Shane Wright – McKeen's Hockey

NHL: Victor Nuño – DYNASTY STOCK WATCH – Seattle Kraken Edition

Victor Nuño — Wed, 05 Nov 2025 15:17:32 +0000

PHILADELPHIA , PA - OCTOBER 20: Seattle Kraken center Berkly Catton (77) is shown during the game between the Seattle Kraken and the Philadelphia Flyers on October 20th, 2025 at the Xfinity Mobile Center in Philadelphia, PA. (Photo by Terence Lewis/Icon Sportswire)

McKeen’s Hockey: Dynasty Stock Watch

Seattle Kraken Edition

After a surprising playoff run in 2023 followed by a step back in 2024–25, the Seattle Kraken remain a team in transition. They have established a competitive identity built on depth, structure, and two-way responsibility, but they still lack high-end offensive difference-makers. The addition of Berkly Catton and the continued development of prospects like Shane Wright are critical to unlocking the next phase of the franchise: a team that can generate consistent offense and drive play through skill, not just balance.

The Kraken have also begun to cycle out some early expansion pieces and are entering a phase where their draft picks will shape the roster more than free agency or veteran fillers. For dynasty managers, this is the time to monitor which young players are rising into core roles and which ones may be getting squeezed out. Seattle has opportunities available in the top six and on the power play, and prospects who seize those spots could see their fantasy value spike quickly. Conversely, some well-known names may not have as clear a path to long-term impact as the public perception suggests.

Buy Candidates

Shane Wright (C, 21)

Why Buy?
Wright’s development curve has been slower than some expected, but that has created an excellent buying window in dynasty formats. His hockey sense, defensive reliability, and faceoff ability have already translated to the NHL level, and his offensive game has begun to round into form. Wright has shown that he can drive play, protect the puck, and create offense in tight areas. His shooting volume has improved, and he has started to attack the middle of the ice more consistently, which signals growing confidence.

His Evolving Hockey player card highlights a clear trend, showing that early in his career his defensive play lagged behind expectations, but it has since improved dramatically, allowing him to play with more confidence and structure. Now that the defensive foundation is in place, his offensive potential could flourish over his next hundred NHL games. Seattle does not have a locked-in second-line center behind Matty Beniers, and Wright is the most logical candidate to fill that role. His power-play role should increase, and his ceiling remains that of a top six, power-play contributor. If his offensive breakout comes as expected, you will want to be holding shares when it happens.

Berkly Catton (C, 19)

Why Buy?
Catton was one of the most dynamic players in his draft class, combining elite processing speed with creativity and relentless pace. His ability to read off linemates, find seams, and manipulate defenders makes him a natural play-driver. His Hockey Prospecting model still shows elite potential, and while Leon Draisaitl may be an overly optimistic comparable, his list of comparables is still impressive. Even if he never reaches superstar status, getting close would be a huge fantasy win.

Despite being a January birth date, Seattle chose to keep Catton in the NHL rather than send him back to the WHL. While he has a handful of points, the Kraken generate fewer expected goals and are weaker defensively when he is on the ice per HockeyViz.com. That is not unusual for a rookie adjusting to NHL pace, and Seattle may still manage his minutes carefully, similar to Wright's path. This presents a clear buying opportunity for dynasty managers. His elite skillset is intact, and if you can use this rocky start as trade leverage, you could land a long-term offensive gem at a temporary discount.

Jani Nyman (RW, 21)

Why Buy?
Jani Nyman continues to fly under the radar despite quietly carving out a productive and physical role in the NHL. His blend of size, balance, and scoring touch makes him a natural fit for Seattle’s long-term plans, and he has already shown the ability to finish from multiple areas of the ice. His shot is heavy and accurate, and he has demonstrated the confidence to use it at five-on-five. While his power-play time has fluctuated, he remains one of the few players on the roster with true goal-scoring instincts.

The cost of acquisition in dynasty leagues is still surprisingly low, which makes this the time to invest. The Kraken need reliable scorers, and Nyman’s style fits that gap perfectly. He could eventually develop chemistry with Catton, creating a playmaker-finisher duo that complements Seattle’s structure. Even if the offensive ceiling takes time to reach, his physicality already brings value, with more than a hit per game and consistently strong peripherals as shown in his Fantasy Hockey Life skater card. With a realistic projection as a 25 to 30 goal scorer who also contributes across categories, Nyman is the kind of underappreciated asset you want to acquire before everyone else catches on.

Sell Candidates

Ty Nelson (D, 21)

Why Sell?
Nelson remains a fan favorite thanks to his energetic playing style and strong offensive numbers from junior, but his AHL results suggest that his scoring may not fully translate to the professional level. He still activates frequently and has a heavy shot from the point, yet his transition game and play-driving have been inconsistent against stronger competition. With players like Vince Dunn and Ryker Evans already ahead of him on Seattle’s depth chart for offensive opportunities, Nelson’s path to a meaningful role looks limited.

His Fantasy Hockey Life skater card highlights real concerns about his transition play and overall ability to drive possession. He does remain a steady contributor for peripherals, though that also decreased in his transition from the OHL to AHL. His junior production and name recognition could net a solid return before managers catch on that his upside may be capped. Nelson should reach the NHL, but more likely as a depth or complementary defenseman than a reliable fantasy asset.

Jake O’Brien (C, 18)

Why Sell?
O’Brien is an excellent prospect whose fantasy profile may never quite match his on-ice value. His strong motor, high IQ, and dependable two-way play should make him a long-term NHLer, but his game lacks the volume and peripherals that translate to fantasy success. He is a pass-first (second and third) center who thrives on facilitating play. Unless he develops into a true 50-plus assist player, his fantasy ceiling will be limited.

One of his Hockey Prospecting comparables is Mathew Barzal, which feels fitting, as both are talented, creative players who can frustrate fantasy managers because if they are not scoring, they do not offer much else. O’Brien does not provide hits, shots, or defensive stats that pad fantasy categories, and his offensive contributions may come inconsistently early on. That combination makes him a sell candidate while his “recent first-round pick” label still holds weight. His fantasy stock may never be higher than right now.

Blake Fiddler (D, 18)

Why Sell?
Blake Fiddler brings size, strength, and a physical edge that NHL coaches love. He defends well, uses his long reach effectively, and shows composure under pressure in his own zone. He projects as a steady, defense-first blueliner with penalty-killing and matchup potential. The problem for fantasy managers is that his offensive game is limited. He does not create many primary scoring chances, and his transitional impact is fairly average.

Fiddler’s bloodlines are strong, as he is the son of former NHLer Vernon Fiddler, and his skating ability gives him a chance to carve out a long professional career. His pNHLe sits just above 60, but defenders typically get a small statistical boost from the model, and peripheral contributions in blocks, shots, and hits are just average, which might make him a tough fantasy hold. He will likely be better in real life than in fantasy. If other managers in your league are drawn to his pedigree or draft position, now is a good time to move him before his limited fantasy upside becomes more obvious.

Summary

Player	Role	Key Insight
Shane Wright	Buy	Two-way center trending upward with top six and PP opportunity
Berkly Catton	Buy	Elite processor with star upside and growing NHL readiness
Jani Nyman	Buy	Power winger with scoring touch and a clear path to the top six
Ty Nelson	Sell	Offensive numbers inflated by junior play, blocked in Seattle
Jake O’Brien	Sell	Safe middle-six projection, limited fantasy ceiling
Blake Fiddler	Sell	Defensive defenseman with minimal offensive upside

MCKEEN’S 2025-26 NHL YEARBOOK – SEATTLE KRAKEN – Team Preview/Player Profiles/Predictions

Tue, 07 Oct 2025 19:53:44 +0000

DETROIT, MI - JANUARY 12: Seattle Kraken C Chandler Stephenson (9) during the game between Seattle Kraken and Detroit Red Wings on January 12, 2025 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, MI (Photo by Allan Dranberg/Icon Sportswire)

For the third time in four seasons, the Kraken missed the playoffs in 2024-2025, finishing with 76 points (35-41-6). The Kraken earned that placement, ranking 25th in Corsi percentage (47.9) and 29th in expected goals percentage (46.2). Overcoming that possession deficit is asking a lot on the rest of the things that the team can control. Seattle’s power play ranked 27th with 5.56 goals per 60 minutes during five-on-four play. It only got slightly better when the Kraken were shorthanded, as they ranked 23rd with 8.68 goals against per 60 minutes during four-on-five play. In goal, Joey Daccord had another strong season while Philipp Grubauer struggled yet again. When all of these components are added together, it wasn’t just one thing leading the Seattle’s struggles, but the combination of these things practically made it inevitable.

What’s Changed?

That disappointing finish resulted in the Kraken firing head coach Dan Bylsma, replacing him with Lane Lambert, who had been an associate coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs and has previous head coaching experience with the New York Islanders. The Kraken also moved Ron Francis from General Manager to President, with Jason Botterill taking over as GM. That means the team has new voices and decision makers, but they made some changes to the roster as well, trading for Dallas Stars winger Mason Marchment and Minnesota Wild checking forward Frederick Gaudreau. On defence, they signed Ryan Lindgren, who finished last season with the Colorado Avalanche after starting his career with the New York Rangers. The Kraken traded winger Andre Burakovsky to the Chicago Blackhawks and winger Michael Eyssimont signed with the Boston Bruins as a free agent.

What would success look like?

It would be great if the Kraken could get back to the playoffs, but that would likely require a 20-point improvement, so it’s probably not the most realistic outcome. The objective should at least be to close the gap, and that includes improving possession numbers at five-on-five, getting better on the power play and penalty kill, and finding a reliable No. 2 goaltender, whether it’s Grubauer or someone else. If all of those objectives are met and the Kraken still fall short of the playoffs, but are a competitive team pushing, say, 90 points, then that’s a relatively and achievably successful season.

What could go wrong?

Considering the Kraken’s track record, expectations have to be modest already, going into the 2025-2026 season, so if the team is truly bad and has a shot at winning the draft lottery, then it’s really not the worst long-term scenario. But, if the expectation is for the Kraken to be competitive, that can get undone if Daccord doesn’t bail them out with strong goaltending. If the Kraken do fall off the pace early, they have a handful of proven veterans who will be unrestricted free agents at season’s end, so they will likely become active sellers in the marketplace. In the short term, that could make the Kraken even worse, but it might be best for the franchise in the long run.

Top Breakout Candidate

Shane Wright scored 44 points (19 G, 25 A) in 79 games in his first full NHL season in 2024-2025 and did that while playing just over 14 minutes per game. Considering that the Kraken have Matty Beniers and Chandler Stephenson ahead of Wright on the depth chart at centre, there is a possibility that Wright could beat them out for a bigger offensive role and if he does that, his point total could jump quite a bit if, for example, he is suddenly playing an extra three minutes per game.

FORWARDS

Jared McCann

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	25	35	60	0.73

McCann is the Kraken’s lone star forward and last year was his lowest goal-scoring season with the team, mostly due his power play production declining. Still possessing a heavy wrist shot, defenders put more of a focus on shutting down McCann and he didn’t have much space to work with. He had the lowest Controlled Zone Entry percent of his Seattle career, so he had to rely on his linemates more to both enter the zone and play off him. McCann adjusted to this well by thriving in more of a playmaking role, helping rookie Shane Wright find the back of the net a few times. McCann’s shot is his calling card, but there’s also a lot of deception to his game, which he showed with his playmaking. He passed from areas that he usually shoots from, giving his linemates plenty of looks off one-timers and into open nets. He had to make do with the space he was given from the outside and he usually finishes at a higher rate than he did last season, whether this was an off year or a sign of things to come remains to be seen. His all-around game covered up some of his decline in scoring, as McCann is one of the only forwards the Kraken can rely on for providing instant offence along with great play driving.

Matty Beniers

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	25	33	58	0.71

The Kraken were quick to make Beniers as part of their core, signing him for seven years before the start of last season. Hoping his $7.14 million cap hit will be a bargain when he breaks out, the offence still hasn’t come out for the former Michigan star. He has a unique profile for a younger player, excelling at carrying the puck out of the defensive zone and acting as a third defenceman to help spring the breakout. There aren’t a lot of young forwards who play this way, but Beniers uses his long reach and frame well to protect the puck and get it out of harms way. It’s made him a reliable defensive forward at a young age. The offence is still a work in progress, as he is one of the least productive first line centers in the league right now. His goal scoring improved a little last season, the addition of Kaapo Kaako being the biggest help to that. Beniers is more dangerous when shooting off one-timers rather than trying to beat goaltenders on his own off the rush, so adding a playmaker to his line was a big help. There weren’t a lot of opportunities for one-timers in previous seasons with Beniers having to quarterback everything in the offensive zone. His overall offence, however, took a step back with his line only creating off the rush without much shot volume. Time will tell if this will ever come around or if Beniers just fills a niche as a defensive workhorse.

Chandler Stephenson

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
79	14	36	50	0.63

Seattle is no stranger to going the free agent route to fill their needs and last summer’s addition of Chandler Stephenson was one of their riskier moves. The speedy center spent his best seasons on deep Vegas teams and Stephenson himself had an elite linemate in Mark Stone for most of his run there. Going from that to playing as the de facto top line center on a weaker Seattle team was asking a lot out of him. In some ways he performed to expectations, posting similar scoring numbers to his final year in Vegas with more of his assist production coming on the power play compared to even strength. Everything outside of that is where the major problems lie. Seattle was heavily outshot and outchanced with Stephenson on the ice. His best tool is his speed, and they couldn’t set him up to get rush chances like he did with Vegas. He’s also not the best traditional center in terms of knowing where to be on the ice. He is all over the place when defending in his own zone, sometimes cheating for a breakaway, chasing the puck instead of sticking to his assignment and not doing much to break the play up. Sometimes you have to accept the risks if you have a game-breaking player and while Stephenson’s straightaway speed fits the bill there, the Kraken haven’t figured out how to best utilize it at even strength. They played him as their top center, and it might be better for the team’s future if someone else assumes that role next season.

