Looking Ahead 2014: Week 15
Mike Schmidt
2015-01-09

Looking Ahead at the best schedules in fantasy hockey for Week 15.
With roughly half of the NHL season in the rear-view mirror, there's no better opportunity than right now for a one-man, one-round, 10-team mini-mock draft. It should be noted that these rankings are based on points-only scoring (and Yahoo position eligibility).
Sidney Crosby, C, Pittsburgh – The next time the 27-year-old Crosby will fail to be a point-per-game player over a full season will be the first time in his 10-year-career in which he will not be a point-per-game player. Actually, forget points per game. Crosby is almost an assist-per-game player, as he has racked up 527 helpers in 587 career contests. With his concussion issues long behind him, Crosby is the safest spectacular player in fantasy hockey.
Evgeni Malkin, C/RW, Pittsburgh – Fantasy owners can expect Malkin to miss some time over the course of the season, but there's no arguing he's an elite all-around playmaker who shares time on Pittsburgh's top power-play unit with a fair number of other high-end offensive weapons, including the aforementioned Crosby, veteran winger Chris Kunitz and defenseman Kris Letang. Few players in the NHL are more talented than Malkin, and virtually no one in the league is afforded a better opportunity to provide production.
Steven Stamkos, C/RW, Tampa Bay – Goals are kind of his thing. Stamkos is virtually peerless when it comes to his ability to maintain a high shooting percentage over a long period of time. Tampa Bay's 24-year-old franchise center has shot .172 over the course of six-plus seasons, and he's someone who averages well above three shots on goal per game for his career. A 45-goal campaign seems like a worst-case scenario for Stamkos in 2014-15. That fact catapults him into the top three.