Top 10 Sleepers

Tom Collins

2014-08-26

BrianElliott

10 sleepers to target in your draft

We're all guilty of putting a little too much emphasis on sleeper picks.

Every year, we have certain guys we think are slated for breakout seasons, ones that we're sure no one else will predict. After all, selecting a player in the 10th round that outperforms a player chosen in the fifth is a great way to win your pool.

 

5. Martin Havlat

The ultimate Band-Aid boy (heck, he even gets injured during a line change), Havlat is getting a new lease on life in New Jersey. Havlat has a good chance to be a top-six player in the swamp, and it's not like the guy doesn't know how to score. As recently as 2011-12, he was on a 57-point pace. With the opportunity to get plenty of power play time, Havlat could turn back the clock and get back to that pace pretty easily.

 

4. Brian Elliott

While Elliott must be getting used to timeshare duties, he now has the chance to be a true number one goalie for the first time in four seasons. Right now, his main competition is rookie phenom Jake Allen, but Elliott's numbers with the Blues are good enough to guarantee him at least half the starts. Yet, Elliott isn't considered a top-tier goalie, but when you think of the defence he has in front of him, it's almost impossible for him to fail.

 

3. Chad Johnson

As a backup to Jarolsav Halak, Chad Johnson is pretty much guaranteed at least 30 games. Johnson has put up respectable numbers career numbers (20-6-6 record with a .926 save percentage and 2.07 goals against average), while Halak has only started 50 games in a season twice in his career. Look for Johnson to get a lot of work this season.

 

2. Lubomir Visnovsky

The Isles defencemen missed a good chunk of last season because of injuries, but he should still be one of the team's top power play guys, which means plenty of opportunity to play with John Tavares. With an improved plus-minus thanks to the Halak/Johnson duo in net, and his willingness to block a shot, Visnovsky is more valuable than many may remember.

 

1. Anton Khudobin

There's a new coach and a new general manager in Carolina, so the team won't be tied to the former Conn Smythe winner Cam Ward. Instead, the new regime wants results now, and Khudobin is their best opportunity to do so. Ward has never had a season as good as Khudobin did last season (Khudobin's 2.30 goals against last year is better than Ward has ever managed in nine seasons with the club), and if Ward's injury situation the last two seasons continues, Khudobin has a great opportunity to be the team's top netminder.

 

Recently from Fantasy Top 10:

       
       
Top 10 guys who will see a major plus-minus improvement 18 August 2014 Written by Tom Collins  Edit 
Top 10 fantasy players over the age of 35 11 August 2014 Written by Tom Collins  Edit 
Top 10 bounce-back candidates 05 August 2014 Written by Tom Collins  Edit 

Leave A Comment

UPCOMING GAMES

Nov 05 - 19:11 CAR vs PHI
Nov 05 - 19:11 MTL vs CGY
Nov 05 - 19:11 BUF vs OTT
Nov 05 - 19:11 TOR vs BOS
Nov 05 - 19:11 NYI vs PIT
Nov 05 - 20:11 MIN vs L.A
Nov 05 - 20:11 STL vs T.B
Nov 05 - 20:11 WPG vs UTA
Nov 05 - 21:11 COL vs SEA
Nov 05 - 22:11 ANA vs VAN
Nov 05 - 22:11 S.J vs CBJ

Starting Goalies

Top Skater Views

  Players Team
CONNOR MCMICHAEL WSH
ALEX LAFERRIERE L.A
PAVEL DOROFEYEV VGK
MARTIN NECAS CAR
TIMOTHY LILJEGREN S.J

Top Goalie Profile Views

  Players Team
LUKAS DOSTAL ANA
FILIP GUSTAVSSON MIN
PYOTR KOCHETKOV CAR
JUSTUS ANNUNEN COL
FREDERIK ANDERSEN CAR

LINE COMBOS

  Frequency VAN Players
22.2 J.T. MILLER JAKE DEBRUSK BROCK BOESER
17.6 KIEFER SHERWOOD DANTON HEINEN TEDDY BLUEGER
17.4 ELIAS PETTERSSON CONOR GARLAND ARSHDEEP BAINS

DobberHockey Podcasts

FIND US ON FACEBOOK