Kaapo Kakko

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	16	36	52	0.63

One of the Kraken’s highest scoring players on a point-per-game basis, Kakko found his niche as a playmaker in Seattle. His development with the Rangers was full of roadblocks, both by the coaching staff and his own play not being at the level of a top three pick. His linemates would change frequently, bouncing around from the top six to the fourth line and never establishing a role there. It changed with a mid-season trade to Seattle where the talented Finn decided to go all in on being a playmaker. He was first on the team in shot assists per 60 minutes and was only behind Jordan Ebelre in terms of setting up scoring chances, all while scoring 10 goals despite posting one of the lowest shot rates on the team. Kakko used his big body to position himself along the wall to create easy zone entries for Matty Beniers. This took a lot of pressure off Beniers to not play as a one-man show and become more of a shooting threat, as Kakko could protect the puck and draw defenders in from behind the goal line to create space. While he didn’t produce like a star and his defensive game is not quite there yet, this is the most high-level skill the former second overall pick has shown in the NHL thus far. Finding a niche is tough even for the most talented player and Kakko finally carved out a role for himself on a Kraken team desperate for elite talent.

Shane Wright

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
81	24	28	52	0.64

One of the centerpieces of Seattle’s core, Shane Wright showed enough to keep the team hopeful about his future but maybe not as the guy to build around. The encouraging thing from Wright’s rookie season is that he could score, shooting at over 20% and showing some high-level finishing off the rush. The downside is that he didn’t create a lot of chances and it’s tough for most players to sustain that kind of shooting percentage. Wright was somewhat protected with the Kraken deploying him mainly with sheltered third line minutes and power play time. They paired him with stronger puck-carries like Burakovsky and McCann so Wright could focus more on getting open playing away from the puck, not putting too much of a workload on the youngster early on. The results were a mixed bag. He showed a decent level of skill but didn’t show signs of being a potential game-breaker. Most of his goals came from reaping the benefits of his linemates or jumping on a loose puck. There’s a place for that, but the Kraken are hoping Wright can become their top center at some point. There were signs of him having more to offer, though. He likes to carry the puck and play off the rush, he just had a low number of zone entries per game, so he didn’t get to show this skill much. It’s not out of the ordinary for a player his age, but it’s something the Kraken will want to see more of as he ascends in the lineup.

Jordan Eberle

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
77	16	27	43	0.56

One of the few forwards on the team who could produce scoring chances consistently, Eberle sustaining a pelvis injury that required surgery, was a major blow to the Kraken. He was the team’s hottest scorer out of the gate with six goals in the first month of the season and he struggled to regain his form after returning to the lineup in February, scoring only three goals the rest of the season. Depending on how he recovers in the off-season, Eberle is one of Seattle’s most valuable players. He knows the tools of the trade when it comes to creating offence and has always been great at weaving through defenders to get to the net. He doesn’t have the same speed he used to, but he makes up for it by always being in the right spot and reading off some of his quicker linemates like Beniers or Stephenson. His skillset is more complementary in nature now, but it’s also integral in helping unlock some of the more skilled players on the Kraken. His chemistry with Beniers and McCann being a great example. When Beniers has control of the puck on the cycle, Eberle always does a good job of slyly getting lost in coverage for a one-time opportunity. The roles can also be reversed because Eberle is terrific at making passes around the net and McCann’s shot is one of Seattle’s best offensive weapons. The same goes for Beniers’ one-timer, which is why his absence was felt throughout the lineup. Now 35 years old, it’s uncertain if Eberle will stay this effective after surgery, but he’s always been a versatile offensive player who can make his linemates lives easier.

Tye Kartye

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
70	9	9	18	0.26

Kartye made some waves when he was called up during the Kraken’s inaugural playoff run, showing some of his goal-scoring prowess that made him one of Coachella Valley’s top players. As a slower skater, the NHL was going to be an adjustment for him, and he showed enough in his rookie season with 11 goals in a bottom six role. Last season was more of a struggle, as Kartye didn’t do much to standout and saw his scoring chance rate plummet to below replacement level. Losing his regular linemates in Yanni Gourde and Brandon Tanev at the trade deadline made things tougher on him and he eventually found himself in the press box for a few games. The Kraken still chose to extend him with a raise, so he gets a chance at fresh start with a new coaching staff. The intriguing part of Kartye’s game are his hands and his shooting. He showed in his rookie season that he can be a consistent scoring chance generator; Seattle just has a plethora of players with one or two tools and not enough with a complete skillset.

Jaden Schwartz

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
80	24	22	46	0.58

Schwartz is the definition of a jack-of-all-trades player, he can play all three forward positions on any line and adapt to whatever role he’s tasked with. The Kraken needed him to carry more of the offence last season, and he posted his highest goal total in 10 years. A great skater, Schwartz is very slick at getting away from coverage to extend shifts in the offensive zone. It was more of a weapon off the rush last season, where he scored a handful of goals off one-timers as the second or trailing forward into the zone. In addition to the goal scoring, Schwartz was also the Kraken’s best forward at leading zone exits, excelling at making long, breakout passes to kickstart the rush. This is also where his slick skating came into play, as he could dodge and dangle around forecheckers to both create passing lanes and allow the other forwards to fly the zone. He mastered the balance of contributing to the team’s transition game without needing to carry the puck in himself much, as that’s never been a major strength of his. Schwartz has been one of Seattle’s best players since their inception and while he is coming off an excellent season, it does raise some questions about the team’s ceiling if he is still one of their top forwards when they’re trying to make the playoffs.

Mason Marchment

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
75	21	26	47	0.63

Trying to bolster the middle of their roster, Marchment was acquired by Seattle early in the offseason for a couple of mid-round picks. He brings some elements the Kraken are lacking in the middle of their roster with his size, offensive upside and physical play. His propensity to take penalties and his sloppy play with the puck in the defensive zone are Marchment’s main drawbacks, but the positives outweigh the negatives if he scores like he did in Dallas the last couple of seasons. The Seattle middle-six has been somewhat of a mess in the last couple of seasons and Marchment brings a different look to the table than Burakovsky or even some of their better players like Schwartz. He plays like a torpedo on the forecheck, always looking to take the body and can create some high-quality chances out of nothing off loose pucks and scrambles. While Marchment raises the bar for Seattle, he isn’t going to have the same level of talent he had to work with in Dallas, so this will be a test of if he can drive the bus on his own. With how many of his chances came off one-timer and high-danger passes, Marchment might need some support to reach the offensive numbers he posted with the Stars, but the Kraken have some intriguing options to pair him with.

Eeli Tolvanen

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
80	23	17	40	0.50

One team’s waiver wire fodder is another team’s treasure, as Tolvanen has improved every year he’s been in Seattle. Not developing into the goal scorer Nashville hoped he would be, Tolvanen was claimed for free by the Kraken and has done nothing but set career highs, all while primarily asked to play a checking role. Last year his goal scoring talent finally started to show. He’s always had a great wrist shot but needs the time and space to get it off, and he had to make do with limited opportunities. Last year was a change of pace, with Tolvanen becoming more of a shooting threat alongside Shane Wright. He’s quicker with releasing the puck now, scoring most of his goals off one-timers from plays from behind the net, taking some chances by playing deeper in the offensive zone instead of always being the first forechecker or staying in a defensive posture. It didn’t come at the cost of his defensive play, as the Kraken didn’t give up much when he was on the ice. He’s proven himself to be a versatile player and will look to build on that as he enters unrestricted free agency after this upcoming season.

DEFENCE

Vince Dunn

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
77	13	42	55	0.71

Dunn is one of the best-case scenarios letting a young defenceman play through his struggles when breaking into the top pair. They immediately used him in this role and while he had his initial struggles, Dunn blossomed into an undisputed number one defenceman the next season. His smooth passing and skating make him a key fixture in Seattle’s offence rather than a complementary piece, as he’s usually the one leading most of the entries and running the offence from up high. Dunn dominates the perimeter game by being patient with waiting for the defence to breakdown, deceptively looking off defenders and dissecting the coverage from up high. Also, he is very good at making the first forechecker miss to create chances closer to the net. Dunn is one of Seattle’s jenga pieces, with the defence usually falling apart when he’s not in the lineup. The transition game is where he’s most valuable, starting entries from both taking a beating to retrieve pucks and resetting the play in the neutral zone. The latter is where Dunn is the most impactful at starting the Kraken’s offence, picking off zone exits and turning them into quick-strike offence. This has made his injury concerns particularly devastating, missing most of the first half of last season with a mid-body injury and ending the previous season on injured reserve with a concussion. He is the catalyst for most of the Kraken’s offence and it exciting to think about what he could do with better forwards around him.

Brandon Montour

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
80	16	28	44	0.55

Montour has never been the easiest player to fit into your lineup as an attack-minded defenceman who needs to be insulated with great forward talent and a strong defence partner. He proved a lot of people wrong in Florida as a key part in back-to-back Cup wins while playing 24-25 minutes a night, but there was a lot that the Panthers did to protect him. Montour was never the first to go back to retrieve pucks, playing higher in the zone and letting his partner or the forwards do the work in the corners. This allowed him to get up in the play quicker, sprinting out of the zone and playing most of his shifts going north. With the Kraken, he had to do more of the grunt work in the defensive zone, and it didn’t keep him from playing his game. Montour set a career high in goals and was still the high-level offensive defenceman that he was in Florida. While a lot of defencemen like this have more complementary skillsets, Montour likes to be the center of the play. He takes a lot of shots, moves all around the offensive zone to look for one-timers and loves joining the rush. It’s why he’s a tough player to fit into your system, but with his defensive game improving, it was a little more seamless for the Kraken last year. They took a huge risk signing him to a high-dollar contract for seven years and so far, he’s been worth it.

Adam Larsson

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
80	6	19	25	0.31

One of the early breeds of the modern shutdown defenceman, Larsson has been a model of consistency for the Kraken. He was one of their first picks in the expansion draft and one of the first players they made part of their core, signing him to a four-year deal almost immediately after. He plays a key role as the more defensive presence next to Vince Dunn and anchoring their top penalty kill unit. Mostly out there to play safety valve, Larsson can still be active in the play, he’s a very fluid skater and likes to join the cycle when the opportunity is open. He is a sizable defenceman but defends more with his legs, having the mobility to keep up with top forwards and skating them into a corner to kill the play. This has made up for some of the decline in his rush defence the past few seasons. He’s not as efficient with killing plays using his stick as he used to and teams have started attacking his side of the ice instead of Dunn’s. His strong cycle defence makes up for this, as Larsson still does a good job disrupting plays after the puck is in the zone. In the first year of a four-year deal, Larsson’s provides a steadying presence on Seattle’s blue line. Not a game-breaker by any means, but someone who can hold the fort down in the top four and give you solid results.

GOAL

Joey Daccord

Predicted Stats
GP	W	L	OT	SO	SV%	GAA
55	21	25	6	3	.905	2.82

Seattle keeps hoping that Philipp Grubauer, who emerged as a surprising starting goaltending darling with the Colorado Avalanche just prior to the team's expansion, will finally find his footing and help the team challenge for contention. But Grubauer is coming off of one of the worst seasons of not just his career but the entire league, and it's about time to consider that his contract - which won't be up until the end of not this season, but the next one - was a mistake. Now, Seattle is desperately trying to scrounge up a goaltending depth chart that they can cycle through for a full season without offloading Grubauer, which has left them with an equally expensive Joey Daccord, a bizarre reclamation project (fresh off of his second 'second chance' team in Toronto) in Matt Murray, and the Coachella Valley Firebirds' most promising prospect in Niklas Kokko.

Daccord is, statistically, Seattle's best goaltender at the moment. He returned at the start of the 2023-24 season looking like a new, crisper goaltender, and he carried that new technical precision into this past season. From a financial standpoint, though, the Kraken seem intent on at least giving Grubauer 1B backup appearances, which leaves Seattle in a position where they look like they won't be competing for at least another two years. Unless Grubauer mysteriously finds his form again, they'll need to make some tough choices if they want to take a step forward.

NHL: CULLEN – 20 FANTASY POINTS – Canucks send Miller to Rangers, Sharks ship Granlund to Dallas, Sanderson, Perfetti, Byfield, Knies, and Wright are among the young players gaining appeal and much more!

Scott Cullen — Sat, 08 Feb 2025 18:51:21 +0000

NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 07: New York Rangers left wing J.T. Miller (8) in action during the third period of the National Hockey League game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Rangers on February 7, 2025 at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY. (Photo by Joshua Sarner/Icon Sportswire)

Each week, I dig into the stats to find information that can help you make better fantasy hockey decisions. This week, the Canucks send J.T. Miller to the Rangers, the Sharks ship Mikael Granlund to Dallas, Jake Sanderson, Cole Perfetti, Quinton Byfield, Matthew Knies, and Shane Wright are among the young players gaining appeal and much more!

#1 Ending a saga that had been going on in Vancouver all season, the Canucks finally traded J.T. Miller to the New York Rangers. Since the start of the 2021-2022 season, Miller has scored 323 points (112 G, 211 A) in 285 games, which ranks 13th in the NHL. He also has 692 hits in that time, so Miller offers a lot for fantasy managers. He can be a handful and eventually wore out his welcome in Vancouver, but he makes the Rangers better immediately.

#2 One of the players reaping the rewards from Miller’s arrival in New York is Mika Zibanejad, who has been enduring a difficult season, but has shifted to right wing on a line with Miller and Artemi Panarin. Zibanejad suddenly has six points (1 G, 5 A) and 10 shots on goal in his past three games, after managing just two points (1 G, 1 A) in his previous eight games.

