% of his shots last season, a normal season would’ve meant scoring closer to 25 or 30 goals. The last time the Sabres had more than two 30-goal scorers in a season was 2006-2007 when they had four. Watching Olofsson evolve into a player who can do more than just score laser beam goals on the power play to one who can set up others and score for himself is a very welcome change. This isn’t to say Olofsson’s play ever disappointed the front office, but when you add more to a player’s game that can make them a better threat and keep opposing defenses on their toes, it makes a difference. This evolution in his game shows that sometimes out of the most difficult situations, solutions arise. With a new two-year contract signed and set, Olofsson will be eager to show off all his weapons.

Casey Mittelstadt

Last season was supposed to be Mittelstadt’s opportunity to show what he can really bring to the lineup. He had a great training camp and appeared ready to have his best season at the most important time of his career. Instead, an upper-body injury in the first game of the season kept him sidelined until December where he re-aggravated it and didn’t return until late January. He missed two more weeks with a separate injury in February. In all, injuries cost him 42 games and kept him to six goals and 19 points in 40 games. Mittelstadt’s career has had plenty of ups and downs to this point, but provided injuries stay away, he’ll be in the same position to show what he can bring to a rejuvenated lineup. His hands and shot are excellent as we’ve seen in the past and whether he stays at center or slides to wing, he can be a productive forward. He’ll have a bit more competition this year with Peyton Krebs, Jack Quinn, and J-J Peterka set to challenge for bigger roles and spots on the roster. He found success last season playing with Victor Olofsson and Rasmus Asplund as those three were able to have strong possession and shot generation. With good health and ice time to match it, the best of his career may be yet to come, but competition for spots among forwards will be stiff.

Dylan Cozens

The 21-year-old native of Yukon enters his third NHL season and while he’s been fine during those seasons, he’s in the best position to have a breakout season in Buffalo now. For roughly the first half of last season, Cozens was one of the Sabres most impressive young players. He showed great aptitude for carrying the puck into the zone and he helped drive play on his line. For a time, he was on a 20-goal pace, but things cooled off a little and he finished with 13 goals and 38 points. The rates on his offensive metrics all improved quite a bit and he further developed the edge to his game that won’t allow larger players to take advantage of him. He’s also not afraid to drop the gloves if the situation calls for it. Cozens saw more of his shift starts come in the offensive zone going roughly 60-40 offensive to defensive zone. This may seem a bit sheltered, but he played most of the season with Vinnie Hinostroza and Kyle Okposo and giving lines that may or may not be a bit lower in the lineup a bit more juice to get some scoring chances never hurts. With Cozens’ ability to possess the puck up the ice and able to gain the zone with the puck under control, he may be able to help get the team out of danger more often. With an expected influx of young scoring talent, it may open things up for Cozens to boost his own offensive output.

Rasmus Asplund

It’s true that many forwards who excel defensively fly under the radar unless they’re also outstanding scorers. After all, doing the grunt work doesn’t usually get on the highlight reels. But when you did through the numbers and search out players whose possession and shot suppression numbers look, perhaps no one went as unnoticed as Rasmus Asplund. At 5-on-5, Asplund was the Sabres best at CorsiFor percentage (53.3), he trailed only Alex Tuch in Shots For percentage and expected goals for percentage. Even more impressive is that he had most of his zone starts in the offensive end. Asplund is not an offensive dynamo. He had eight goals and 27 points and 22 of those were at even strength. He went 46 games between goals, when he scored Nov. 21 and not again until March 27, but his defensive work earned him a few votes for the Selke Trophy for best defensive forward. Given his defensive abilities, he’ll likely be deployed on an energy line or will line up with other players whose main skills are not centered around shutting down opponents. That Asplund has emerged like this gives Buffalo someone they can rely on to forecheck and pressure the puck relentlessly all over the ice and to play smart on the penalty kill. If Asplund were better at finishing he’d have a few more goals as he can generate chances, but for now it’s not his main mission.

Peyton Krebs

As the other key acquisition in the Jack Eichel trade, Krebs joined the Sabres as a potential future top-six centerman. Although he was drafted by Vegas, he’s done most of his pro hockey development with Buffalo last season. He joined the Sabres organization having played seven AHL games with Henderson and 13 with the Golden Knights. Over 48 games in Buffalo he posted seven goals and 22 points and showed an adept ability to thread passes to teammates and create scoring chances or set up goals. Like Cozens, Krebs was a first-round pick in 2019 but his road to the NHL was a bit more methodical, not to mention slowed by injuries, but his time to start shining is approaching. Something that will help Krebs get to the NHL and be a top-six or top-nine forward is the improvement in his defensive game. While his vision on the ice as well as his passing ability are outstanding, he struggled in his own end. When he was sent to the AHL at the conclusion of the NHL season, his play in there showed he’s not far off in general, but he put a lot of work in his play away from the puck and it helped him immensely. Building off that will help him in the competition for minutes in the lineup. With his offensive gifts already showing a lot of promise, he’ll have a huge opportunity to capitalize in competition with teammates.

DEFENSE

Rasmus Dahlin

It would feel wrong to say that Dahlin has been a bit beleaguered in his four NHL seasons, but there’s a lot of truth to it. He’s played for three head coaches, each with different systems and ideas for how Dahlin should play, and it’s hurt him, particularly early on in seasons. Last season started similarly as the player who went No. 1 in the 2018 NHL Draft seemed like he would never show up. But that changed in the second half of the year. Dahlin became a puck-rushing force, particularly in the offensive zone. Dahlin’s moments to pinch in were well-timed, his reads on plays were spot on, and his ability to finish chances improved as the season wound down. He had 13 goals and 40 assists when it was all said and done, and it seemed like the new energy surrounding the team manifested itself within his game. Ten of his goals came at even strength, as did 21 assists. On the power play which he was the quarterback on the top unit, he scored three goals with 18 assists and even had a shorthanded assist as well. He played the most minutes per game in his career (over 24:01) and was hands-down their No. 1 defenseman. These are key reasons to be excited about what’s to come this season, all he must do is not stumble out of the gate and play like that for a full season. It’s a big ask, but it’s the ask that’s always been made of him from the beginning.

Mattias Samuelsson

The one thing that kept the 6-foot-4, 226-pound rookie from being a Sabre all season was an injury sustained during a prospects challenge game before the start of training camp. That blocked shot kept him out of action for some time and meant he started the season in the AHL when he was cleared to play. It wasn’t long after that he was off to Buffalo where he instantly became a top pairing defender with Rasmus Dahlin and made Buffalo’s blue line that much better. Over 42 games, Samuelsson had 10 assists and averaged an even 20 minutes per game. While he played most his minutes with Casey Fitzgerald to start, his time with Dahlin is what has everyone in Buffalo excited about what’s to come. In 140 minutes of time at 5-on-5 with Dahlin, he posted a 54.6 percent CorsiFor and a 51.3 percent expected goals for. Even with all that, there was some bad luck as their PDO together was .967 (average is 1.000). Samuelsson also provides a physical element to the roster that’s severely lacking. He was third on the team with 100 hits. Dahlin was first with 121 but he played in 38 more games. The best is yet to come for Samuelsson, and he’ll be counted on to play top pairing minutes, likely with Dahlin. His throwback style with a modern twist is the exact kind of thing Buffalo has needed for a long time.

Henri Jokiharju

A lot had been asked of Jokiharju in his first couple seasons with Buffalo. He was originally Rasmus Dahlin’s partner and stayed there for a few seasons. The importance of that pairing playing most minutes and being tasked the toughest matchups began to show that perhaps that wasn’t the ideal role for the now 23-year-old Finn. Now that Mattias Samuelsson has assumed that role on the top pairing, Jokiharju has slid back to the second pair where, while the minutes are fewer, it’s allowed Jokiharju to settle in and take better advantage of the lesser matchups. What that really means is it’s a long-winded way of saying Jokiharju was fine but unspectacular. His numbers, both standard and advanced, don’t jump off the screen. He had three goals and 19 points in 60 games and his possession numbers were middle of the road both in terms of the Sabres and in general. He had some power play time and a bit more on the penalty kill, although it stands to reason with Owen Power’s full-time arrival, power play time will be scarce for Jokiharju from here on out. What will make or break him is how steady and consistent he can play. There were stretches last season where his play was a bit off and left fans frustrated. Saving him from top pairing minutes should do well to eliminate that from occurring and allow Buffalo to get the best from him.

Ilya Lyubushkin

True defensive-defensemen are a bit scarcer in the modern NHL, but when there’s a need for one on a team it’s always apparent. Therefore, one of the Sabres few free agent signings addressed that need for the blue line and it was former Coyote and Maple Leaf defender Ilya Lyubushkin that fit the bill. While Mattias Samuelsson provides a lot of that bite on the top pair, Lyubushkin will provide another option on a lower pairing. One thing that makes Lyubushkin stand out is his consistency. The player he was when he came up with Arizona is the same guy he is now. His shot suppression numbers were decent with Arizona considering how poorly they’ve played the past few seasons. In his short time with the Maple Leafs, those numbers naturally improved but his game held strong. He’s not a big time shot blocker nor is he overwhelmingly physical, but at 6-foot-2, 210 pounds he can fill the space and close the gaps with attention to detail. If there’s someone Lyubushkin seems ideal to line up next to it’s Owen Power. His defensive-minded play counters Power’s strong puck carrying ability and offensive play. That’s a spot he may have to compete with Jokiharju to lock down. Make no mistake though, Lyubushkin is a Sabre because he can handle himself very well in his own end of the ice, anything else he can add is gravy.

Craig Anderson

It seems like Craig Anderson just doesn’t want to quit – at 41-years old, he’ll be one of the oldest players in the league, much less in net. With the announcement that Mike Smith will likely miss the 2022-23 campaign, that leaves Anderson as the league’s only over-40 goaltender – and the next closest in age, Marc-Andre Fleury, will only be 38. It’s hard not to root for him to keep having fun, especially given the mentor status he’ll assume during the upcoming year.

Buffalo found itself scrambling when former up-and-comer Linus Ullmark left in free agency last summer, and they still haven’t quite recovered. That leaves them in a position where they need Anderson for as long as he’s happy to skate out and dress the part, even if his numbers during the 2021-22 season were far from exemplary. He remains one of the league’s most old-school holdouts from a technical standpoint, which becomes more and more apparent with each passing year; as the game speeds up and requires faster and smoother lateral work, he struggles to keep up. But despite the fact that his game clearly doesn’t seem suited for going the distance on a postseason run anymore, he continues to have one of the most consistent game styles out there. That’s an incredible asset for a Buffalo franchise that’s not necessarily trying to win a cup this year but is trying to ingrain good habits in the up-and-coming players they have on roster. Add in the guidance that Anderson can provide for the newly-acquired Eric Comrie and the stable reliability he offers for the team’s coaching staff as a backup, and there’s a lot to like about his continued presence in the Niagara region – even if he signifies yet another year of a seemingly-endless rebuild.

Projected starts: 35-40

Eric Comrie

It seems like Eric Comrie has been just a step away from regular league action for years now, but he’ll finally get his chance this season. With Malcolm Subban on the injured reserve list, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen coming off a lackluster year spent nearly entirely in the AHL, and Erik Portillo still developing at the University of Michigan, the door is wide open for Comrie to finally establish himself as a consistent NHL presence.

Comrie had a stellar coming-out year for Winnipeg this past season, posting his first career NHL shutout and boasting a .920 save percentage in all situations through 19 games. It seemed as if he finally took the technical precision he was so well known for during his prospect years and added a bit more confident from a decision-making standpoint. During some of his brief earlier showings at the NHL level, he struggled with keeping his movements fluid and minimal after allowing a tough goal. This past year, though, he managed to keep his game consistent through entire 60-minute showings, relying on smart technique and a lack of over-aggressive challenging to give himself an edge in a season where so many goaltenders were still re-establishing their own game baselines post-covid shutdowns. Now, though, he’ll have to replicate that success with what’s likely to be a much higher workload, behind a team that’s dealt with far less success than Winnipeg has seen in the last few years. Buffalo has struggled with not just structure to their games, but with consistency – particularly in how they manage their blue line. That means that although Comrie is going to be given more responsibility, he’ll be given less direction in how to handle it. Hopefully, he’ll be fine with Craig Anderson as a reliable mentor, but he wouldn’t be the first goaltender to see his confidence rattled by a scattered system offered up by the Sabres.

Projected starts: 50-55

McKeen’s 2020-21 Hockey Yearbook: Winnipeg Jets Top 20 Prospects

Rachel Howard — Wed, 30 Dec 2020 19:35:16 +0000

McKeen's Top 20 Winnipeg Jets prospects for the 2020-21 season. You can read an organizational assessment prior to the draft in Ryan Wagman's article found here. Following the draft we provided a review on each teams performance based on our rankings found here.

Cole Perfetti, C/LW (10^th overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

Perfetti may not possess high end size or speed, but there are so many things to like about his game His best asset is his hockey sense. While he doesn’t possess game breaking speed, he can break down opposing defenses by being one step ahead of them. His preferred spot is the half wall, where he can survey the ice, quick hands and quick feet biding him time to make plays. He is a constant threat with the puck and turnovers are rare. He anticipates gaps, rebounds, and passes before they happen, and isn’t afraid to take a hit to make something happen. Perfetti possesses excellent edgework and lateral quickness. He is hard to contain due to his unpredictability. His wrist shot and release are terrific. He is creative in transition. There is doubt if he can stay down the middle at the next level. Perfetti also has steps to take as a two-way player, who can be relied upon in any situation. With his high-end hockey sense, he can likely improve some of his faults. He is a potential game breaking offensive forward who could one dayfind his way to the top of NHL scoring races. – BO

Dylan Samberg, D (43^rd overall, 2017. Previous ranking: 1)

The three years since Winnipeg used a second round pick on Samberg saw the big blueliner play a key role in two WJCs for Team USA, win two NCAA championships with Minnesota-Duluth and add 25 pounds to fill out his impressive frame, without any degradation in his quickness. He is a very good skater for his size, which is especially notable in his ability to recover after the puck goes the other way. While he can be physically imposing, playing the body against all manner of opponents, his off-the-puck game is much more than just a matter of brute force. He positions himself well and has a gigantic wingspan, allowing him to use that reach to break up rushes cleanly and legally. With the puck, he is functional enough to earn some second unit power play duties. He has a strong shot with a quick release. Moreover, he moves the puck well, without ever looking fancy. Samberg, more than anything else, makes the right play to put his team in an advantageous position. Finally signed to an ELC, Samberg could see NHL ice next season. - RW

Kristian Vesalainen, LW/RW (24^th overall, 2017. Previous ranking: 2)

At 6-4” and 228, Vesalainen can be an intimidating physical force, using his size to bust his way to the goal with pure momentum and strength. He is also an elite skater. Nimble and with impressive footwork, he achieves top speed quickly and is able to get separation on defenders when motoring through open ice. More of a shooter than a passer, he is deadly with his wrist shot anywhere from the faceoff dots in and is aware enough to open up passing lanes for teammates while looking shot. Despite his impressive raw package of skills, Vesalainen is perplexingly inconsistent and lacks assertiveness. Slow to adjust to the size of North American ice, he is prone to disappearing for a string of shifts and does not put up enough shots for a player as lethal with the puck as he is. 2019-20 was his first full season in N.A. competition and if he can figure out how to put his skillset together, he can be a top-line scoring winger; at worst, he is a rugged middle-six depth contributor. - TD

Ville Heinola, D (20^th overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 3)

Heinola showed promise in his eight-game NHL stint, but was eventually sent to the AHL before being returned to Finland. He plays with plenty of poise and makes sound decisions with the puck. He sees the ice really well and snaps accurate, crisp passes in all zones from simple outlets to longer passes up the rink. He has swift hands and picks pucks quickly off the wall to make plays. He also works well on the power play as his vision and passing skills are assets. He has an accurate shot from the point, whether it be a slap shot or wrister. He reads the game well defensively, has a quick stick and keeps tight gaps. However, Heinola could use his size more effectively in battles. He moves pretty well, but his skating is not high end, especially considering his size. He lacks explosive initial burst and could be quicker from a standstill and smooth out his forward stride. He makes up for the lack of quickness with his situational awareness. He has top pairing NHL potential, but the middle-pair is a more realistic projection. - MB

Declan Chisholm, D (150^th overall, 2018. Previous ranking: 4)