#3 Going to Vancouver in the Miller deal, centre Filip Chytil should get a better opportunity with the Canucks. He was stuck behind Zibanejad and Vincent Trocheck down the middle of the ice for the Rangers. Chytil had 20 points (11 G, 9 A) in 41 games for the Rangers, but has two points (1 G, 1 A) in three games with the Canucks, averaging more than 20 minutes of ice time per game with his new team. Chytil is centering Drew O’Connor, who was recently acquired from Pittsburgh, and Brock Boeser on the Canucks’ second line as well as getting first-unit power play time, so he is getting a chance to be a more significant contributor than he was in New York.

#4 In another deal, the San Jose Sharks dealt forward Mikael Granlund and defenceman Cody Ceci to Dallas. Ceci is a veteran stay-at-home defenceman, with little appeal for fantasy managers, but Granlund has produced 106 points (27 G, 79 A) in 123 games for the Sharks across the past two seasons. While Granlund is not likely to play as much in Dallas as he did in San Jose, he is skating on a line with Mason Marchment and Matt Duchene, effectively replacing an injured Tyler Seguin in the Stars’ lineup.

#5 After what had been an uninspiring start to the season, Ottawa Senators defenceman Jake Sanderson has produced 10 points (3 G, 7 A) with 18 shots on goal during a six-game point streak. Four of those 10 points have come via the power play and Sanderson now has 20 power play points this season, which ranks third behind only Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes.

#6 Emerging from a month-long slump that saw him contribute two assists in 14 games, Winnipeg Jets winger Cole Perfetti has tallied eight points (4 G, 4 A) with 13 shots on goal in his past six games. Perfetti’s ice time is still worth keeping an eye on, but when he’s producing, he tends to have a good situation with Nikolaj Ehlers and Vladislav Namestnikov on Winnipeg’s second line.

#7 After breaking through for 55 points (20 G, 35 A) last season, Kings forward Quinton Byfield has not been scoring at the same pace this season, despite playing nearly two minutes more per game. He has had some recent success, with seven points (2 G, 5 A) and 13 shots on goal in his past six games. Byfield is skating at centre on a line with Kevin Fiala and Alex Laferriere, a line with decent offensive potential and Fiala has started to break through lately, too.

#8 Toronto Maple Leafs left winger Matthew Knies is busting out in his second NHL season. His ice time is up from 13:41 per game last season to 18:24 per game this season and he has 17 points (10 G, 7 A) in his past 13 games. His 21 goals this season is tied for second on the team with John Tavares, behind only William Nylander (33). Knies also plays a physical game, which sets him apart from Toronto’s other top scorers, and he has 115 hits in 50 games, which makes him even more valuable to fantasy managers.

#9 Although the season is not going the way that the Seattle Kraken would have hoped, they can take some small victories in the process and it appears that they are starting to realize the potential of centre Shane Wright, the fourth pick in the 2022 Draft. Wright has seven points (3 G, 4 A) in his past seven games and is skating on a line with Jared McCann and Andre Burakovsky, a pair of skilled veteran wingers. It’s not like Wright has suddenly become a top-tier forward, but he is a 21-year-old who is handling third-line minutes and second-unit power play time, so there is going to be continued growth.

#10 After being sidelined for nearly two months, Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz returned to action Thursday and stopped 26 of 27 shots in a win at Seattle. Stolarz has a .929 save percentage, which is tops among goalies with at least 10 appearances, and has 15.39 Goals Saved Above Expected. While Stolarz has never been able to handle a starter’s workload for a full season, topping out at 28 games for Anaheim in 2021-2022, his quality play ensures that he will have a significant role for the Maple Leafs down the stretch, sharing time in the crease with Joseph Woll.

#11 His first couple of seasons in Calgary were pretty rough, at least relative to his best seasons in Florida, but Flames left winger Jonathan Huberdeau has been more dangerous this season. He has eight points (3 G, 5 A) in his past nine games while playing more than 21 minutes per game, a far cry from the 16:52 per game he played a few years ago in his first season with the Flames. Huberdeau, who has largely been known as a playmaker throughout his career, is up to 21 goals, with only 19 assists, on the season.

#12 After having his contract terminated by the St. Louis Blues, left winger Brandon Saad signed on with the Vegas Golden Knights, looking for a chance to win and, presumably, an opportunity to contribute more than he was in St. Louis this season. In his last 20 games for the Blues, Saad recorded six points (3 G, 3 A) and all three of his goals in that time happened in one game (vs. Ottawa). In Vegas, Saad is not getting power play time, which is not altogether unusual for him, but he is skating on a line with Brett Howden and Mark Stone at even strength and has one goal in his first three games for the Golden Knights.

#13 New York Islanders right winger Mathew Barzal is out of the lineup once again, this time due to a lower-body injury. Barzal is averaging a career-high 20:21 of ice time per game this season but has a modest 20 points (6 G, 14 A) in 30 games. With Barzal out, the door is open for Anthony Duclair to move up the depth chart, but Duclair has been struggling, with just two points (1 G, 1 A) and 19 shots on goal in his past 16 games. A more appealing option for the Islanders could be Simon Holmstrom, who has six points (3 G, 3 A) in his past five games.

#14 The Nashville Predators have called up top prospect Joakim Kemell from Milwaukee of the AHL, where the 17th pick in the 2022 Draft had recorded 25 points (9 G, 16 A) in 38 games. He is slated to make his NHL debut Friday and could have a plum assignment to start his NHL career, skating on a line with Filip Forsberg and Steven Stamkos. That’s not taking a skilled young player and burying him on the fourth line. It’s taking that player and giving him a chance to succeed.

#15 San Jose is giving some prospects a chance to play, too. Collin Graf, who was signed out of Quinnipiac in the spring, had 30 points (8 G, 22 A) in 33 games for the San Jose Barracuda and has averaged more than 17 minutes of ice time, scoring one goal in two games since he was recalled to the Sharks. Graf is skating with Luke Kunin and Barclay Goodrow at even strength but does get second-unit power play time. The Sharks have also promoted veteran pro Andrew Poturalski, a 31-year-old centre who was leading the AHL with 45 points (18 G, 27 A) in 41 games at the time of his promotion. He has two assists in eight career NHL games, but the Sharks are giving him a chance to skate between Fabian Zetterlund and Will Smith, so there is a chance for him to provide some offense.

#16 Florida Panthers goaltender Spencer Knight has been steadily getting better and while he is clearly in a backup role, he is a much more valuable backup now. Since the calendar flipped to 2025, Knight has a .937 save percentage and an astounding 11.12 Goals Saved Above Expected in eight games. It has not been the easiest path for the 2019 first-round pick, who sat out last season, but he is showing that his talent is still there and at just 23 years old, he should have a promising future in this league.

#17 It’s not time to panic over Mikko Rantanen’s move to Carolina, even if the premier winger has just two points (1 G, 1 A) in his first six games for the Hurricanes. Rantanen also has 21 shots on goal and 40 shot attempts in those six games, so the chances are there, but this player who has scored on 16.1 percent of his shots in his career is scoring on just 4.8 percent of them since the trade. That will regress soon enough, and this slow start with his new team could make Rantanen a little bit of a buy-low option.

#18 While he has tallied 10 power play goals in 26 games for the Montreal Canadiens, Patrik Laine has hit a scoring slump. The sharp-shooting winger has no points and eight shots on goal in his past six games and that highlights what happens when things go wrong for Laine. He stops generating shots and while he tends to be dependent on others to create chances, he can surely put himself in better positions to get shots because 1.3 shots per game is obviously not nearly enough for a player with his shooting talent.

#19 Another player enduring an offensive slump is Kings winger Adrian Kempe, who has zero points in his past six games but the part that is encouraging about Kempe is that he has 21 shots on goal in that stretch. He remains on the Kings’ top line, alongside Anze Kopitar and Alex Turcotte, as well as holding a spot on the Kings’ first line, so it is easier to see Kempe resuming his scoring ways. Kopitar is enduring his own slump, with one assist and 11 shots on goal in his past seven games, so they should be ready to get back on track at any moment.

#20 Red Wings goaltender Cam Talbot lost his first game after the Wings made their coaching change over the holiday break in December, but in 10 games since then, Talbot has nine wins and a .916 save percentage. Since Detroit is back into the playoff mix, that makes Talbot much more valuable for fantasy managers because the wins have become more accessible.

*Advanced stats via Natural Stat Trick

NHL: CULLEN – Laine making the most of his power play time, Schmaltz, Hertl and Nelson are hot, Jones thriving since returning to lineup, and much more!

Scott Cullen — Fri, 24 Jan 2025 23:24:57 +0000

MONTREAL, QC - DECEMBER 07: Patrik Laine (92) of the Montreal Canadiens skates during the third period of the NHL game between the Washington Capitals and the Montreal Canadiens on Dec 07 2024, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, QC(Photo by Vincent Ethier/Icon Sportswire)

Each week, I dig into the stats to find information that can help you make better fantasy hockey decisions. This week, Patrik Laine has made the most of his power play time in Montreal, Nick Schmaltz, Tomas Hertl and Brock Nelson are hot, Seth Jones is thriving since returning to the Chicago lineup, and much more!

Here is this week’s edition of 20 Fantasy Points:

#1 It is not like the hockey world forgot what Patrik Laine could do when the puck hit his stick, but he has been playing sporadically in recent seasons, so the evidence wasn’t quite so evident. After joining the Montreal Canadiens, however, Laine has shown that he is still a lethal shooter. In 20 games with the Habs, Laine has 18 points (12 G, 6 A) with 54 shots on goal. He is scoring on 22.2 percent of his shots, which is a higher rate than he has finished in any previous season, but he is also quite specifically a power play threat, with 10 of his 12 goals coming with the man advantage. Laine has 10.35 goals per 60 minutes of power play time, which ranks first among players that have played at least 30 minutes on the power play this season. Victor Olofsson (6.48), Pavel Dorofeyev (5.76), Michael Bunting (5.22), and Brayden Point (4.82) round out the top five in power play goal-scoring efficiency.

#2 Veteran Utah Hockey Club right winger Nick Schmaltz has established his credentials as a quality point producing forward but had been off to a relatively slow start prior to embarking on what is now a seven-game point streak, during which he has nine points (3 G, 6 A). Schmaltz has consistently played alongside Clayton Keller, but the duo has recently added second-year centre Logan Cooley to the top line and Cooley has been cooking, putting up 30 points (12 G. 18 A) in his past 28 games.

#3 Barrett Hayton, who has played quite a bit with Schmaltz and Keller in recent seasons, has moved to a line with Matias Maccelli and Josh Doan and continues to have success, tallying seven points (3 G, 4 A) in his past four games. Hayton’s ice time is down this season to 15:24 per game after playing more than 17 minutes per game in the previous two seasons, but he has also improved his work in the face-off circle, winning 54.2 percent of his draws. Given Cooley’s offensive upside, it probably makes more sense for Hayton to slot in as the No. 2 centre in Utah.

#4 Vegas Golden Knights centre Tomas Hertl had been relatively inconsistent early in the season, but he might be turning the corner. He is riding a seven-game point streak, putting up 11 points (6 G, 5 A) with 25 shots on goal in those seven games. That elevated shot rate is an important factor because Hertl was averaging 2.24 shots per game through the first 41 games of the season. Taking that up to 3.57 shots per game is a strong indicator for a player sustaining is production.

#5 New York Islanders centre Brock Nelson is finding his name in trade rumours as the Isles are sitting in last place in the Metropolitan Division. He is helping to keep his value high, scoring seven points (3 G, 4 A) with 18 shots on goal while playing more than 20 minutes per game in his past six games. A 6-foot-4 centre who has scored more than 30 goals in three straight seasons, Nelson is obviously appealing for a team looking to boost its offense.

#6 Chicago Blackhawks defenceman Seth Jones is starting to heat up. He had missed five weeks with a foot injury, but has delivered 10 points (2 G, 8 A) in 14 games since getting back into the lineup. Jones has recorded 10 of his 20 points on the power play, and with 7.87 points per 60 minutes on the power play, he ranks third among defencemen, behind only Zach Werenski (8.11) and Neal Pionk (7.91).

#7 Seattle Kraken centre Chandler Stephenson had been on a good run before getting injured Thursday night. In his past 11 games, including Thursday, Stephenson has contributed 10 points (5 G, 5 A) but there is a bona fide concern with his low shot rate. He has 46 shots on goal in 48 games, which is a shockingly low amount for a player who logs more than 19 minutes of ice time per game. With Yanni Gourde also injured, Stephenson’s absence could create more playing time for Shane Wright, who is making progress. In his first 23 games of the season, Wright had seven points (4 G, 11 A), but in the next 23 games, he has contributed 15 points (4 G, 11 A).

#8 Looking for a buy-low winger? Consider Kevin Fiala of the Los Angeles Kings. In 11 games since the holiday break, Fiala has a modest five points (2 G, 3 A) but he also has 40 shots on goal. That shot rate is encouraging, but there is also the matter of Fiala’s low on-ice shooting percentage this season. During five-on-five play, the Kings are scoring on just 5.8 percent of their shots when Fiala is on the ice, which is his lowest since his rookie season in 2016-2017.

#9 Calgary Flames winger Blake Coleman can fly under the radar a bit but when he is contributing offensively, that makes his fantasy contribution quite strong. In his past 17 games, Coleman has 15 points (5 G, 10 A) but he also has 36 hits and that combination makes him quite appealing for fantasy managers. Coleman is unlikely to match last season’s career highs of 30 goals and 54 points, but already has 92 hits in 46 games, so if the point production continues, Coleman’s all-around contribution is solid.