One of the better skaters out of the OHL, Chisholm is aggressive in leading the attack out of the defensive zone, using first step quickness to create separation from forecheckers, and his speed and edgework to gain the opposing blueline. A competent powerplay QB, he creates lanes with agility and lateral quickness. Finally, his gap control defensively is solid as he stays ahead of incoming attackers and has learned to trust his mobility to play more aggressively to take away space. Increased strength and improved engagement elevated his effectiveness. This will be the area that Chisholm will need to continue to work on, as well as his decision making in transition. He will likely need some time to gain the confidence necessary to play aggressively as a pro. Previously, Chisholm had trouble with turnovers, but cleaned that up this past year, and gets a better feel for when to take a risk. He will likely need several years of seasoning at the pro level before he is ready for an NHL role, but he projects as a number 4-6 defender who can also quarterback the powerplay. The key will be just how much his defensive game progresses. – BO

Anton Johannesson, D (133^rd overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

Johannesson has missed a good chunk of the last two years to injury, which, when combined with his smaller frame, allowed the Jets to draft him in the fifth round. When healthy, he has showcased why he his high-end skills. A confident and competent mover, Johannesson excels in transition, using an effortless stride, strong agility, and quick hands to lead the attack. On the power play he is a very dangerous weapon because of how well he gets his shot through to the net and his ability to walk around defenders to create gaps in coverage. With the puck on his stick, it is rare to see him commit a turnover as his vision and decision making is sound. Needless to say, his upside as an offensive defender is very high. His size has held him back from being a consistently effective player in the defensive end. He isn’t strong in front of the net or along the boards and his overall awareness is raw. There is hope that as he fills out, he can become an adequate defensive player as his offensive skill set is definitely dynamic enough to play in the NHL. – BO

Sami Niku, D (198^thoverall, 2015. Previous ranking: 5)

Three years removed from his dominant rookie AHL season, Niku has refined his craft and looks more like a future NHLer than a flash-in-the-pan. He impresses with splendid technical skating skill and inventiveness in moving the puck out and into the offensive zone. A superb puck-handler, he calls for the puck often and directs traffic through the neutral zone at even strength and the power play. His patience with the puck has improved significantly. Though he has improved defensively, he hasn’t looked entirely comfortable in his NHL stints, posting poor possession numbers and few points in transition while battling for ice time against veterans. Fighting through injuries -- including a preseason car accident with Vesalainen beside him -- Niku was not able to stamp himself into the NHL with regularity yet, with some hesitance and inconsistency in his play, but he very well could clinch a spot on their thinning blueline as soon as next season. As a seventh rounder, any NHL games played Niku registers is above market value for Winnipeg, but the 23-year-old’s story is only just beginning. - TD

Mikhail Berdin, G (157^th overall, 2016. Previous ranking: 6)

One of the most entertaining players at any position in the AHL, Berdin’s talent level is matched only by his swagger. A hard-nosed and fierce competitor in the crease, the Russian held up exceptionally through backstopping a Manitoba team that sat at the bottom of the Central Division all season, posting a .910 save percentage and a record near .500 in spite of a weak defense in front of him. Athletic and creative in the blue paint, his anticipation and play-reading improved mightily from his 2018-19 rookie pro season, but he mostly relies on his reflexes and impressive foot quickness. While puck-handling is not the most important skill a goaltender can have, Berdin’s talent and confidence with the puck is Brodeur-esque and capable of forcing a team to abandon any forechecking or dump-and-chase style. His selection of his tools and aggression can hurt him at times, but he can make difficult saves look easy consistently with his high-energy style. A sixth rounder in 2016, Berdin is a legit NHL prospect who could even push an NHL like Connor Hellebuyck for starts in the future. - TD

Logan Stanley, D (18^th overall, 2016. Previous ranking: 7)

Time on ice is not a publicly available statistic in the AHL, but I have a feeling Logan Stanley is near the top of the boards. A 6-7”, 242lb behemoth capable of logging heavy minutes with consistency and presenting opposing forwards with long, impassable gaps and borderline unfair stick length, the 22-year-old is exactly what the Jets thought they were taking in the middle of the 2016 first round. His defensive game is one of the most polished out of any pro in his age group, but his offensive game has been fairly impressive as well, showing out during power-play deployments with his booming slap shot and improved technical skating ability -- he already moved around pretty well for a big man. What is frustrating in his game, though, are his inconsistent and confusing reads; he can pass the puck into a dangerous situation or sell out for a hit and give up inside position at times, and that will have to be coached out of him. Otherwise, Stanley plays such a simple stay-at-home game that I can’t imagine he would have much trouble playing in the NHL for a decade plus, perhaps starting with next season. – TD

Daniel Torgersson, LW (40^th overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

A burgeoning power forward, Torgersson has shown an ability to complement skilled players extremely well in a top six role. He skates well enough to keep up with them in a straight line and has good explosiveness for his size. He can cover the puck and win battles with his reach and strength is hard to contain around the net and on the rush. A physical player, he shows well in all three zones, competing hard on the forecheck and along the wall in his own end. However, his skill set as an offensive player is only average, which suggests that his upside may be limited to the bottom six player at the NHL level, an assessment that his home club of Frolunda may agree with, as they have only sporadic time up with the senior side, regardless of his great production at the junior level. If he can improve his release and his ability to create with the puck at full speed, there may be more upside. – BO

David Gustafsson, C (60^th overall, 2018. Previous ranking: 8)

It should go without saying that the Jets rushed Gustafsson to the NHL last season. Playing 22 games for Winnipeg at age 19, he had a Shot Attempt % of 29.9%, per NHL.com, worse than any forward who played in more than four games. Were it not for a fortuitous PDO, he likely would have seen the back of the NHL much sooner. To his credit, Gustafsson was much better in his 13 game stint in the AHL and was far more impressive playing on the top line for Sweden at the WJC, helping his homeland to a Bronze Medal. It should also be said that playing up a level or two is nothing new for the center, as he played two full seasons in the SHL as a teenager before coming to North America. Gustafsson is a large-framed center with a great track record on the draw. He is quicker than he is fast, plays a very reliable two-way game and is strong on his stick. Due to always playing above his age class, his offensive upside is still a mystery, but Gustafsson has enough in his bag to make it in a bottom six role assuming he lacks the skill set to play top six. - RW

Santeri Virtanen, C (105^th overall, 2017. Previous ranking: 9)

Virtanen plays a tenacious, purposeful two-way game. He manages well in the corners and along the boards – the physical attributes are there. He reads the game well and provides puck support. He is very strong at face-offs. More of a defensive forward, he can be utilized on the penalty kill due to his defensive reliability. He has pretty good puck handling skills and a fine shot as well. In order to be able to play in the NHL, his skating will have to improve. Not the most efficient skater, he often takes wide turns. His first few strides are clumsy. He could improve his endurance and be more agile as well. Virtanen had a very promising start to the 2019-20 season but couldn’t quite maintain that level of play for the remainder of the campaign. Next season will be very important as he will need to contribute more offensively. At this point in time, he projects as a depth forward at the NHL level. - MB

Nathan Smith, C (91^st overall, 2018. Previous ranking: 10)

Drafted as a 19-year-old, Smith has one of the more interesting, unique stories among all prospects in this book. In his first year of draft eligibility, Smith was playing high school hockey. That, in and of itself, is not that interesting. But he was not playing in Minnesota, or Massachusetts. No, Smith was playing high school hockey in Florida. The Tampa native was crushing all comers in the Sunshine State, but surprisingly more than held his own when he moved up a few notches to play with Cedar Rapids of the USHL. His skating was maybe a little unrefined, with more experience playing roller hockey than ice hockey growing up, but he was clever and showed a gift for playmaking. Smith is comfortable playing in the middle of the ice and has proven himself to be effectively creative with the puck after a successful freshman season at Minnesota State. His skating has also improved from what he showed in the USHL. We are still years away from knowing how Smith will turn out, but he has already come so far. - RW

Arvid Holm, G (167^th overall, 2017. Previous ranking: 12)

Holm is starting to look like a sneaky good pick by the Jets from 2017. He never had the big numbers playing on a bottom team in the junior league but was since picked up by Farjestad in the SHL which is a big organization with a strong program for goalies. Holm has since been a big surprise to many. He has the size that you want in a modern goalie, and he reads the play well with good vision. He now plays better positionally as well. Holm showed strong consistency and his team won 20 of his 30 starts. He is not a goalie with any standout tools, but the athleticism and his hockey sense both seem to be above average. He has recently signed with Winnipeg but will play the next season in the SHL. With the latest season in mind I would not rule out him to be a fringe starter/backup-goalie in the NHL in the future. - JH

Leon Gawanke, D (136^th overall, 2017. Previous ranking: 13)

From an emerging but still, to this point, under-scouted hockey culture in Germany, Gawanke was top-ten in points and assists among rookie defensemen in the AHL in 2019-20 with Manitoba, a team starved of offense. This is an encouraging sign of things to come from a highly entertaining, risk-taking 21-year-old with little pro experience under his belt. Demonstrating a veteran-like ability to cut passes through traffic and walk the blueline on the power play, he is a very dangerous offensive defenseman, especially with his powerful slap shot. Never afraid to activate himself in transition, his powerful strides and quick acceleration allows him to jump into things with ease. Of course, he can get into trouble this way and will need to polish his anticipation and aggression, but he is still only 21 and has less than 50 pro games under his belt. With time, he can be a middle-pair puck-rusher with power play deployment. - TD

Simon Lundmark, D (51^st overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 14)

Smooth skating defensive prospect. Picked in the second round in 2019, Lundmark now looks more to be a depth prospect, as he did not take any big steps developmentally last season. If Lundmark reaches the NHL, it is most likely a bottom pair/7th defenseman role. He lacks the tools to be an offensively productive defenseman and is not that strong in defending his own end either. He moves the puck and his feet well and can be a solid breakout passer. He has played a bottom pair in SHL for two seasons now and will need to take a step forward in his team hierarchy to come closer to the NHL. For him to do that he will need to be more than a solid breakout passer. He sometimes complicates things and can get into trouble if he is under pressure from forecheckers. He will also need to be a stronger player in his own end when his team does not have the puck. If he does that, I can see value in a puck-moving defenseman in a third pairing role. - JH

Kristian Reichel, C (Undrafted Free Agent, signed Jun. 15, 2020. Previous ranking: 15)

Undrafted out of the WHL, Reichel earned a two-year, two-way contract as one of the few bright spots on a dim Moose team in 2019-20. Signed as a fill-in depth player, the 22-year-old worked hard until earning a permanent top-six role alongside other Europeans such as Vesalainen and Gustafsson before the season was paused and eventually cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A sneaky and selective goal scorer, the Czech shoots hard and at a high percentage, thanks to an uncanny ability to locate dead spots in the ice, and he is ready for a shot before the defense can mark him. He is not much of a passer but can carry the puck low into the zone. Fast and intelligent, he can play a solid defensive game as well as flexibly play all three forward positions. Reichel proved he is a legitimate prospect after coming back from an injury early last season. Now he needs to show what his ultimate ceiling could be. – TD

Eric Comrie, G (Waivers: Dec. 19, 2019. Originally: 59^th overall, 2013 [Winnipeg]. Previous ranking: UR)

Always some team’s idea of a great third goaltender, someone you are comfortable subbing in for an injured regular for a month, but he now has 211 games of professional experience under his belt already and he still hasn’t definitively stamped out a claim for a regular NHL job. Comrie is a well-coached, technically competent netminder. His physical tools are only adequate though, which tells me that he is fairly likely to be maximizing his potential. If he can prove that wrong, he wouldn’t be the first goalie to bloom in his mid-20’s or later, but it doesn’t look likely. He can be a little stiff, with chunky movements, but the aforementioned technical ability along with a composed demeanor and never-quit approach, helps Comrie not get any less than his maximum. He doesn’t have any one obvious weakness, but likewise there is little to suggest he is ready for a bigger role. – RW

Pavel Kraskovsky, C (164^th overall, 2014. Previous ranking: 16)

Just as Kraskovsky seems to have lost a step from the peak of his prospectdom, he is taking a step forward as an offensive force in Russia. He was always correctly viewed as a defensive specialist, considering his career high through five full seasons in the KHL, where his career high was 18 points. Perhaps his first few months this year are portending of his turning a corner, but it isn’t likely. He has soft hands and plays the puck well, but his feel for finishing – not to mention his lengthy track record in that domain – is usually well below par. As he recently signed a two year extension with his lifelong club, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, this will be the last we report on Kraskovsky in this space, but even if he does one day come to North America, his ceiling would be as a low offense fourth liner who might be able to help out on the penalty kill. It’s not nothing, but it likely will be nothing for Winnipeg. – RW

Henri Nikkanen, C (113^th overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 18)

Another big, European center with a questionable offensive skill, there is a greater chance that Nikkanen has a greater ceiling than Kraskovsky, but also a greater chance that he never even reaches what Kraskovsky is capable of. Nikkanen put up impressive numbers in the Finnish junior ranks, but he doesn’t really have any big tools that provide confidence that he can continue to produce against men, when the game gets quicker. His skill with the puck, controlling in confined spaces, does give him a chance to get some action on a fourth line, with the caveat that despite his impressive size, he is not an aggressive player, which is to say that he is less likely to be supplement those bottom line minutes with time on the penalty kill. He also needs to show that he can keep up with the quicker pace physically, as his feet can seem heavy at times. What Nikkanen has working in his favor is his young age, giving him time to gain comfort in his physique. - RW

Winnipeg Jets Prospect System Overview

Ryan Wagman — Fri, 14 Sep 2018 14:21:29 +0000

For prospect hounds such as ourselves, and presumably you, the Winnipeg Jets of the last few years were a model organization. Not only were they building from within, but they were focusing on high upside talent at the draft. Whether they were drafting early (as they often did) or late, they drafted skill.

There were, of course, exceptions such as the somewhat perplexing decision to select the towering Logan Stanley with the 18^th overall pick in 2016, leaving players like Kieffer Bellows, Henrik Borgstrom, Sam Steel, and Alex DeBrincat on the board. But their other first round pick, Patrik Laine, was so good, it was easy to hand-wave away the Stanley selection.

Winnipeg’s 2017 draft followed that trend again, taking a super high upside forward in Kristian Vesalainen in the first round and following it up with a toolsy, yet very raw defender in Dylan Samberg with their second pick.

Coming into this past season, the Jets still seemed to have a loaded organization when it came to high end prospects. Of that crew, only one player, albeit their best one, Kyle Connor, graduated to the NHL. And he certainly lived up to expectations as well, with 57 points in 75 games. A few other rookies got some time in the NHL, but only Connor graduated from prospect status.

Between the loss (in a good way) of their top prospect, in addition to the trade top 10 challenger Erik Foley to St. Louis along with their first round pick in this year’s draft (again, in a good way for those two -Stastny was very good in his brief stay in Manitoba) and the generally late choices they got by virtue of a successful season at the NHL level, one would have expected a mild drop off in the overall strength of the system. Instead, the system seems to have cratered.

On the one hand, there are still some very talented players at the top. Vesalainen’s stock is as high as ever after a fantastic rookie season in Liiga and Jack Roslovic was only four NHL games away from graduating and should capture a regular NHL job out of training camp this year.

Other than those two though, and perhaps a few other more tangential depth pieces, Winnipeg saw way too many young players regress in 2017-18. The above-mentioned Stanley was healthy but ends his OHL career having never dominated the league over a lengthy stretch. Poolman dealt with injuries and struggled in his first, seemingly rushed, NHL looks.

And those were among the better performers in the Winnipeg system. Most of the other prospects of note were lucky to tread water. Some were not as lucky. Spare a thought to Jansen Harkins, a former second round pick who was ranked s their number seven prospect last summer. He was entering his rookie season as a pro but had had cameos in both last two seasons after his WHL was eliminated and looked good. Not this time. He struggled to assert himself with the Moose and ended up spending time in the ECHL.

Harkins, and all the others, are still young enough to be given every opportunity to recover, but the Jets have surrendered the model development organization mantle.

1 Kristian Vesalainen, LW/RW (24^th overall, 2017. Last Year: 3^rd) After inexplicably falling to the 24^th overall pick in the 2017 draft, Vesalainen had as good a year as he possibly could have, returning to his native Finland for the full season, scoring close to a point per game for HPK, and then helping Karpat to a Liiga championship after switching teams on loan. He was, by 10 points, the leading U20 player in Finland. As good as the numbers were, the skills are even better. All of his offensive tools grade out as high end, and the puck skills are near elite. He has a strong, 6-4”, NHL-ready frame, although it is possible that he spends another year in Europe before getting his NHL shot, as he has yet to sign an ELC. Either way, he is a future top six winger.