#10 On a similar level, Boston Bruins forward Morgan Geekie has picked up his production a bit, with eight points (5 G, 3 A) in his past 10 games, but he also has 25 hits in those 10 games. Be a little wary, though, since Geekie only has 16 shots on goal in those 10 games, his goal-scoring has been dependent on a high shooting percentage (31.3 percent in the past 10 games).

#11 Carolina Hurricanes rookie right winger Jackson Blake has found his way to the top line, skating with Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov. Blake has played 15:27 per game over the past four, chipping in three points (1 G, 2 A) with nine shots on goal. It is probably too soon to jump on Blake in most fantasy leagues, but if he remains on that top line there is obvious scoring upside for a player who ranks third among rookies with 11 goals despite very limited ice time (12:02 ATOI). (Editors note – The Rantanen trade followed the publication of this article – the coach may want to spread the scoring around, but it is more likely Rantanen takes that spot on the top line)

#12 Toronto Maple Leafs centre John Tavares is out of the lineup due to a lower-body injury and for all of the criticism that Tavares takes, he remains a high-end point producer, with 42 points (20 G, 22 A) in 44 games before getting hurt. The challenge for the Maple Leafs is to get contributions down the middle of the ice behind Auston Matthews because, with Tavares out, the second line centre is Pontus Holmberg and the third line centre is rookie Fraser Minten. Holmberg has zero goals and one assist in his past 11 games while Minten has zero points in his past eight NHL games after starting with four points in his first five games.

#13 With the New York Islanders’ season teetering on the brink, they got bad news that standout defenceman Noah Dobson is considered week-to-week with a lower-body injury. Dobson’s production has fallen off the pace he set last season, when he had a career-high 70 points (10 G, 60 A) in 79 games, as he has 24 points (6 G, 18 A) in 46 games this season, but the Islanders don’t have great options to replace him on the power play. Ryan Pulock has handled the role before and is noted for his heavy shot from the point, but has one power play point this season.

#14 New Jersey Devils goaltender Jacob Markstrom has suffered a sprained MCL, which will keep him out of the lineup for 4-6 weeks. Markstrom has been exactly what the Devils needed between the pipes, with a .912 save percentage and 10.0 goals saved above expectations in 36 games. With Markstrom out, Jake Allen will need to handle the starter’s role. Allen has a .901 save percentage and 4.04 goals saved above expected in 15 games this season, so he is a capable starting goaltender for the next month plus.

#15 The Boston Bruins are in a tough battle for a playoff spot, for the first time in a while, but that is made even more challenging when goaltender Jeremy Swayman and No. 1 defenceman Charlie McAvoy are sidelined with injuries. Defenceman Hampus Lindholm was already injured, so the current version of the Bruins is without its top two defencemen and top goaltender, and that is going to make it even more difficult. Swayman’s injury does not seem serious, so Joonas Korpisalo may only have short term value, but McAvoy has landed on injured reserve, which will keep him out for at least a week. This defensive weakening does make the Bruins more vulnerable, potentially worth targeting as opposition while the Bruins are missing Lindholm and McAvoy.

#16 Bruins defenceman Mason Lohrei has been making the most of his opportunity to quarterback the power play. He has six points (1 G, 5 A) in the past seven games and is up to 10 power play points. With 6.85 points per 60 minutes on the power play, Lohrei is tied for 15th (with Chicago’s Alex Vlasic) among NHL defencemen.

#17 Colorado Avalanche winger Valeri Nichushkin is considered week to week with a lower-body injury, and that leaves a large hole for the Avalanche. In 21 games, Nichushkin has 17 points (11 G, 6 A). His absence keeps Ross Colton in Colorado’s top six and while Colton has been held scoreless in his past four games, he is worth keeping tabs on as a player with potential upside because he thrived earlier in the season when given a big opportunity due to injuries.

#18 Ottawa Senators centre Josh Norris is out with an upper-body injury. Given his history with shoulder woes, Norris’ health is an area of concern, yet the thing is that he can still produce when healthy. In 47 games this season, Norris has produced 17 goals and 27 points. The Sens do get David Perron back in the lineup, so that should theoretically help alleviate Norris’ absence, but Perron has failed to record a point in 10 games this season, so expectations should be kept in check. Senators defenceman Jake Sanderson is out of the lineup with a lower-body injury, which elevates Thomas Chabot to the first power play unit.

#19 Norris’ absence from the Senators’ lineup should also open the door for Shane Pinto to step up. While Pinto has six points (2 G, 4 A) and 18 shots on goal in the past eight games, he is also averaging more than 20 minutes of ice time per game in that time, so it would be a prime opportunity for Pinto to lift his offensive production because with 16 points (8 G, 8 A) in 40 games, he has underachieved offensively.

#20 Tampa Bay Lightning defenceman Darren Raddysh has elevated his game recently, producing six points (2 G, 4 A) with 13 shots on goal in the past five games, averaging 21:50 time on ice per game. With J.J. Moser and Erik Cernak injured, the Lightning certainly need Raddysh to take on more responsibility. In his first 18 games this season, Raddysh averaged 15:30 time on ice per game and in 20 games since then, has averaged 20:04 per game.

*Advanced stats via Natural Stat Trick

NHL: CULLEN – 20 FANTASY POINTS – Vilardi heating up, Kakko on the move, and much more!

Scott Cullen — Sat, 21 Dec 2024 00:53:01 +0000

_{LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 13: Winnipeg Jets center Gabriel Vilardi (13) celebrates his goal during an NHL hockey game against the Los Angeles Kings on December 13, 2023 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Ric Tapia/Icon Sportswire)}

Each week, I dig into the stats to find information that can help you make better fantasy hockey decisions. This week, Gabriel Vilardi is hot, Pavel Buchnevich is thriving on the wing, Kirill Marchenko leads the surprising Blue Jackets, a fresh start for Kaapo Kakko, and much more!

Here is this week’s edition of 20 Fantasy Points:

#1 Winnipeg Jets right-winger Gabriel Vilardi is heating up. The 25-year-old forward has tallied 11 points (5 G, 6 A) with 16 shots on goal while averaging 19:26 of ice time per game in his past eight games. He is in a great spot, skating on the Jets’ top line with Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele, as well as playing on the top power-play unit. Injuries have been a significant factor in Vilardi’s career, and he has never played more than 63 games in a season, so it is surprising that he has played in all 34 games for the Jets thus far. Vilardi has 28 points already, so if he remains healthy, he should surpass his career high of 41 points set in 2022-2023.

#2 The St. Louis Blues tried to shift Pavel Buchnevich to centre at the start of the season, confident that his all-around game would fit in that role, and it did not bring out the best in the veteran forward. He has been returned to the wing and in 10 games since Jim Montgomery took over behind the Blues bench, Buchnevich has contributed nine points (4 G, 5 A) with 27 shots on goal and has most recently found himself skating on a line with Jake Neighbours and Robert Thomas.

#3 The leading scorer for the Columbus Blue Jackets this season, with 33 points (11 G, 22 A) in 33 games, is third-year right winger Kirill Marchenko. In his past 15 games, he has 17 points (5 G, 12 A) and 46 shots on goal. He plays 18 minutes per game, consistently generates shots and has a good thing going on Columbus’ top line with Dmitri Voronkov and Sean Monahan.

#4 With just 14 points (4 G, 10 A) in 30 games for the New York Rangers, right winger Kaapo Kakko was traded to the Seattle Kraken, an opportunity for a fresh start for the second pick in the 2019 Draft. Kakko, 23, had career highs of 18 goals and 40 points during the 2022-2023 season but has not been able to generate enough offense to meet expectations. While Kakko’s puck possession numbers aren’t great this season, it has typically been a strength of his, so he should be able to hold a regular spot in the Kraken lineup. In his first game for Seattle, Kakko skated on a line with Jared McCann and Matty Beniers, which would be a decent spot for him to find his offensive game.

#5 With the Edmonton Oilers scoring at a high rate, ranking second in the league over the past month, there are secondary sources of offense available on this squad. One worth considering is defenceman Darnell Nurse, who has five assists and 14 shots on goal in his past six games. Nurse has 15 points (3 G, 12 A) in 29 games, with just one point on the power play, but he has been this productive despite an on-ice shooting percentage of 7.1 percent during five-on-five play. That mark should go up, so it would be a reasonable expectation for Nurse to score at least a half-point per game for the rest of the season. For a player who delivers hits and blocked shots as well, Nurse has value in most fantasy formats.

#6 Colorado Avalanche left winger Artturi Lehkonen has thrived with the Avs, where his hard-working industrious style of play complements Colorado’s highly skilled top players. In his past 11 games, Lehkonen has nine points (7 G, 2 A) and 25 shots on goal while averaging more than 22 minutes of ice time per game. He skates on Colorado’s top line with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen, which is obviously a prime position for Lehkonen to continue delivering offensive production.

#7 After a slow start to the season, veteran Utah Hockey Club right winger Nick Schmaltz has started to break out of his slump, scoring at a more typical rate. Through his first 19 games of the season, Schmaltz had zero goals and 13 assists with 38 shots on goal. In a dozen games since then, he has 12 points (5 G, 7 A) with 30 shots on goal. As a key player on Utah’s top line and first power play unit, Schmaltz tends to be a reliable scoring threat and appears to be back on track.

#8 As the Buffalo Sabres are watching their season go down the drain, defenceman Owen Power has quietly been very productive. While Power has 20 points (4 G, 16 A) in 32 games, it’s notable that all 20 points have come at even strength, which puts him third in even-strength scoring among defencemen, behind only Quinn Hughes and Cale Makar. Power’s offensive ceiling would seem to be limited in Buffalo, where Rasmus Dahlin (currently injured) and Bowen Byram have power play priority, but the towering defender is already productive at 22 years old.

#9 Anaheim Ducks right winger Troy Terry has become a consistently productive scorer in recent seasons, even if it sometimes gets overlooked because of where he plays. In his past 11 games, Terry has put up 13 points (3 G, 10 A) with 37 shots on goal while averaging 19:53 of ice time per game. On a Ducks team trying to build around young players, Terry is skating on a line with Frank Vatrano and Ryan Strome on Anaheim’s No. 1 line.

#10 The Anaheim Ducks shuffled the deck on their blueline, dealing veteran defenceman Cam Fowler to the St. Louis Blues and part of the reason for the change was to give younger defencemen the opportunity to step into bigger roles. Second-year blueliner Jackson LaCombe is making the most of his chances and, in December, has suddenly produced seven points (4 G, 3 A) with 19 shots on goal in seven games. He is playing nearly 20 minutes per game in that time and is getting first-unit power play time, which makes him a legitimate option for fantasy managers.

#11 Nashville Predators defenceman Roman Josi has been battling a lower-body injury and has landed on the injured list. With Josi out, Brady Skjei takes over as the quarterback on the Nashville power play. Skjei has failed to record a point in each of his past nine games, despite playing nearly 23 minutes per game, leaving him with nine points (2 G, 7 A) in 32 games. That is a long way off the pace that Skjei set in Carolina over the previous three seasons when he produced 124 points (40 G, 84 A) in 243 games for the Hurricanes.

#12 Another former Hurricane, winger Teuvo Teravainen started slowly upon his return to Chicago, managing eight points (4 G, 4 A) in his first 18 games, with half of those goals and points coming in the third game of the season. Since then, Teravainen has 13 points (3 G, 10 A) in 15 games and he is skating on Chicago’s third line, alongside Jason Dickinson and Ilya Mikheyev.

#13 It would be too soon to recommend Oilers right winger Connor Brown in anything but the deepest of leagues, but he is worth keeping an eye on because the Oilers are not getting consistent production from their wingers and Brown did contribute more offensively before joining the Oilers last season. Brown managed just a dozen points (4 G, 8 A) in 71 games for Edmonton last season, but is up to 13 points (6 G, 7 A) in 32 games this season after producing eight points (3 G, 5 A) in his past 11 games.

#14 Red Winger centre J.T. Compher has contributed a point per game (1 G, 8 A) in his past nine games, a sudden increase in his offensive output. While his ice time is down by 2:33 per game compared to last season, Compher is still getting first-unit power play time in addition to his time at centre on Detroit’s third line. As a player who had 48 and 52 points, respectively, in the previous two seasons, Compher is behind his previous scoring pace, but if he remains productive, his ice time will likely climb.

#15 Seattle Kraken right winger Oliver Bjorkstrand has been a consistent contributor but has elevated his level of play in the past month. In 14 games, he has 15 points (7 G, 8 A) and 30 shots on goal. Bjorkstrand gets first unit power play time for the Kraken, but only five of his 23 points this season have come with the man advantage. The recent uptick in his production has come at even strength, where he has more recently been playing with Shane Wright and Eeli Tolvanen. Bjorkstrand tallied a career-high 59 points (20 G, 39 A) last season, with 25 points on the power play, so that would seem to be an area that still has room for further improvement.

#16 Vegas Golden Knights winger Ivan Barbashev has been sidelined with an upper-body injury and it’s worth pointing out what a big hole that leaves in the lineup. Barbarshev has 26 points during five-on-five play and Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov is the only player in the league with more points during five-on-five play. Certainly, playing with Jack Eichel is a big part of Barbashev’s success, and Pavel Dorofeyev has joined Eichel and Stone on Vegas’ top line with Barbashev out of the lineup. Dorofeyev played 19:31 in Thursday’s win against Vancouver, the second-highest ice time of his career.

#17 As the Pittsburgh Penguins may be turning around a season that looked hopelessly lost, defenceman Matt Grzelcyk has turned into a solid contributor, putting up nine points (1 G, 8 A) in his past nine games. Eight of Grzelcyk’s 17 points this season have come on the power play and the Penguins are running a rare power play with two defencemen on the top unit and it’s been Grzelcyk and Kris Letang in those roles, with Erik Karlsson on PP2.