Jack Roslovic

2 Jack Roslovic, C/RW (25^th overall, 2015. Last Year: 2^nd) As mentioned above, Roslovic was only a few more NHL games away from losing his eligibility for this list (we don’t count playoff games for this purpose). He topped the point per game mark in his second go round in the AHL. He was a bit tentative in the NHL and his possession numbers underwhelmed, the skill set to play a regular middle six role, whether up the middle or in the wing, is still there. He is a strong skater with a very good shot and puck skills. Additional experience should allow him to play a more assertive style, much like he jumped into the AHL as a 19-year-old and dominated like few teenagers do. Considering the Jet’s depth at center, expect Roslovic to mostly play right wing for now.

3 Mason Appleton, C/RW (168^th overall, 2015. Last Year: 10^th) A prime example of how the Jets built one of the previously best and deepest systems in the NHL, Appleton was not a great skater in his draft year, but had always shown puck skills and vision, whether it was in his one year in the USHL, or prior to that as a Wisconsin prepster. He hit the ground running with Michigan State as a freshman and never looked back, turning pro after his sophomore campaign. His AHL rookie season was sensational, as he finished fourth in the league in scoring. His skating is much improved from his amateur days and he has also upped his finishing ability. Once an afterthought, now Appleton should be first in line when the Jets need to call up a forward.

4 Sami Niku, D (198^th overall, 2015. Last Year: 9^th) The number two scoring defenseman in his AHL rookie campaign Niku, drafted one round after Appleton, is another poster example of the benefits of drafting for skill in all rounds. He even scored a goal in his one game NHL cameo. A solid skater with fantastic puck moving and puck protection skills, he fits the modern game to a ‘T’. He is on the lean side and does not project to be a force in his own end or along the boards, but when his tea has the puck, he won’t need to be. If he can show more subtlety when shooting, he could be a near perfect power play weapon. Numbers might keep him in the AHL for another year, but his time should come soon enough.

5 Dylan Samberg, D (43^rd overall, 2017. Last Year: 8^th) Although Samberg has yet to demonstrate that he could be an offensive factor from the blueline, he has all of the tools you want to see in a defender whose priority is to drive the transition from defense to offense. He generally makes the simple play instead of trying for flash. He reads game situations at a surprisingly advanced level, considering how he only had 14 games above high school level before joining Minnesota-Duluth this year, where he helped spearhead a young blueline into a surprise national championship. Samberg is probably more of a #4/5 than a #2/3 going forward, but he looks like a future contributor, even if it will be a quiet contributor.

Logan Stanley

6 Logan Stanley, D (18^th overall, 2016. Last Year: 4^th) As mentioned above, Logan Stanley is big. At 6-7”, 227, he is easily among the biggest prospects – in fact, players of any stripe - in the sport. Stanley is more than just a Coke-Machine on ice, though. He moves very well for his size, and pretty well for any size, and can flash some offensive instinct. He knows how to use his size for good effect, and his reach in particular is elite. His 42-point season with the Kitchener Rangers was a fitting high on which to end his junior career, but his 16 points in 19 postseason games really hinted at the best case scenario. The Jets will be patient with Stanley as he explores his upside, but at worst, he will play in a bottom pairing role in the NHL.

7 Tucker Poolman, D (127^th overall, 2013. Last Year: 5^th) Although Poolman was given the opportunity to make the Jets out of camp last year, he was caught in a numbers game, dressing for only three of the team’s first 11 games before being sent back down to the Moose. He was up and down between the AHL and NHL throughout the year, but never really got settled in either league and only appeared in 43 games combined. Although given only limited and sheltered minutes with the Jets, to Poolman’s credit, he put up strong possession numbers. He still flashed some of the two-way abilities that made him such a coveted, if late-blooming NCAA prospect. He skates well for a bigger player and has some puck moving ability. Already 25 years old, this is Poolman’s last year on this list, one way or another.

8 David Gustafsson, C (60^th overall, 2018. Last Year: IE) The first name called out by the Winnipeg brass in the 2018 draft, Gustafsson is a broad-shouldered pivot who has already shown the ability to hold his own against men with a solid age 17 season in the SHL. More smart than anything else, his general lack of speed ensured that he was still available through most of two rounds. He projects as more of a shooter than a playmaker, which is more due to lack of creativity than inability to create plays for his teammates. Between his reads, size, strength, and temperament, he will be a handful no matter where he stands. He is signed for three more years with HV71 but expect the Jets to try to buy him out of that pact before it expires.

9 Michael Spacek, C (108^th overall, 2015. Last Year: 13^th) After a strong junior career both in the WHL and representing his native Czech Republic (he played in three WJCs and two WU18s) Spacek had a fine, if understated start to his pro career with the Moose. He demonstrated that his slightly undersized frame could withstand the rigors of playing against men and he provided secondary scoring to boot with 17 goals. Although not the toolsiest of players, he showed a nice shot, with the one-timer being a legitimate weapon from the slot. His skills play up somewhat thanks to good hockey sense, although the overall package speaks to a bottom six upside. One of many such prospects in this system, Spacek is closer than most of the others to being able to slot into the NHL lineup.

Santeri Virtanen

10 Santeri Virtanen, C (105^th overall, 2017. Last Year: 6^th) A gamble on tools, the Jets selected Virtanen with a fourth-round pick in 2017 despite being limited to 25 games at all levels in his draft year after a very impressive showing at the WU18s. It is too early to curse a player with the “injury-prone” label, nut after playing only 37 games at all levels this year, he is trending that way. Virtanen is an excellent skater with impressive hockey IQ, and enough puck skills to project as a two-way forward, but he needs to stat on the ice much more. He will be returning to Finland this year after a year in the USHL. Until he plays more regularly, he is a wild card.

11 Eric Comrie, G (59^th overall, 2013. Last Year: 12^th) There was a time not all that long ago, that Eric Comrie was ahead of Connor Hellebuyck in the Winnipeg pipeline. He had higher draft pedigree and some international experience. That ship has long since sailed. It is hard to blame Comrie for that though. He is an adequate all-around goalie whose best attributes are his glove hand and his ability to read the play, but goalie development is rarely linear. At least, it wasn’t for Hellebuyck. Comrie, on the other hand, has been inching his way forward over the last three seasons in the AHL, with a career best .916 save percentage last year. As his reward, he will be slightly favored to win the NHL backup job this year.

12 Brendan Lemieux, LW (Trade: Feb. 11, 2015. Last Year: 19^th) Playing more like his father Claude every year, Brendan Lemieux is a beefy player with good speed and a mean streak that burns hot over the long Manitoba winters. It is not a boast to note his second in the AHL 170 penalty minutes, but they do give a good indication of the type of player that he is. To his credit, he also more than doubled his previous AHL point totals, in ten fewer games than the previous year. If he can contain his temper just a touch more, he could have an NHL future as a pest. So far, that proposition is not a sure thing.

13 Giovanni Vallati, D (153^rd overall, 2018. Last Year: IE) While we were less than impressed on the whole with the Jets’ 2018 draft class, we applauded their selection of Vallati in the fifth round. Once a first-round pick in the OHL entry draft, he has quietly put up two solid seasons for Kitchener since then. A smooth skating blueliner, he has flashed high end smarts and a burgeoning physical game, although none of those traits has been all that consistent, or all at the same time, thus far. He has upside as a defensive defenseman who is not a liability on the puck, but he is still young enough to hope for more in time.

14 Clinston (C.J.) Suess, LW (129^th overall, 2014. Last Year: unranked) Suess, formerly known as C.J. Franklin, ended his NCAA eligibility on a high note, with career highs in both goals and assists, and being named a Hobey Baker award finalist, after leading Minnesota Stake-Mankato to their first NCAA tournament in three seasons. Although Suess is not blessed with a full glowing tool set, he plays a gritty, team-first game and shows a good understanding of the game, enabling what tools he does have to play up. He is likely no more than a fourth line winger at the highest level, but he is a good example of why teams are wise to take late round chances on college bound players in the draft.

15 Laurent Brossoit, G (UFA: Jul. 1, 2018. Last Year: 6^th (Edmonton)) Brossoit had appeared in NHL games for four straight years for the Edmonton Oilers, with last year’s 14 games representing a career high. His .883 save percentage in that span was not, unfortunately for him, a career low. The Oilers had been hoping that he could be a reliable backup to Cam Talbot in the NHL, but the former Calgary sixth round pick was clearly not up to the task. Perhaps with the Jets, his third organization – all Central Canadian clubs – will be the place for him to shine. He will have a chance to compete against Eric Comrie for the backup job for the Jets, but for all of his technical competence and rebound control, his struggles reading the play make him the underdog in this race.