#18 There are ups and downs along the path for Montreal Canadiens goaltender Samuel Montembeault, who has had nine games this season in which he has allowed at least four goals, but he has a .914 save percentage to go along with a 4-3 record in seven starts this month. He has 7.73 Goals Saved Above Expected this season, which ranks eighth in the league, ahead of Igor Shesterkin, Jake Oettinger, and Jacob Markstrom. Wins might not come so easily for the Canadiens goaltender, but his performance thus far makes him a legitimate fantasy option and it backs up Team Canada’s choice to include him on the roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off.

#19 Sticking with all situations Goals Saved Above Expected but looking at the low end of the spectrum, the goaltenders with the fewest Goals Saved Above Expected this season: Boston’s Jeremy Swayman (-14.53), San Jose’s Alexandar Georgiev (-13.56), Columbus’ Daniil Tarasov (-11.39), Utah’s Connor Ingram (-9.61), and Carolina’s Spencer Martin (-9.56). From that group, Swayman obviously stands out, given the strong track record that he had prior to this season, but Ingram had an excellent season in 2023-2024, so his decline before getting hurt is notable, too. The goaltenders at the top of the list might be surprising, too, at least after Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck (+22.84). The rest of the top five are: Anaheim’s Lukas Dostal (+17.51), Toronto’s Anthony Stolarz (+13.46), Seattle’s Joey Daccord (+11.39), and Utah’s Karel Vejmelka (+10.94).

#20 There are some popular players with fantasy managers who are running ice cold lately, including New Jersey’s Dougie Hamilton, Vancouver’s Elias Pettersson, the Rangers’ Chris Kreider, and Buffalo’s Alex Tuch, among others. Hamilton has gone seven games without a point and his ice time has dropped below 18 minutes in three of his past four games. In his past five games, Pettersson has zero points and eight shots on goal, while averaging 16:50 of ice time per game. Kreider recorded his first (and only) assist of the season on December 6th and has since gone six straight games without a point, though he does have 17 shots on goal in that span. Tuch has one point (1 G, 0 A) and 10 shots on goal in his past six games and played a season-low 14:34 against Montreal on Tuesday.

*Advanced stats via Natural Stat Trick

NHL: DADOUN – FANTASY WEEK AHEAD – What to make of the Buffalo Sabres – Teams and players to target this week

Ryan Dadoun — Sat, 14 Dec 2024 16:41:42 +0000

_{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),}

How should we define the 2024-25 Buffalo Sabres? On paper, they’re not a terrible team. Tage Thompson is an elite goal scorer, and Alex Tuch is a good first-line forward and well suited to being Thompson’s accomplish. Rasmus Dahlin, though currently out with a back injury, is a high-end offensive blueliner, and the Sabres also have two promising young defensemen on the rise in Owen Power and Bowen Byram. In net, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has shown that he can be a solid option.

This isn’t a good team either, though. The Sabres do have some offensive depth, especially with Jason Zucker enjoying a comeback campaign (seven goals and 20 points through 29 appearances), but their overall scoring still isn’t anything special. The blueliners do have a mixture of talent and promise, but as a squad, the Sabres have struggled on defense, as evidenced by the team ranking 22nd in xGA/60 (3.13) per Moneypuck. Those shortcomings have trickled down to Luukkonen, who has an 8-8-3 record, 2.79 GAA and .903 save percentage in 20 starts despite a passable plus-2.6 goals saved above expected.

More than anything, Buffalo is inconsistent. Sometimes this group can click, which led to Buffalo looking like a potential contender for a playoff spot earlier in the campaign, but other times they fall apart. Buffalo has lost its last eight games, dropping its record to 11-14-4.

That kind of inconsistency would be more forgivable if Buffalo was a rebuilding team, but is that still an appropriate definition for the Sabres? They certainly do still have younger players like defensemen Power and Byram, forwards Dylan Cozens and Zach Benson as well as goaltender Devon Levi honing his game in the minors. None of those five have celebrated their 24th birthday yet, so it’s reasonable to believe their game will continue to grow.

At the same time, Tuch and Thompson are already in their prime, albeit in the early stages at 28 and 27 years old, respectively. Dahlin is still young but also in his seventh campaign, so ideally this is a foundation that should have started to get results by now.

But those results never come. You could easily make an argument that this is a rebuilding team even with those three either in or approaching their prime, but you could have made the argument that basically every Sabres team over the last decade has been a rebuilding squad. At some point, you need to transition from rebuild.

It’s been nine years since Jack Eichel was selected as the No. 2 overall pick to be the Sabres’ future. It’s been six years since Dahlin was selected as the No. 1 overall pick to headline Buffalo’s defense. It’s been four years since Power was taken with the top pick, giving the Sabres a potentially amazing blue-line duo. It’s been three years since that relationship soured to the point where Buffalo traded him to Vegas.

Buffalo hasn’t participated in a single playoff game over that span. That’d be bad enough, but the drought dates back even further. When Buffalo was last a playoff team in 2011, Tomas Vanek was the Sabres’ leading scorer and Thompson’s age. Tyler Ennis was among the team’s promising young forwards while Tyler Myers was a sophomore coming off a Calder Trophy-winning campaign. Ryan Miller was in his prime, having won the Vezina Trophy the previous year. Lindy Ruff was the bench boss… well, actually, that’s true now too… but there were six bench bosses for Buffalo between Ruff’s tenure with the team that ended during the 2012-13 campaign and his current assignment with the team.

The Sabres’ playoff appearance drought is the longest in NHL history. That’s got to way on the team, and you have to wonder if it will eventually lead to talented players getting frustrated in Buffalo as it has for others in the past. Still, it’s not as if this is a doomed team.

As stated at the top, there are positives to be found in this roster, and the place we’re judging the Sabres from now might be at or near their low point. There’s still season enough for them to turn this thing around. If they don’t, there is still hope for the future with this young group…even if that promise feels a little hollow after so many other failed rebuild attempts.

Calgary Flames (Tue vs. BOS, Thu vs. OTT, Sat vs. CHI)

The Flames have just three games scheduled for next week, but all those contests are at home, and it’s a pretty favorable schedule. Boston, which the Flames will host Tuesday, did have a 7-2-0 stretch from Nov. 21-Dec. 7, but the Bruins’ have fallen back after big losses to Winnipeg and Seattle over their past two games. After facing the Bruins, Calgary will host Ottawa and Chicago on Thursday and Saturday, respectively. Neither of those adversaries are in a playoff position.

Jonathan Huberdeau’s eight-year, $84 million contract is looking like it might go down as one of the worst contracts in recent memory, but he’s at least hot at the moment, providing four goals and nine points across his past six appearances. Will he keep that up? It’s possible, but it’s hard to get too excited. His 11 goals and 21 points through 30 outings overall still puts him on pace to get 57 points, which isn’t bad, but it’s well below the type of numbers he put up in Florida. Additionally, he has a 21.6 shooting percentage compared to his career average of 12.5, so if anything, Huberdeau’s benefited from some good puck luck and is more likely to slow as the campaign progresses than maintain that overall scoring pace.

If Huberdeau has potentially overperformed, would Andrei Kuzmenko be at the other end of the spectrum? No one expects him to repeat his 39-goal, 74-point performance from 2022-23, but is his goal and 10 points through 28 outings in 2024-25 simply the result of bad luck? His 3.3 shooting percentage is unusually low, but I’m more concerned about his decline in shots. He’s averaging just 4.1 shots/60, down from 6.8 last year.

Of his 30 shots this campaign, 19 have been fired from high-danger locations, which does put him ahead of the league average for forwards of 12.8, so that is a little bit of a silver lining. He’s on track for 52 high-danger shots this campaign, which would be down from 60 last year, a drop of 13.3 percent, whereas his overall shot total is on track to finish at 82, compared to 121 in 2023-24, a decline of 32.2 percent. So a deeper dive suggests things might not be quite as bad as they seem -- at least in terms of shot quality -- but it’s still not good, just less bad.

It's fair to believe that Kuzmenko’s shooting percentage will climb as the campaign progresses, but unless he starts getting a bit more aggressive with the puck, I wouldn’t count on him putting up numbers sufficient to give him relevance in the majority of fantasy leagues.

We might see better from Nazem Kadri, though, at least relative to his current point pace. He has 10 goals and 19 points in 30 appearances this campaign, which is a far cry from his 75-point showing in 2023-24. Kadri has been a steady contributor recently, though, supplying five goals and 11 points through his past 13 outings. He’s not a safe bet to reach the 70-point milestone again, but he was getting significantly fewer assists than is normal early in the campaign, and that seems to be balancing out and is likely to continue to do so. There’s a good chance he’ll finish the season as Calgary’s scoring leader.

Colorado Avalanche (Mon @ VAN, Thu @ SJS, FRI @ ANA, Sun vs. SEA)

The Avalanche will start next week on the road, playing in Vancouver on Monday, San Jose on Thursday and Anaheim on Friday. Colorado will then conclude the week by hosting the Kraken.

Colorado acquired Mackenzie Blackwood along with Givani Smith and a 2027 fifth-round pick from San Jose in exchange for Alexandar Georgiev, Nikolai Kovalenko, a 2025 fifth-round pick and a 2026 second-round selection.

With Blackwood on side, the Avalanche have now completely changed their goaltending tandem. They started with Georgiev and Justus Annunen, and now have Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood. The 32-year-old Wedgewood started the campaign with Nashville, posting a 1-2-1 record, 3.69 GAA and .878 save percentage through five appearances, but he’s done far better since joining the Avalanche, going 3-2-0 with a 1.92 GAA and a .931 save percentage across five outings. Of course, that’s a small sample size, and Wedgewood typically hasn’t been more than an acceptable backup goaltender, so Blackwood will be needed too.

For his part, Blackwood had a 6-9-3 record, 3.00 GAA and .909 save percentage in 19 appearances with the Sharks before the trade. He has a plus-3.9 goals saved above expected this campaign, per Moneypuck, so he’s been solid when factoring out the Sharks’ defense. Speaking of that defense, San Jose ranks 29th in xGA/60 (3.36) while Colorado is 13th (2.95). That should lead to Blackwood putting up meaningfully better numbers post-trade, and naturally, his winning percentage should improve too now that he has the likes of Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and defenseman Cale Makar providing him with goal support.

Having Valeri Nichushkin and Artturi Lehkonen naturally helps too. That duo wasn’t available at the start of the campaign, but they’re in the lineup now, providing some critical secondary scoring. Nichushkin and Lehkonen have each supplied four goals through six games in December. They won’t match MacKinnon and Rantanen in terms of points, but they’re fantastic for Colorado to have on the top six.

Edmonton Oilers (Mon vs. FLA, Thu vs. BOS, Sat vs. SJS, Sun vs. OTT)

The Oilers will be at home next week, hosting the Panthers on Monday, the Bruins on Thursday, the Sharks on Saturday and the Senators on Sunday. Edmonton has been fantastic recently, winning seven of its past eight games to improve to 17-10-2 on the campaign, so the Oilers will be looking to stay hot.

Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl have unsurprisingly been a major factor in Edmonton’s recent success, providing 15 points (five goals) and 14 points (six), respectively, over their past eight games. Vasily Podkolzin (three goals, five points) and Connor Brown (one goal, five points) have been less expected contributors. Podkolzin has benefited from playing in a top-six role, but he still might lose that job once Viktor Arvidsson (undisclosed) is available. It would be a little surprising if Arvidsson, who has been out since Nov. 12, returned next week, but he has resumed skating and might attend a team practice soon.

As for Brown, while there was some hope of him playing alongside his old OHL teammate, McDavid, when he first joined the Oilers, that’s never panned out. The 30-year-old has been playing strictly in a bottom-six capacity and has received almost no power-play time this campaign, so while his four goals and 10 points through 29 appearances aren’t bad under the circumstances, Brown isn’t in a position to increase that scoring pace.

In goal, Stuart Skinner has stabilized after a rough start to the campaign, posting a 4-1-0 record, 1.41 GAA and .947 save percentage across his past five starts. He had a similar track in 2023-24 with a rocky opening to the season followed by mostly strong play beyond that, so perhaps history is repeating.

Florida Panthers (Mon @ EDM, Wed @ MIN, Fri vs. STL, Sun vs. TBL)

Florida will open next week with road games against Edmonton and Minnesota on Monday and Wednesday, respectively. The Panthers will then host the Blues on Friday and play in Tampa Bay on Sunday.

Matthew Tkachuk was one of the hottest forwards in the league from Nov. 19-Dec. 7, supplying six goals and 19 points across 10 appearances. However, he’s been held off the scoresheet in each of his last two outings, so while he’s a fantastic forward regardless, his latest hot streak might be over.

To be fair, though, Florida as a squad has managed just one goal (excluding the shootout) over its past two games, so it’s not just Tkachuk who has cooled off. That’s just a mini-slump on the Panthers’ end, but Anton Lundell has been cold for longer. He hasn’t recorded a point across his past five appearances, leaving him at eight goals and 19 points through 29 outings in 2024-25.

Most of Lundell’s success came from an amazing start to the campaign in which he recorded six goals and 14 points in 14 appearances, but he was also averaging 18:49 of ice time. By contrast, he’s dropped to two goals and five points over his past 15 games and his average during that stretch is 15:39. The 23-year-old is capable, but when everyone is healthy, he typically serves on the third line, which limits his fantasy impact. If injuries result in him moving up to the top six, then he could be a great short-term play.

Los Angeles Kings (Tue @ PIT, Thu @ PHI, Sat @ NSH, Sun @ WSH)

The Kings have a full schedule with four games on the docket next week and just one of their upcoming opponents (the Capitals) occupy a playoff spot. The downside is the Kings will be on the road for the entire week. They’ll play in Pittsburgh on Tuesday, Philadelphia on Thursday, Nashville on Saturday and Washington on Sunday.

When looking at the Kings’ campaign thus far, the player who has most impressed me is Anze Kopitar with his eight goals and 32 points through 29 appearances. We’re currently in a time where several forwards have excelled well past their prime -- Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby being the most obvious examples -- so Kopitar’s longevity has flown under the radar somewhat. The fact that he remains an effective playmaker at the age of 37, is still impressive, though. It wouldn’t be surprising at this point to see him reach the 70-point mark for the 10th time in his career.

Alex Laferriere was nearing his sixth birthday when Kopitar made his NHL debut, but the two are in their second campaign together and the sophomore Laferriere has been coming into his own with 12 goals and 22 points in 29 contests this season. Laferriere has continued to be a steady contributor lately, collecting three goals and seven points across his past seven games.

However, I am a little worried about Laferriere’s 20.0 shooting percentage. That seems rather high and his PDO of 1033 is a touch up there too, which suggests he has been getting a bit of puck luck. I don’t expect a crash, but his goal-scoring pace will likely decline somewhat.

Adrian Kempe’s shooting percentage of 17.9 is on the higher side too. Kempe did have a 16.4 shooting percentage in 2022-23 when he finished with 41 markers, so he’s not too far above his career high, but it’s still a notable step above his career average of 12.7. Like Laferriere, I don’t expect Kempe to collapse, but a small decline might be in his future. Kempe does have 14 goals and 28 points in 29 outings overall.

New Jersey Devils (Tue @ STL, Thu @ CBJ, Sat vs. PIT)

The Devils are set to play just three games next week, but the competition is favorable, so I decided to highlight them. New Jersey will play in St. Louis on Tuesday and Columbus on Thursday before hosting the Penguins on Saturday.

The Devils have a commanding 19-10-3 record compared to their mediocre 38-39-5 finish to 2023-24 and the difference is almost entirely at their end of the ice. New Jersey is allowing just 2.66 goals per game, which is a huge drop from 3.43 last year. But how much of that is thanks to Jacob Markstrom?

The Devils had an xGA/60 of 3.26 last campaign, which suggests that they were a poor defensive team independent of their goaltending. Kaapo Kahkonen and Jake Allen largely held their own with a plus-1.4 and minus-1.9 goals saved above expected, but when the defense is that bad, merely being okay leads to bad results. The Devils also employed Nico Daws, Akira Schmid and Vitek Vanecek, who did even worse by that metric.

Markstrom was brought in over the summer to stabilize the situation, but much like Kahkonen before him, he’s been acceptable, but not brilliant, posting a plus-1.5 goals saved above expected through 22 appearances. The difference is the Devils have burdened their goaltenders far less in 2024-25, as evidenced by their 2.70 xGA/60.

So, while Markstrom certainly hasn’t been a problem, he hasn’t necessarily been their savior. Either way, fantasy managers have can reap the benefits of Markstrom playing in a favorable situation, which has resulted in him posting a 14-6-2 record, 2.41 GAA and .906 save percentage. He’s also hot going into this week with a 3-0-1 record, 1.48 GAA and .933 save percentage over his past four outings.

Allen has been dealing with an upper-body injury, and the Devils’ schedule is spread out enough to allow Markstrom to start in all three games next week. Isaac Poulter will be with New Jersey for the duration of Allen’s injury, but Poulter is unlikely to get a start. The 23-year-old Poulter has struggled in the AHL this campaign with a 3.32 GAA and an .871 save percentage across nine appearances.

Poulter not getting playing time isn’t surprising, but it was a bit eyebrow-raising to see Tomas Tatar out of the lineup Thursday. Perhaps it shouldn’t be, though. Tatar has averaged just 10:41 of ice time this campaign, which is a far cry from even two seasons ago when he logged 15:07 per game. The Devils are a deep team, and it seems like there’s not much of a role for him. I’d be interested to see what would happen if the Devils traded the 34-year-old. He’s on a one-year, $1.8 million contract, so he’s movable, but New Jersey might ultimately decide that they’d rather have him on board as an insurance policy against injuries. If Tatar does find himself in a middle-six role, he might do enough offensively to have some fantasy relevance. As it is, he’s a non-factor in most leagues.

Seattle Kraken (Tue vs. OTT, Thu @ CHI, Sat @ VGK, Sun @ COL)

Seattle will host Ottawa on Tuesday, but the Kraken will spend the remainder of next week on the road, playing in Chicago on Thursday, Vegas on Saturday and Colorado on Sunday.

The Kraken have largely held their own this campaign without being anything special, posting a 15-14-2 record. Joey Daccord has been a major highlight with a 12-6-2 record, 2.42 GAA and .916 save percentage through 20 appearances. We just talked about how Markstrom is benefiting from plenty of support, but Daccord has had to do much more to keep the Kraken afloat. They are tied for 24th in xGA/60 (3.14) and are tied for 16th in goals per game (3.03). For his part, Daccord’s plus-9.2 in goals saved above expected ranks seventh in the league.

Seattle’s offense is mediocre in part because it lacks star power. Through Friday’s action, 48 players have scored at least 12 goals and none of them play for the Kraken. Seattle’s points leader, Jared McCann, (11 goals, 15 assists), is also outside of the top 47 in that category. The Kraken have nine players who have recorded at least five goals, which is respectable -- the league average is 7.7 per team -- but without a star leading the charge, the offense is still just okay.

Maybe Shane Wright will eventually fill that role. Taken with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, Wright had just a goal and an assist through his first 18 appearances in 2024-25. Then he spent three games as a healthy scratch from Nov. 17-23, and that seemed to do him plenty of good. He’s managed six goals and 11 points across 10 outings since that stint in the press box.

The 22-year-old Matty Beniers has promise too. He had 24 goals and 57 points as a rookie in 2022-23 but took a step back in 2023-24 with 15 goals and 37 points. The 2024-25 campaign has been a mixed bag -- he has four goals and 17 points in 31 games -- but he’s done well recently with seven assists across his past seven appearances.

Vancouver Canucks (Mon @ COL, Wed @ UTA, Thu @ VGK, Say vs. OTT)

The Canucks will split next week between two games at home (Monday vs. the Avalanche and Saturday vs. the Senators) and two road tilts (Wednesday in Utah and Thursday in Vegas). The Canucks are 15-8-5, which is pretty good, but in a tough Pacific Division, that’s only good for fourth place.

Going into the campaign, it wasn’t clear if Vancouver would be able to hold its own without starting goaltender Thatcher Demko, who was dealing with a knee injury. Fortunately for the Canucks, Kevin Lankinen stepped up and now has a 14-4-3 record, 2.52 GAA and .912 save percentage across 21 outings.

Lankinen became the clear starter during Demko’s absence, but his role is less clear after Demko made his return. The 29-year-old Demko made his season debut Tuesday, though he left something to be desired, stopping 21 of 25 shots en route to a 4-3 overtime loss to St. Louis. That was followed by Lankinen posting a 27-save shutout Thursday.

We shouldn’t judge Demko based on only one start, but it might take him some time to shake off the rust. With Vancouver’s upcoming schedule relatively full, the Canucks will probably split the workload between Lankinen and Demko, which will give the latter more time to get eased in. If Lankinen keeps playing like he has been, and Demko eventually finds his rhythm, then Vancouver would have a great 1A/1B situation on its hands.

The Canucks also got J.T. Miller back, who was absent for 10 games due to personal reasons. He looked good in his return Thursday, providing two assists, including one on the power play. Now that he’s back, Pius Suter is likely to serve in a reduced capacity. During Miller’s 10-game absence, Suter had five goals and nine points while averaging 18:14 of ice time, but Suter dropped to 15:15 on Thursday and wasn’t used at all with the man advantage for the first time since Nov. 14. If you’ve been enjoying Suter’s recent success, now might be the time to explore your alternatives.

NHL: CULLEN – 20 FANTASY POINTS – Avalanche overhaul goaltending, Bedard heating up, Wright establishing himself, Montreal’s power play more dangerous with Hutson feeding Laine, and much more!

Scott Cullen — Fri, 13 Dec 2024 17:05:50 +0000

Each week, I’ll dig into the stats to find information that can help you make better fantasy hockey decisions. This week, the Avalanche have overhauled their goaltending, Connor Bedard is heating up, Shane Wright is establishing himself, Montreal’s power play is more dangerous with Lane Hutson feeding Patrik Laine, and much more!

Here is this week’s edition of 20 Fantasy Points:

#1 Give the Colorado Avalanche credit. They saw the direction that their goaltending was heading this season and decided that an abrupt change of course was necessary. In two separate deals, the Avs acquired Scott Wedgewood from the Nashville Predators, and then landed Mackenzie Blackwood from the San Jose Sharks. Blackwood becomes immediately more intriguing from a fantasy perspective because he will play for an Avalanche team that is more likely to win than the Sharks squad from which he departs. Blackwood had a .909 save percentage and 5.10 Goals Saved Above Expected in 19 games for San Jose. His play has been uneven since a strong rookie campaign in 2019-2020, but playing for Colorado is a prime opportunity for 28-year-old Blackwood to achieve his potential.

#2 Going to San Jose as part of the deal, in addition to slumping goaltender Alexandar Georgiev, is rookie winger Nikolai Kovalenko. The 25-year-old’s ice time was dwindling in Colorado, where he had eight points (4 G, 4 A) in 29 games but, in his Sharks debut, Kovalenko was dropped onto the left side of San Jose’s top line, with Macklin Celebrini and Tyler Toffoli, and Kovalenko contributed three assists in Thursday’s 4-3 win at St. Louis. At this point, Kovalenko would only be a consideration in deep leagues, but if he can stick with Celebrini, he could become much more appealing in a hurry.

#3 It has been a trying season for Chicago Blackhawks centre Connor Bedard, the first pick in the 2023 Draft who had a stellar rookie campaign in 2023-2024. Through 21 games, he had 15 points, but just three goals and 55 shots on goal, which is not enough for a player with his considerable offensive gifts. In the past eight games, though, Bedard has contributed nine points (3 G, 6 A) with 18 shots on goal. Perhaps this is the beginning of a turnaround for Chicago’s franchise player, though more shots would still be ideal.

#4 Seattle Kraken centre Shane Wright has not had the easiest time since he was the fourth pick in the 2022 Draft, struggling just to get into the NHL lineup. He appears to be hitting his stride now, however. In his past 10 games, Wright has delivered 11 points (6 G, 5 A), though with just 14 shots on goal. Obviously, that shot rate is not high enough to sustain that kind of production, but as the points start to accumulate, Wright’s ice time goes up. He has played more than 14 minutes in six of those 10 games after crossing that threshold twice in his first 18 games.

#5 A healthy Patrik Laine has finally joined the Montreal Canadiens, and the early returns are encouraging. His all-around game still needs plenty of work to get up to speed, but he does one very important thing very well and that is shoot the puck. In five games, Laine has scored three goals, all on the power play, and added one assist at even strength. He is one of the rare players who can score clean goals from distance, so Montreal should give him linemates that are focused on getting Laine opportunities to shoot the puck. He has 12 shots on goal in five games, which is okay, but could be better.

#6 One of the players who is doing a fine job getting Laine the puck is Canadiens rookie defenceman Lane Hutson, who has assists on all three of Laine’s goals. Hutson did not find the scoresheet in Thursday’s 9-2 loss to Pittsburgh, snapping a seven-game point streak during which he contributed eight assists. He has played an average of 22:49 per game, which puts him more than three minutes per game ahead of any other rookie defenceman (Philadelphia’s Emil Andrae is averaging 19:26 time on ice per game). In any case, Hutson is playing a lot and with some accomplished shooters on the Canadiens roster, should be in position to keep producing points from the blueline.

#7 When the St. Louis Blues signed Dylan Holloway to an offer sheet in the offseason, it was with the expectation that the former Edmonton Oilers winger would have a bigger role with his new team. While that was indeed happening, Holloway’s production has been super-charged since the Blues made a coaching change, bringing in Jim Montgomery to replace Drew Bannister. In eight games with Montgomery behind the bench, Holloway has put up 11 points (6 G, 5 A) and 26 shots on goal while averaging 16:27 of ice time per game. For a player who had averaged just 10:21 of ice time in 89 games for the Oilers, this increase in role and production has been substantial.

#8 Utah Hockey club centre Logan Cooley is building on what was a promising rookie season in 2023-2024. In his past 10 games, Cooley has produced 12 points (4 G, 8 A) with 20 shots on goal. He forms a brilliant combination with Dylan Guenther, who has 14 points (5 G, 9 A) and 21 shots on goal in the past 10 games. Guenther is up to 28 points (12 G, 16 A) in 29 games for the season. Both young forwards have great potential and are already at the point of providing fantasy value.

#9 Although it seems that his career has been on a straight downward trajectory since arriving in Calgary, Flames left winger Jonathan Huberdeau is currently riding a six-game point streak, during which he has nine points (4 G, 5 A) and 14 shots on goal. Huberdeau has 11 goals and 10 assists for the season, which is a highly unusual goal-to-assist ratio. Last season, for example, he scored 12 goals and had 40 assists and 2017-2018 was the last season in which he had less than twice as many assists as goals.

#10 When the Chicago Blackhawks signed 6-foot-6 defenceman Alex Vlasic to a contract extension in the offseason, it was an indication that he would play a big role on the blueline for the foreseeable future. Vlasic can already play in a shutdown role, but he is starting to contribute offensively, too. With Seth Jones injured, Vlasic is quarterbacking the Blackhawks’ top power play unit and has six points (2 G, 4 A) with 20 shots on goal while playing more than 24 minutes per game in his past seven games.