16 Skyler McKenzie, C (198^th overall, 2018. Last Year: unranked) Around 11 inches shorter and close to 60 pounds lighter than Logan Stanley, McKenzie finished his WHL career with two near identical seasons of 84 and 87 points, topping 40 goals both times. Although he lacks any one standout tool, all of them – barring physicality, of course – grade out as above average. He played in all situations for Portland but will most likely be sheltered as a pro until he proves that he can withstand the tighter game of the AHL. Even as the game is growing less averse to smaller, skilled players, when you are small as McKenzie, you have to keep proving yourself before the caveats are removed from your point totals.

Luke Green

17 Luke Green, D (79^th overall, 2016. Last Year: 14^th) The number one overall pick of the 2014 QMJHL entry draft, Green struggled to actuate his tools through most of his junior career. While his production was far stronger in his last year on a per-game basis, injuries limited him to only 14 regular season games with Sherbrooke. He is a solid skater with above average hockey sense, but his offensive tools have not yet convinced that they can play at a high level as a pro. As he enters his rookie season in the AHL, he will also have to prove that the whispers of attitude problems that followed him in junior will not be an impediment to his ability to actuate his skills.

18 Mikhail Berdin, G (157^th overall, 2016. Last Year: unranked) Originally drafted out of the Russian 18U program, Berdin came to North America and excelled in the USHL over two seasons, even earning the third string role for the Russian WJC squad last year. Although he has yet to be truly tested at an advanced level, Berdin displays a lot of attributes that suggest that good things are in his future. He is athletic and hard-nosed. He is also perhaps the most skilled and definitely the most daring puck handling goalie among all affiliated prospects. He will play pucks that other goalies don’t even think about. So it isn’t so surprising that he scored an empty net goal last season with Sioux Falls.

19 Pavel Kraskovsky, C (164^th overall, 2014. Last Year: 15^th) Now a three-year KHL veteran, Kraskovsky has settled in as a 200-foot player who makes up in own zone responsibility what he lacks in offensive skills. He actually has solid puck skills but has not yet figured out how to turn that into offensive production. For the most part, Kraskovsky is a high IQ player who understands the game and knows how to make the safe, coaching friendly plays. Big and rangy, he has yet to fully fill out his 6-4” frame. The Jets are in no rush to bring him to North America and considering that he just signed a two year contract extension with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, Kraskovsky isn’t in a rush either.

20 JC Lipon, RW (91^st overall, 2013. Last Year: 17^th) A bruising winger who has seemingly plateaued at around 30 points a year in the AHL, Lipon has the skating and hockey IQ to play a role in the NHL, but he will never play as more than a fourth liner. His offensive limitations may prevent him from getting back to the NHL, which he experienced in a nine-game trial in the 2015-16 season, but his impressive physical game, with big hits at open ice and along the boards, along with the wheels and responsibility to help out on the PK, could lead to a long career as an unheralded energy line player.

Winnipeg – System Overview

Ryan Wagman — Sat, 16 Sep 2017 12:14:37 +0000

The goaltender paradox is one of the last and most difficult-to-overcome issues remaining in hockey. On the one hand, some of the best goaltenders of all time were lightly regarded as amateurs – or not regarded at all – while many netminders that were highly touted as amateurs, never establish themselves in the NHL. On the other hand, an NHL team could be talented and deep from first line to fourth, first pairing to third, and be sunk by mediocre goaltending while some mediocre teams are lifted to great heights by a talented netminder playing at the top of his game at the right time.

The modern-era Winnipeg Jets understand that before they moved back to Winnipeg, in their time as the Atlanta Thrashers, the organization used the second-overall pick of the 2002 draft on a big, athletic netminder from Finland named Kari Lehtonen. Lehtonen was – and still is – not a horrible goalie by NHL standards, but hindsight tells us that they would have been better off selecting Jay Bouwmeester (who went third).

*In fairness to Lehtonen, 2002 was a poor draft year in retrospect. As at times frustrating is his career has been, the number of players selected in 2002 after him who were clearly more valuable over their careers can be counted on one hand – Bouwmeester, Duncan Keith, Alex Steen, Valtteri Filpulla, Frans Nielsen.

Since that time, the combined Thrashers/Jets franchise has been much more conservative with the goaltending position at the draft. In 15 subsequent drafts, they have twice used second round picks on goalies, and never higher. Of course, that does not mean that they have solved goaltending. Like the rest of us, they have long known the pain of inconsistency between the pipes. To understand that pain, it is sufficient to know that the only goaltender in franchise history with more starts than Lehtonen has been Ondrej Pavelec, who finally played his last eight games in a Jets uniform last season.

Moving back to the premise of the first paragraph above, the Jets have tended to draft very well. Two years ago, Hockey Prospectus ranked their system as the best in hockey and last year, they still ranked sixth. They rarely are in contention for high-end free agents and GM Kevin Cheveldayoff tends to be very shy when it comes to trades, so their roster is largely home grown.

Thankfully, the roster is good. Very good. Forwards like Mark Scheifele, Blake Wheeler, and Patrik Laine are legit superstars. The next wave, featuring Nikolaj Ehlers, Bryan Little, and Matheiu Perrault, is similarly inspiring. On the blueline, they feature diverse talents like Dustin Byfuglien, Jacob Trouba, and Josh Morrissey. And the Jets currently have an abundance of very talented young players ready to reinforce what is already on-hand. There are good arguments for four of the top five listed below to spend this coming season in the NHL.

Not the perfect roster, but they have been good. They took more shots at even strength than their opponents in two of the last three years. Yet only once in that span did they make the playoffs, a minimalist appearance in which they were swept in the first round by Anaheim. And for all of that, their success will be predicated on the work of the goalies. They have not been able to develop front end goalies, and unless Steve Mason proves the answer, that mystery will continue to haunt this franchise.

Jets Kyle Connor (81) (Photo by Terrence Lee/Icon Sportswire)

1 Kyle Connor – One of the best players in NCAA as a freshman, Connor was not physically ready for the NHL even if his skill set was (and remains) high end. He struggled over 20 games with the Jets, but after going back to the AHL, emerged as one of the best players in the circuit by year’s end. Owns an incredibly quick release which scarcely needs one touch before firing. Will never be a physically dominant player, but cannot fault his effort. Should form a great 1-2 scoring punch with Patrik Laine for years to come.

2 Jack Roslovic – The top under-20 scorer in the AHL last season, Roslovic justified the decision to leave Miami (Ohio) after only one season. The former first round pick (taken the same year as Connor) plays a very mature game with great vision and puck skills. A solid-average skater, his offensive output is more meat-and-potatoes than creative, but still very effective. Plays with a very high work rate and is strong for his size. Has second line upside.

Jack Roslovic

Kristian Vesalainen (Photo by Matt Zambonin/HHOF-IIHF Images)

3 Kristian Vesalainen – Shuffled between teams in SHL, Liiga and SuperElit, it should be little wonder that Vesalainen struggled to produce offense with any consistency during the regular season. Finally playing amongst his peers at the WU18 tournament, he took off, with 13 points in seven games for the Silver medal winners. He is a big power forward with an excellent shot and a mature all-around game. Should be able to use his size to his advantage against men next year.

4 Logan Stanley – Drafted as a gamble on elite height with good hockey intelligence, Stanley’s post draft season was blighted by injuries, but when he played, he was beginning to show some of the promise that the Jets saw in him when they used the 18th overall selection in 2016 on him. An incredible skater for his height, he is extremely difficult to skate around. He is very strong on the puck and has a cannon for a point shot. Given better health, his point totals should take off.

5 Tucker Poolman – Dynamic and intelligent, Poolman can do a little bit of everything on the ice. Strong in his own zone, he rarely made the wrong decision in his collegiate career. Likes to pinch in with the knowledge that his skating prowess will allow him to get to his own zone in plenty of time. Has a strong, lanky body and will occasionally lay out bigger bodies with thunderous checks. Has a decent point shot, but is more effective at moving the puck smartly to teammates.

6 Santeri Virtanen – After spending the vast majority of his draft season injured, Virtanen exploded in the last five games of the season for TPS U20 and was one of the top players on Finland’s U18 team. He is a high end skater who has a rare extra gear. A very dangerous penalty killer. Plays with bravery, getting into lanes late to block shots or using his aggressive stick to create turnovers. Very high hockey IQ. Excited to see what he can do when fully healthy.