#11 After tallying three points against the Blackhawks on Thursday, New York Islanders right winger Simon Holmstrom has continued to elevate his game in his third NHL season. Since Mathew Barzal was injured at the end of October, Holmstrom has seen his ice time go up and so has his production. In the past 21 games, Holmstrom has played more than 17 minutes per game, leading to him scoring 16 points (8 G, 8 A) with 29 shots on goal. In deep leagues, that just might be worth consideration.

#12 As mediocre as the Pittsburgh Penguins have been this season, there is some value to be found with their veteran wingers. Bryan Rust has been a reliable contributor for the Penguins over the years and in his past eight games, he has 12 points (7 G, 5 A) with 28 shots on goal. Skating on Sidney Crosby’s wing does tend to bring opportunities. Rickard Rakell is skating on the other wing of Pittsburgh’s top line, and in that eight-game span, Rakell has 10 points (6 G, 4 A) with 22 shots on goal. The Penguins have also won six of those eight games, so there are some signs of progress coinciding with more reliable production from some of their top players.

#13 A big offseason signing for the Seattle Kraken, centre Chandler Stephenson did not have a great start with his new team, managing one goal and 10 points in his first 19 games. In the past 11 games, he has 11 points (2 G, 9 A) but he also has just 10 shots on goal in that time and is getting buried during five-on-five play. Stephenson does have a spot on the Kraken’s top power play unit, though, and has scored 11 of his 21 points this season with the man advantage.

#14 Washington Capitals right winger Aliaksei Protas is really coming into his own. He scored 29 points last season but managed just six goals in 78 games, so his offensive contributions weren’t fully realized, but that’s changing. He has eight points (4 G, 4 A) in his past seven games, but it’s important to note that this production has been going on all season as he has 26 points (11 G, 15 A) in 28 games. The 6-foot-6 winger is proving to be more than merely a complementary piece.

#15 The leading goal scorer among defencemen, on a per-game basis (minimum 20 games played), is the Capitals’ Jakob Chychrun, who has eight goals (and 10 assists) in 23 games. This is not entirely unusual for Chychrun. Since 2019-2020, he ranks fifth in goals per game among defensemen (minimum 200 games), behind Cale Makar, Roman Josi, Zach Werenski, and Dougie Hamilton. The issue for Chychrun, frequently, has been staying healthy, as last season was the first time in his career that he played more than 70 games in a season.

#16 Vancouver Canucks centre Pius Suter has been a valuable complementary piece, particularly while the Canucks were missing J.T. Miller recently. Since the beginning of November, Suter has 14 points (9 G, 5 A) with 39 shots on goal in 19 games. Skating on a line with Conor Garland and Dakota Joshua, there is the chance for consistent even strength production to continue. Suter is tied for 16th in the league with 10 even strength goals.

#17 Coming off a career-best season, during which he scored 37 goals and 60 points, Anaheim Ducks winger Frank Vatrano has had a more difficult time of it this season. He has 14 points (7 G, 7 A) in 27 games but does have 93 shots on goal and that high shot rate is a reason for hope and it is trending in the right direction. In his past nine games, Vatrano has seven points (5 G, 2 A) with 37 shots on goal and players that are putting four shots on goal per game tend to find goals and points, too.

#18 Despite playing very little (11:21 ATOI per game) Penguins centre Blake Lizotte has been surprisingly productive, with 10 points (6 G, 4 A) in 15 games. He has scored on 35.3 percent of his shots, which is unsustainable for anyone, but especially a player who typically scores on 10 percent of his shots. Among players that have appeared in at least 10 games, Lizotte ranks 11th with 1.61 goals per game during five-on-five play. Skating on Lizotte’s wing, Michael Bunting is raising his level, too, putting up seven points (3 G, 4 A) with 15 shots on goal in the past six games.

#19 Pittsburgh’s improved play is bringing better results from goaltender Tristan Jarry, who has typically been an above average goaltender in his career, but not so much this season. In his first three games, Jarry had a .836 save percentage, which is virtually unplayable for a team with playoff aspirations, so the Penguins didn’t play him for a month, and since he has returned, he has a .896 save percentage in nine games. That’s not enough to get excited, but if the Penguins keep winning, their goaltender could still offer potential value.

#20 With Connor Ingram out with an upper-body injury, the Utah Hockey Club has been fortunate enough to have Karel Vejmelka step up his game. In his past 13 games, Vejmelka has a .923 save percentage, posting a 5-5-2 record. His track record does not necessarily track with this level of play, but fantasy managers could do worse than to take a shot on a goaltender that is running hot.

*Advanced stats via Natural Stat Trick

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.

MCKEEN’S 2024-25 NHL YEARBOOK – SEATTLE KRAKEN – Top 15 Prospect Profiles – Organizational Rank #5

Introduction - Dave Hall, Profiles - Brock Otten — Wed, 25 Sep 2024 18:00:09 +0000

_{CALGARY, AB - SEPTEMBER 25: Seattle Kraken Forward Carson Rehkopf (74) skates during the first period of an NHL preseason game between the Calgary Flames and the Seattle Kraken on September 25, 2023, at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, AB. (Photo by Brett Holmes/Icon Sportswire)}

Prospect System Ranking – 5th (Previous Rank - 8th)
GM: Ron Francis Hired: July 2019
COACH: Dan Bylsma Hired: May 2024

Now under the guidance of new bench boss Dan Bylsma, the Seattle Kraken head into their fourth NHL season with a rapidly growing prospect pipeline, climbing to the fifth spot in our rankings. This development comes from leveraging 14 first/seconds-round (four first rounds/10 second rounds) picks over their first four years, injecting a plethora of young talent in quick succession.

With their inaugural draft picks, Matty Beniers and Ryker Evans, now graduated, the next wave from the 2022 draft class is set to make their professional debuts. Second rounders Jagger Firkus (62nd), Jani Nyman (103rd), David Goyette (108th), and third-rounder Ty Nelson (154th) are all poised to begin their pro careers down in Coachella Valley, while Shane Wright (12th), the fourth overall pick in 2022, appears to be ready for his first full-time NHL opportunity.

Looking at the 2023 and 2024 drafts, Seattle’s top picks are progressing well in their junior careers. Berkley Catton (17th), their most recent first-round selection, just completed an explosive 116-point campaign with the Spokane Chiefs. Meanwhile, Carson Rehkopf (89th) (2023 second rounder) finished with 95 points for the Kitchener Rangers, defenceman Lukas Dragicevic (194th) (2023 second rounder) tallied 50 points for the Tri-City Americans, and Eduard Šalé (166th) (2023 first rounder) nearly reached a point-per-game pace after transitioning to the OHL from Czechia mid-season. All this to say, the Kraken's system is budding nicely and is well on track to continue churning out mid-to-high ranged pedigree talent.

Despite signing Chandler Stephenson and Brandon Montour to large contracts this summer, the Kraken have essentially maintained the core of last season’s 34-35-13 roster. Although still a few years away from true contention, the Kraken are steadily positioning themselves for long-term success in the Pacific Northwest.

Seattle Kraken Top-15 Prospects

1. Shane Wright

Has Shane Wright lived up to the hype that is usually attached to former CHL exceptional status players? Most would argue no. However, he’s still a top-notch NHL prospect who had a very solid first professional season. Wright was particularly strong in the second half, showing well with Seattle in a cup of coffee and helping Coachella Valley reach the Calder Cup finals. The real difference in Wright’s improved play has been his adjustment to the pace of the pro game. Later in the year, Wright began to use his speed more to his advantage, with and without the puck, and the results were terrific. This has always been something that has been inconsistently applied and hindered his production. Of course, Wright remains a highly intelligent pivot with a high upside as a goal scorer because of his quick release. While the likelihood that Wright becomes a superstar, as once predicted, has decreased, he is still a potential long-time contributor in Seattle’s top six; the one/two punch of Beniers and Wright remains tantalizing.

2. Berkly Catton

Given the strength of this year’s defender crop at the draft and the fact that Seattle had yet to use a first on a defenseman, most people (us included) expected the Kraken to take a blueliner at 8th overall. They sure fooled us all when they took dynamic Spokane pivot Berkly Catton. Catton is a more dynamic play creator compared to Beniers and Wright. He’s exceptionally slick and creative with that unique ability to consistently evade pressure. The lack of size is going to concern some, but Catton’s tenaciousness is an underrated component of his game. Having three quality young centers is a problem most franchises would kill to have. Catton will almost certainly return to the WHL this season. Individual success seems inevitable, but what Seattle would really love to see is Catton help Spokane make a deep playoff run; the Chiefs have not had a strong team in his two years in the WHL.

3. Jagger Firkus

The leading scorer in the WHL last year, Firkus had a tremendous season with Moose Jaw. The former high second round selection has developed according to plan as a dominant offensive player. Firkus is an elite manager of the game who can keep the puck on a string and who manages to work inside consistently despite being on the smaller side. Over his WHL career, he’s worked hard to improve his strength on the puck to increase his chances of becoming a top-notch offensive contributor at the NHL level. In a nutshell, Firkus is the complete package as an offensive player, and he has the upside to be a point per game player in the NHL. Firkus will turn pro this year, and what that means remains to be seen. The smart prediction would have Firkus spending the majority of a year in the AHL, just as former WHL standout Logan Stankoven did last season. However, don’t count out Firkus from making an impact at the NHL level at some point.

4. Carson Rehkopf

While Rehkopf wasn’t quite able to sustain the blistering pace he started the year with, it was a very positive draft plus one year for him with Kitchener. An emerging OHL star, Rehkopf has so many intriguing physical tools. The size and skating combination makes him very tough to stop in motion, however he’s also very strong on the puck, making him difficult to stop down low. Opposing defences need to key in on him away from the puck because of his high-end shooting ability. He can really rifle the puck, and this makes him a monster weapon on the powerplay on the flank where he can cleanly one-time pucks past netminders. The next step for Rehkopf is to continue to improve his engagement level as a two-way, physical player. This would help him truly dominate in all fashions and make him a top NHL prospect.

5. Jani Nyman

It seems like most of the Kraken’s top prospects progressed terrifically last year and Nyman certainly falls under that category. He exploded in Liiga, scoring 26 goals in Finland’s top professional league. He was also a standout at the World Junior Championship, playing against his peers. Nyman’s skating and play on the puck has improved greatly since being drafted. He’s extremely confident in his ability to drive the net and he’s difficult to separate from the puck along the wall and inside the dots. He’s not an overtly physical player. Even though he’s got a big frame, at 6-foot-4, he’s not really a power winger. However, Nyman projects as a complementary piece on a scoring line thanks to his scoring ability and the consistency with which he works inside to open up space. He’ll be in North America to start this year, likely playing in Coachella Valley to start.

6. David Goyette

The second Kraken prospect to lead his CHL league in scoring last year, Goyette was remarkable for the OHL Sudbury Wolves. The preseason favourite to win the OHL’s Eddie Powers trophy, Goyette followed through by posting 117 points. In a system with so many high-end goal scorers like Shane Wright, Carson Rehkopf, and Jani Nyman, Goyette stands out for his excellent playmaking ability. He extends plays with his feet and his hands, and he has outstanding vision. Simply put, he is the type of player who makes those around him better. Goyette is also an underrated off puck player who competes hard for loose pucks and in the defensive end. This part of his game has grown substantially since being drafted and it has improved his projection. Like others in the system, he will turn pro next year and should be an immediate contributor for Coachella Valley.

7. Ty Nelson

After such a monster season two years ago, expectations for Nelson were sky high coming into last year. He never quite reached those, but he still had a solid year, and his development remains on a positive track. Nelson was one of the better defenders in the OHL, helped North Bay to another solid season, and played for Canada at the World Junior Championships. The stocky defender’s best weapon remains his booming point shot. He is a prime scoring weapon from the backend, however he’s also a strong overall puck mover because of his mobility. Nelson has worked hard since being drafted to become a better defensive player and he is now at the point where he is ready for a new challenge at the pro level. Continuing to focus on his decision making, with and without the puck, will be key as he adjusts to the AHL level next season. Nelson is a potential top four defender and powerplay quarterback down the line.

8. Eduard Sale

The 20th overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, Sale’s first season in North America didn’t quite go as well as many had anticipated. Splitting the year between Barrie and Kitchener of the OHL, Sale never quite found the confidence and effectiveness to be a consistent scoring threat. Watching Sale in the OHL, it’s plainly obvious that his skill level is high. He can beat defenders one on one, and he can be dangerous in transition and on the powerplay when he has extra room to operate. However, his game has been too perimeter-oriented, and he has struggled to play through contact on the smaller ice surfaces of the OHL. There is a need for him to add strength this offseason so that he can find more success playing through the middle of the ice. Sale remains a forward with high upside, but it’s become apparent that he may be more of a longer-term project than initially believed. He could turn pro next in the AHL or return to Kitchener of the OHL this year.

9. Niklas Kokko

Don’t let Kokko’s disappointing World Juniors performance shape your opinion of him. While he unquestionably struggled at that event, he was lights out in Liiga action last season, helping Pelicans reach the Liiga final; for a 20-year-old netminder this is remarkable. The 6-foot-4 goaltender plays a hybrid style that is very technically sound. He covers his angles well and plays up his size well, ensuring that he takes up as much of the net as possible. He’s improved as an athlete since being drafted and this is helping him to challenge shooters more consistently. Kokko is already signed by Seattle, so one would have to think that after his strong end to season, that he will come over to play in the AHL next season. Chris Driedger has moved on to another organization, so the starting gig in Coachella Valley is up for grabs. As of right now, he’s emerged as one of the better netminders outside of North America.