7 Jansen Harkins – A highly intelligent two-way forward, his offense in the WHL had stalled at plus, but not dominant levels. More a playmaker than a shooter, he exhibits very good vision and passing chops. He has a good frame for the pro game, but is not an overly physical player, relying on positioning and anticipation more than intimidation in his own end. Projecting as a middle six center, he is the type of player for whom his AHL stay could be brief.

8 Dylan Samberg – Raw, but incredibly toolsy, Samberg was a smart, calculated gamble in the second round this year. He combines plus size with great mobility and a strong point shot. Likes to pinch in deep, he is able to get back in time if the offensive charge does not go as planned. Patient with the puck and capable of executing long passes, he will not likely dazzle with his carrying ability. His strength is functional, but projects for more. Off to Minnesota-Duluth this year.

9 Sami Niku – A slightly undersized offensive defenseman, Niku will be making his North American debut this year. He is a smooth skater who hits top speed quickly and has an accurate, if not very hard, point shot. His real strength is his high end puck play. He can deliver crisp, long passes, that are easy to handle by his teammates. Also strong carrying the puck with speed up the ice. He will not be a quick AHL study, but has eventual top four upside.

10 Mason Appleton – Another example of the Jets drafting talented, skilled players in the late rounds, Appleton was by far the best player on a moribund Michigan State squad last year, and arguably as a freshman as well. The Jets seemed to agree, coaxing him out of school with an ELC this offseason. Strong on the half-wall, he plays the puck with patience and great vision. Not the fastest, but very agile. Responsible in his own end. Hands are quicker than his feet.

11 Erik Foley – An athletic winger with plus wheels, Foley can both produce offense at a respectable clip, while looking like a passenger, led along by better players. He has finishing ability and good net drive, featuring plus acceleration, but his hands often look stiff. He can protect the puck, leveraging his core strength and positioning against the wall, but struggles more when trying to stickhandle in tight. Can succeed if he plays a physical, power game.

12 Eric Comrie – Currently the top goaltending prospect in the Jets’ system, through two seasons in the AHL, Comrie has proven that he can handle a pro workload but not that he can be better than average between the pipes. He is athletic and minimizes second chances, but is prone to the snowballing effect, where one bad goal quickly leads to another. Small by modern netminding standards, he relies on lateral agility and scrambling to cover the net.

13 Michael Spacek – A strong scorer at both the international and junior levels, Spacek has all of the offensive tools, including skating prowess, a hard arsenal of shots, and slick hands that allow him to project as a potential middle six contributor at the highest level. Although he is a hard worker, and puts forth a commendable effort at backchecking and taking care of things in his own end, his lack of size or strength will hamper his speed of ascent.

14 Luke Green – An above average skater, Green has struggled to keep his career on the path he seemed to be on when Saint John made him the number one choice in the 2014 QMJHL Entry draft. He has the talent, and the all-zones awareness to project onto a future second pairing, but has also shown a disappointing propensity to wilt as the pressure mounts. Forced his way out of Saint John last year as he was being asked to play more at forward in deference to Thomas Chabot and Jakub Zboril. Has a chance to end his junior career on a high note.

15 Pavel Kraskovsky – The tall and lanky Russian pivot took a big step forward this season, his second full season in the KHL. A two-way player, he has good hands and playmaking instincts in the offensive zone, and is positionally mature in his own zone. More of a support player than one who can lead a top six line, he is currently on a one year deal with his hometown Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. Another year of progress like last year and the Jets should be working to entice him to cross the pond.

16 Chase De Leo – Pesky, undersized De Leo took a step back offensively in his second go-round in the AHL. Partially, it was a function of regression in his percentages and partially from being less involved offensively. He has enough slippery skating ability and quickness in his hands to be able to provide offense from a bottom six role in the NHL in the near future. He could probably contribute this season without embarrassing himself if the opportunity arose.

17 JC Lipon – AHL vet Lipon plays a physical game that is much bigger than his average size. After scoring at a nice clip in 2015-16, his offensive game fell off last year, while he still continued to rack up loyalty rewards for frequent use of the penalty box. A strong two-way forward, he might be more highly considered by Jets’ brass if he could only reign in his aggression on the ice. Could produce more offense with his shot and surprisingly nimble hands if he could stay out of the box.

18 Johnathan Kovacevic – Drafted this year in his third year of eligibility, Kovacevic exploded onto the prospect map this year, his freshman season with Merrimack. He is a big, calm puckmoving defenseman. A good skater for his size, he generally opts for the safe, simple play instead of risking something more flashy. Has great reach and leverages his large frame well at both ends. Already 20 years old and as big as he will get, the question is how much more development is in there?

19 Brendan Lemieux – The son of super-agitating Claude Lemieux, as a junior, Brendan Lemieux was the spitting image of his old man. He could contribute second line offensive numbers and was hell to play against. As a first year pro, only the latter half of that equation remained in place. He is a good skater with nice puck playing ability, but he got so caught up in the agitation, that he rarely had time to contribute to the offense. Also, spending that much time in the penalty box is no longer fashionable.

20 Nelson Nogier – Literally as unexciting as a prospect can be while still being a prospect, Nogier had a quietly steady first full pro season, spent mostly in the AHL, but also including 10 games up with the Jets. A modern-day defensive defenseman, he specializes in retrieving the puck in his own end and getting it moving again towards the offensive. Once the puck is out, he has little involvement although he is a good skater, and his point shot, when he takes one, is hard enough.

With many young players already starring in the NHL, the Jets system is not as strong as it recently was, but through continuing their approach of drafting high end skill whenever possible – ensuring that a high proportion of their picks have at least one skill that grades out as well above average – they are in a position to continue filling out the NHL roster from within. They recognize the inherent limitations they face from a player procurement perspective and continue to maximize the routes open to them.

Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire: Prospect Edition

Peter Harling — Fri, 20 Feb 2015 11:51:25 +0000

This week in the waiver wire we look at farming for potential prospects that went undrafted in many leagues but are close to being fantasy relevant in the NHL and would be worth adding to your keeper roster.

Teemu Pulkkinen W, Detroit Red Wings – 28% Fantrax Owned

Pulkkinen is a small offensive winger at 5’10” 198 pounds but his offensive instincts and creativity make him a high-end prospect. He has quick hands and a sniper mentality. His shoot is very hard and accurate with a quick and dangerous release. Since arriving in North America he has developed his defensive game while with Grand Rapids. In his 44 games with Grand Rapids this season he scored 30 goals and had 27 assists before being called up to the NHL where he has one goal in seven games with the Wings. If he remains in the NHL for the remainder of the season or not, he is worth an add to your keeper roster.

Joel Armia RW, Winnipeg Jets – 24% Fantrax Owned

Stock in Armia went through the roof after his performance for Finland at the World Juniors, but has been in slow and steady decline since. His failure to crack the woeful Buffalo Sabres roster caused many to write this prospect off. But he has skilled hands and is efficient at scoring in close goals. He has excellent hand eye coordination and for a big man, has quick feet and soft hands and can dance around defenders. With a change of scenery in Winnipeg he is well worth investing in.

Eric Comrie, G Winnipeg Jets – 15% Fantrax Owned

The Jets prospect pool is perhaps the best in the NHL and with Comrie they boast one of the most underrated and perhaps best goalie prospects. Comrie has strong lateral movement going from post to post and has been training in the off seasons with Tri-City Americans owner Olaf Kolzig and alumni Carey Price. His performance at the World Juniors winning the Gold Medal with Canada was also very impressive. He may turn out to be the best goalie in his 2013 draft class.

Brendan Leipsic, W Toronto Maple Leafs – 12% Fantrax Owned

Recently acquired by the Leafs in the deal that sent Cody Franson and Mike Santorelli back to Nashville, Leipsic was previously best known for his antics including drinking from the opposition’s goalies water bottle. That move was just one of his irritable tactics that gets under players skins in the mold of former Leaf Darcy Tucker or Brendan Gallagher of the Montreal Canadiens. Like those players, Leipsic is a little small by NHL standards but is feisty and aggressive none the less and has begun to develop similar offensive upside. You will love to own this player, and hate him on other teams so it’s best to pick him up for cheap now.

Nick Paul, C Ottawa Senators – 6% Fantrax Owned

Best known from the Jason Spezza trade, Paul will soon establish his name on the merit of his play on the ice. Last season in the OHL, Paul helped lead North Bay to the Conference finals and this year has his team in a strong position to best last year’s high. Paul also gained notoriety after making team Canada at this year’s World Juniors where his two-way play stood out as much as his size. The Senators were adamant he was involved in the Spezza deal and it is beginning to look like they knew something few others knew. Be like the Sens and snap up Paul before the word gets out.