10. Julius Miettinen

We ranked Miettinen as a first-round prospect for the 2024 Draft; needless to say we approved of Seattle’s selection of him at 40th overall. The big pivot improved so much over the course of his first season in North America with Everett of the WHL. In particular, his skating made huge strides, allowing him to become dominant on the puck at times. Equal parts goal scorer and playmaker, Miettinen uses his size well to make plays in high traffic areas. Miettinen is also a dedicated two-way player who can provide versatility to his coaches. So long as he continues to improve his skating, he projects as a quality middle six center for Seattle in the future. This coming year, Miettinen will return to Everett and the expectation is that he becomes one of the better forwards in the WHL, on top of leading the Silvertips deeper in the playoffs.

11. Ryan Winterton

12. Oscar Fisker Mølgaard

The Danish forward secured a permanent position at the SHL level last year with HV71 and played a secondary scoring role for them, helping them narrowly avoid relegation to the Hockey Allsvenskan. Fisker Mølgaard is a well-rounded offensive player who excels as a playmaker because of his vision and quick feet. A second-round selection last year, he remains more of a longer term project, but one who could play a middle six role in the future for Seattle.

13. Lukas Dragicevic

Being a top defender on one of the worst teams in your league can never be easy, but it was likely good for Dragicevic’s development this past year. Tri-City finished near the basement of the WHL, but Dragicevic still produced at a nice clip from the backend. The highly skilled rearguard will return to the WHL, now with a better Prince Albert team, to continue rounding out his game.

14. Logan Morrison

A savvy free agent signing by Seattle out of the OHL, Morrison was one of the AHL’s top rookies last year, helping Coachella Valley make a deep playoff run. Skating has always been the knock for Morrison, but thus far he’s proved that his high-end vision and offensive awareness are good enough to help him overcome that.

15. Caden Price

Another 2023 draft pick who had a strong draft plus one year, Price emerged as one of the WHL’s best two-way defenders last year. The Kelowna Rockets have proven to be a defenceman factory the last few decades and Price could be the next in line. Continuing to tighten up his reads and decision making will be key for him moving forward.

MCKEEN’S 2024 NHL PROSPECT REPORT – #8 Seattle Kraken – Organization Overview – Top 15 Prospects

Player Profiles - Brock Otten, Team Overview - Robert Howard — Sat, 08 Jun 2024 13:00:15 +0000

SEATTLE, WA - DECEMBER 06: Seattle Kraken center Shane Wright (51) skates after the puck during an NHL game between the Montreal Canadiens and the Seattle Kraken on December 6, 2022 at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, WA. (Photo by Jeff Halstead/Icon Sportswire)

In their third year in the league, the Seattle Kraken took a step back from a 100-point season finishing with 83 points, and another high draft pick at number eight overall. The franchises early success in making the playoffs in its second year, and then pushing through to the second-round last season meant a late draft pick at 20th overall. They selected McKeen’s 140th ranked prospect in Eduard Sale. While the addition of another high pick is welcome, it cost the only head coach they have known in Dave Hakstol his job, and subsequently replaced by Dan Bylsma. GM Ron Francis felt a new voice was needed. “Too many losing streaks and losing streaks of significant numbers” was his explanation at the end of season press conference. Francis has largely stayed away from significant trades and building classically through the draft. Without providing additional firepower to Hakstol, perhaps it was inevitable they would regress from a remarkable 2022-23.

As a result of that strategy, they have the 8th ranked prospect pool in the NHL, more notable for its depth than its high-end pieces. The teams top 12 prospects all rank within our top 200. They have five in the top 100 led by Shane Wright at 21st, who may/or may not hit the superstar potential he was once touted for. Wright improved last season and looks ready for a prolonged look in the NHL and provide a one-two punch with Matty Beniers for years to come. Second round pick Jagger Firkus was the WHL’s leading scorer, and may be a year or two away, but the offensive winger will fit in on the Kraken’s top six in due course. Francis has five picks in the first three rounds of this upcoming draft, and it is likely too early to draw any conclusions on the success of the scouting and development team, but there are some encouraging signs.

RNK	PLAYER	POS	AGE	HT/WT	TM	Acquired	GP	G(W)	A(L)	PTS(GAA)	PIM(SPCT)
1	Shane Wright	C	20	6-0/200	Coachella Valley (AHL)	`22(4th)	59	22	25	47	18
					Seattle (NHL)	`22(4th)	8	4	1	5	0
2	Jagger Firkus	RW	20	5-10/155	Moose Jaw (WHL)	`22(35th)	63	61	65	126	30
3	Carson Rehkopf	LW	19	6-1/195	Kitchener (OHL)	`23(50th)	60	52	43	95	45
4	Jani Nyman	RW	19	6-3/215	Ilves (Fin-Liiga)	`22(49th)	48	26	17	43	2
5	David Goyette	C	20	5-10/175	Sudbury (OHL)	`22(61st)	68	40	77	117	29
6	Ryker Evans	D	22	5-11/190	Seattle (NHL)	`21(35th)	36	1	8	9	20
					Coachella Valley (AHL)	`21(35th)	25	2	13	15	28
7	Ty Nelson	D	20	5-10/195	North Bay (OHL)	`22(68th)	54	16	36	52	50
8	Eduard Sale	LW	19	6-1/170	Bar-Kit (OHL)	`23(20th)	49	15	23	38	8
9	Niklas Kokko	G	20	6-3/185	Pelicans (Fin-Liiga)	`22(58th)	13	9	0	1.49	0.926
				6-3/185	Karpat (Fin-Liiga)	`22(58th)	10	2	5	2.36	0.906
10	Ryan Winterton	RW	20	6-2/190	Coachella Valley (AHL)	`21(67th)	58	22	13	35	23
				6-2/190	Seattle (NHL)	`21(67th)	9	0	0	0	0
11	Oscar Fisker Molgaard	C	19	6-0/165	HV 71 (SHL)	`23(52nd)	50	9	12	21	6
12	Lukas Dragicevic	D	19	6-1/190	Tri-City (WHL)	`23(57th)	66	14	36	50	52
13	Logan Morrison	C	21	6-0/180	Coachella Valley (AHL)	FA(4/23)	64	16	25	41	4
				6-0/180	Seattle (NHL)	FA(4/23)	4	0	0	0	0
14	Caden Price	D	18	6-0/185	Kelowna (WHL)	`23(84th)	62	13	42	55	48
15	Ville Ottavainen	D	21	6-5/210	Coachella Valley (AHL)	`21(99th)	70	8	26	34	30

1. Shane Wright, C, Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL)

Has Shane Wright lived up to the hype that is usually attached to former CHL exceptional status players? Most would argue no. However, he’s still a top-notch NHL prospect who has had a very solid first professional season. He had a particularly strong second half with Coachella Valley and has subsequently earned a successful call up to Seattle to end the year. The real difference in Wright’s improved play has been his adjustment to the pace of the pro game. Later in the year, he began to use his speed more to his advantage, with and without the puck, and the results were terrific. This has always been something inconsistently applied and hindered his production. Of course, he remains a highly intelligent pivot with a high upside as a goal scorer because of his quick release. While the likelihood that Wright will become a superstar, as once predicted, has decreased, he is still a potential long-time contributor in Seattle’s top six; the one/two punch of Beniers and Wright remains tantalizing.

2. Jagger Firkus, RW, Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL)

The leading scorer in the WHL this year, Firkus had a tremendous season with Moose Jaw. The former high second round selection has developed according to plan as a dominant offensive player. He is an elite manager of the game who can keep the puck on a string and who manages to work inside consistently despite being on the smaller side. Over his WHL career, he’s worked hard to improve his strength on the puck to increase his chances of becoming a top-notch offensive contributor at the NHL level. In a nutshell, he is the complete package as an offensive player, and he has the upside to be a point per game player in the NHL. Next year, he will turn pro and what that means remains to be seen. The smart prediction would have him spending the majority of a year in the AHL, just as former WHL standout Logan Stankoven did this year. However, don’t count out Firkus from making an impact at the NHL level at some point.

3. Carson Rehkopf, LW, Kitchener Rangers (OHL)

While Carson Rehkopf wasn’t quite able to sustain the blistering pace he started the year with, it was a very positive draft plus one year for him with Kitchener. An emerging OHL star, Rehkopf has so many intriguing physical tools. The size and skating combination makes him very tough to stop in motion, however, he’s also very strong on the puck making him difficult to stop down low. Opposing defenses need to key in on him away from the puck because of his high-end shooting ability. He can really rifle the puck, and this makes him a monster weapon on the powerplay on the flank where he can cleanly one-time pucks past netminders. The next step is to continue to improve his engagement level as a two-way, physical player. This would help him truly dominate in all fashions and make him a top NHL prospect.

4. Jani Nyman, RW, Ilves (Liiga)

It seems like most of the Kraken’s top prospects progressed terrifically and Nyman certainly falls under that category. He exploded in Liiga, scoring 26 goals in Finland’s top professional league. He was also a standout at the World Junior Championship, playing against his peers. His skating and play on the puck has improved greatly since being drafted. He’s extremely confident in his ability to drive the net and he’s difficult to separate from the puck along the wall and inside the dots. He’s not an overtly physical player. Even though he’s got a big frame, at 6’ 4”, he’s not really a power winger. However, he does project as a complementary piece on a scoring line thanks to his scoring ability and the consistency with which he works inside to open up space. He’ll be in North America to start next year, likely playing in Coachella Valley to start.

5. David Goyette, C, Sudbury Wolves (OHL)

The second Kraken prospect to lead his CHL league in scoring this year, Goyette was remarkable for the Sudbury Wolves of the OHL. The preseason favourite to win the OHL’s Eddie Powers trophy, he followed through by posting 117 points. In a system with so many high-end goal scorers like Shane Wright, Carson Rehkopf, and Jani Nyman, Goyette stands out for his excellent playmaking ability. He extends plays with his feet and his hands and he has outstanding vision; simply put, he is the type of player who makes those around him better. He is also an underrated off puck player who competes hard for loose pucks and in the defensive end. Like others in the system, he will turn pro next year and should be an immediate contributor for Coachella Valley.

6. Ty Nelson, D, North Bay Battalion (OHL)

After such a monster season a year ago, expectations for Ty Nelson were sky high coming into this year. He never quite reached those, but he still had a solid year, and his development remains on a positive track. He was one of the better defenders in the OHL, helped North Bay to another solid season, and played for Canada at the World Junior Championships. The stocky defender’s best weapon remains his booming point shot. He is a prime scoring weapon from the backend. However, he’s also a strong overall puck mover because of his mobility. He has worked hard since being drafted to become a better defensive player and he is now at the point where he is ready for a new challenge at the pro level. Continuing to focus on his decision making, with and without the puck, will be key as he adjusts to the AHL level next season. Nelson is a potential top four defender and powerplay quarterback down the line.

7. Eduard Sale, LW, Kitchener Rangers (OHL)

The 20th overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, Sale’s first season in North America didn’t quite go as well as many had anticipated. Splitting the year between Barrie and Kitchener of the OHL, he never quite found the confidence and effectiveness to be a consistent scoring threat. Watching him in the OHL, it’s plainly obvious that his skill level is high. He can beat defenders one on one, and he can be dangerous in transition and on the powerplay when he has extra room to operate. However, his game has been too perimeter oriented, and he has struggled to play through contact on the smaller ice surfaces of the OHL. There is a need for him to add strength this offseason so that he can find more success playing through the middle of the ice. Sale remains a forward with high upside, but he may be more of a longer-term project than initially believed. He could turn pro next in the AHL or return to Kitchener of the OHL next year.

8. Niklas Kokko, G, Pelicans (Liiga)

Don’t let Niklas Kokko’s disappointing World Juniors performance shape your opinion of him. While he unquestionably struggled at that event, he has been lights out in Liiga action this year, helping Pelicans reach the Liiga final; for a 20-year-old netminder this is remarkable. The 6’ 4” goaltender plays a hybrid style that is very technically sound. He covers his angles well and plays up his size well, ensuring that he takes up as much of the net possible. He’s improved as an athlete since being drafted and this is helping him to challenge shooters more consistently. Kokko is already signed by Seattle, so one would have to think that after his strong end to this year, he will come over to play in the AHL next season. As of right now, he’s emerged as one of the better netminders outside of North America.

9. Ryan Winterton, RW, Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL)

For Winterton, it was always about staying healthy. He’s always been a talented player with an NHL future, but shoulder injuries had previously derailed his development in the OHL. The great news is that this year, in his first pro year, Winterton has remained healthy, and the results have been terrific. Following last year’s monster OHL playoff performance with London and a strong rookie AHL performance, he has emerged as one of Seattle’s most NHL ready prospects, as evidenced by his semi-long call up to the Kraken recently. He projects as a very versatile middle six forward. He can play multiple forward positions. He’s a confident and intelligent two-way player. He brings physicality and strong off puck play. He is a terrific complementary offensive player thanks to his ability to control the wall and shoot the puck. He’s probably not very far away from a permanent spot with Seattle.

10. Oscar Fisker Mølgaard, C, HV71 (SHL)

The Danish forward secured a permanent position at the SHL level this year with HV71 and played a secondary scoring role for them, helping them narrowly avoid relegation to the Hockey Allsvenskan. He is a well-rounded offensive player who excels as a playmaker because of his vision and quick feet. He escapes pressure regularly and plays a high energy game at both ends; he earns his touches through determination and hard work. Fisker Mølgaard, a second-round selection last year, remains more of a longer-term project, but one who could play a middle six role in the future for Seattle. Next year, he’ll have some options. He could return to HV71 again and try to earn a larger role in the SHL. He could sign with Seattle and play as a 20 year in the AHL. Or the Kraken could try to secure a spot in the CHL for him to help him take that next step.

PROSPECT CRITERIA: Players under 26 years of age as of 9/15/2024 who have appeared in less than 60 games (30 for goalies) and less than 25 in one season (25 for goalies).