Tyler Graovac, C Minnesota Wild – 5% Fantrax Owned

Graovac has good size at 6’3” and was a late blooming scorer in junior. His offensive game has continued to develop in the AHL and has seen a small taste of NHL duty this season playing three games but did not produce any points. In 52 AHL games this season he has 16 goals and 19 assists

Honorable Mention

Andreas Johnson Toronto Maple Leafs, Chris Tierney San Jose Sharks, Mike Matheson Florida Panthers, Justin Bailey Buffalo Sabres, Mike McCarron Montreal Canadiens

Canada set to debut final roster against Sweden

Scott Wheeler — Sat, 20 Dec 2014 22:45:22 +0000

The first look at Team Canada’s final roster comes today against Team Sweden in the second of three pre-competition games before the 2015 tournament kicks off on Boxing Day.

With the roster finalized, the game will serve as another step in the evaluation process as those who have made the team compete for roles.

With 12 regular spots available up front and six spots to compete for on the backend, the 20 remaining skaters will try to avoid falling into a role as the team’s twelfth forward or seventh defensemen. To start, Brayden Point and Dillon Heatherington will draw into those roles, respectively.

Team Canada's morning skate. Photo by Scott Wheeler.

Making their pre-competition debuts will be Ottawa Senators forward Curtis Lazar, top-ranked 2015 NHL Draft prospect Connor McDavid, undrafted Detroit Red Wings prospect Joe Hicketts and a pair of Winnipeg Jets second round prospects, forward Nic Petan and goaltender Eric Comrie.

McDavid said he's just happy to be back after suffering an injury in a fight earlier this year.

For Lazar, the chance to play with McDavid is something he said he's looked forward to since he heard he was joining the team.

"I'm just going to try and get open," Lazar said following the morning skate, laughing.

Head coach Benoit Groulx expects the new line, which sees Nick Ritchie on the left wing, to be a difference maker. The game is a chance for them to gel.

"We look for chemistry, we want to give them a chance," Groulx said. "We have to be patient and see how it goes."

After a dominant performance against Team Russia only to suffer a 2-1 loss at the hands of 52-save effort by Russian goalie and New York Islanders prospect Ilya Sorokin, Canada faces another tough challenge.

Team Sweden's morning skate. Photo by Scott Wheeler.

Team Sweden, led by returnees Robert Hagg (PHI), Robin Norell (CHI), Jacob de a Rose (MTL), Anton Karlsson (ARI) and Lucas Wallmark (CAR), plays an up-tempo, controlled game.

Other core players include Adrian Kempe (LAK), William Nylander (TOR) and Oliver Kylington, a smooth-skating draft eligible defender.

The game will be the only time the two teams meet, barring an elimination round matchup. Team Sweden will play their preliminary round games in Group B, in Toronto, while Team Canada will start in Montreal’s Group A.

The game, an instalment in RBC’s Road to the World Juniors, will be live on TSN2 at 7:00 p.m. EST.

Team Canada's line combinations:

Domi - Reinhart - Duclair
Ritchie - McDavid - Lazar
Petan - Paul - Fabbri
Crouse - Gauthier - Virtanen
Point

Nurse - Theodore
Morrissey - Bowey
Morin - Hicketts
Heatherington

Note: Stay tuned for updates throughout the day (including full line combinations) from the teams’ morning skates and immediately following the game for post-game reactions. You can follow here and on Twitter @scottcwheeler.

Eric Comrie – McKeen's Hockey

NHL: THE FANTASY WEEK AHEAD – 4 Nations Wrap – Trade Deadline speculation edition – Favourable schedules and players to target

Boston Bruins

Los Angeles Kings

Minnesota Wild

Nashville Predators

Pittsburgh Penguins

St. Louis Blues

Washington Capitals

Winnipeg Jets

NHL: DADOUN – THE FANTASY WEEK AHEAD (November 11th to 18th, 2024) – Winnipeg and Florida dominate

Carolina Hurricanes (Mon @ VGK, Wed @ UTA, Sat vs OTT, Sun vs STL)

Nashville Predators (Mon @ COL, Thu @ EDM, Fri @ CGY, Sun @ VAN)

Philadelphia Flyers (Mon vs SJS, Thu @ OTT, Sat vs BUF)

Pittsburgh Penguins (Mon vs DAL, Wed vs DET, Fri @ CBJ, Sat vs SJS)

Seattle Kraken (Tue vs CBJ, Thu vs CHI, Sat vs NYI, Sun vs NYR)

St. Louis Blues (Tue vs BOS, Thu @ BUF, Fri @ BOS, Sun @ CAR)

Vancouver Canucks (Tue vs CGY, Thu vs NYI, Sat vs CHI, Sun vs NSH)

Vegas Golden Knights (Mon vs CAR, Wed @ ANA, Fri @ UTA, Sun vs WSH)

CULLEN: 20 FANTASY POINTS – Oilers missing McDavid – Woll pushing for playing time – McTavish and Sandheim stepping up – Plus much, much more

CULLEN: 20 FANTASY POINTS – First line opportunities have popped up for Anthony Mantha, Phil Kessel, Rickard Rakell and more

MCKEEN’S 2022-23 NHL YEARBOOK – BUFFALO SABRES – NHL Player Profiles

McKeen’s 2020-21 Hockey Yearbook: Winnipeg Jets Top 20 Prospects

Cole Perfetti, C/LW (10th overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

Dylan Samberg, D (43rd overall, 2017. Previous ranking: 1)

Kristian Vesalainen, LW/RW (24th overall, 2017. Previous ranking: 2)

Ville Heinola, D (20th overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 3)

Declan Chisholm, D (150th overall, 2018. Previous ranking: 4)

Anton Johannesson, D (133rd overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

Sami Niku, D (198th overall, 2015. Previous ranking: 5)

Mikhail Berdin, G (157th overall, 2016. Previous ranking: 6)

Logan Stanley, D (18th overall, 2016. Previous ranking: 7)

Daniel Torgersson, LW (40th overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

David Gustafsson, C (60th overall, 2018. Previous ranking: 8)

Santeri Virtanen, C (105th overall, 2017. Previous ranking: 9)

Nathan Smith, C (91st overall, 2018. Previous ranking: 10)

Arvid Holm, G (167th overall, 2017. Previous ranking: 12)

Leon Gawanke, D (136th overall, 2017. Previous ranking: 13)

Simon Lundmark, D (51st overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 14)

Kristian Reichel, C (Undrafted Free Agent, signed Jun. 15, 2020. Previous ranking: 15)

Eric Comrie, G (Waivers: Dec. 19, 2019. Originally: 59th overall, 2013 [Winnipeg]. Previous ranking: UR)

Pavel Kraskovsky, C (164th overall, 2014. Previous ranking: 16)

Henri Nikkanen, C (113th overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 18)

Winnipeg Jets Prospect System Overview

Winnipeg – System Overview

Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire: Prospect Edition

Canada set to debut final roster against Sweden

Cole Perfetti, C/LW (10^th overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

Dylan Samberg, D (43^rd overall, 2017. Previous ranking: 1)

Kristian Vesalainen, LW/RW (24^th overall, 2017. Previous ranking: 2)

Ville Heinola, D (20^th overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 3)

Declan Chisholm, D (150^th overall, 2018. Previous ranking: 4)

Anton Johannesson, D (133^rd overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

Sami Niku, D (198^thoverall, 2015. Previous ranking: 5)

Mikhail Berdin, G (157^th overall, 2016. Previous ranking: 6)

Logan Stanley, D (18^th overall, 2016. Previous ranking: 7)

Daniel Torgersson, LW (40^th overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

David Gustafsson, C (60^th overall, 2018. Previous ranking: 8)

Santeri Virtanen, C (105^th overall, 2017. Previous ranking: 9)

Nathan Smith, C (91^st overall, 2018. Previous ranking: 10)

Arvid Holm, G (167^th overall, 2017. Previous ranking: 12)

Leon Gawanke, D (136^th overall, 2017. Previous ranking: 13)

Simon Lundmark, D (51^st overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 14)

Eric Comrie, G (Waivers: Dec. 19, 2019. Originally: 59^th overall, 2013 [Winnipeg]. Previous ranking: UR)

Pavel Kraskovsky, C (164^th overall, 2014. Previous ranking: 16)

Henri Nikkanen, C (113^th overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 18)