Every Sunday this off-season, we'll share 20 Fantasy Thoughts from our writers at Dobber Hockey. These thoughts are curated from the past week's "Daily Ramblings".

Contributors: Ian Gooding, Michael Clifford and Neil Parker

1. Aaron Ekblad was a frustrating player to own last season with just 21 points and a minus-23 rating in 68 games. Yet strangely enough, Ekblad was tied for third among defensemen with 225 shots on goal. So you were patiently waiting for him to bump the slump, yet it didn’t happen. I’m not saying Ekblad will suddenly morph into Brent Burns, but he could be in line for a major turnaround with new coach Bob Boughner’s guidance (whom the Panthers are expected to announce his hiring on Monday).

If nothing else, the Panthers will be more stable in 2017-18. Last season’s team was marred not only by injuries, but also the internal battle between the analytics believers and the old-school hockey types that led to the controversial firing of Gerard Gallant. With Dale Tallon back running the show and possibly a bright young coach in Boughner, the Panthers should be in line for a better season.

2. Jack Eichel is a shooting machine. It’s not a surprise that his shot rate increased as he progresses early in his career, but the volume that he puts up is rarified air. I won’t get into him too much here, but barring an injury or poor luck, 30 goals is presumably a lock next year.

Eichel’s teammate and captain, Ryan O’Reilly, though, was a surprise to me. Before the 2016-17 campaign, O’Reilly had only cracked 200 shots on goal once in his career (2013-14), and it was the only season that he also cracked 2.5 shots per game. He still isn’t shooting much overall – 7.37 shots per 60 minutes in 2016-17 was about mid-pack for players in his ice time range last year – but if he’s among the league leaders in ice time again, he should crack 200 shots again in a full, healthy season. I wouldn’t expect a downturn from last year’s production.

3. Anyone in a league that counts hits as a category knows how valuable Cal Clutterbuck can be. He had just five goals this past season, but that came on a career-worst 4.3 percent shooting. His 8.29 shots per 60 minutes at five-on-five is actually more a return to his norm; his first two years with the Islanders saw him land 8.58 shots per 60 minutes before the downturn in 2015-16. He’ll never be a true point producer, but he can improve on the five goals he managed.

4. It was a weird year for Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. He set a career-high in shots on goal per 60 minutes (8.13) and Individual Points Percentage (IPP) at 76.5 percent, which is the rate at which he garners a point when the team scores with him on the ice. Despite this, he had the lowest five-on-five point total of any season in which he’s played at least 60 games. The main reason was he was on the ice for 1.89 goals per 60 minutes, one of the lowest marks in the league for heavily-used forwards.

That is all besides the point. The point is he cracked 200 shots for the first time in his career, a good sign for personal production moving forward. It is a good thing his personal shot rate jumped so much, because he played his fewest minutes per game since his rookie season. With Connor McDavid getting so much ice time, that may not change anytime soon. Regardless, if he can maintain this shot rate, with even a marginal rebound in his team’s on-ice shooting percentage, he should be back over the 50-point plateau in 2017-18.

5. The Blackhawks signed 26-year-old Czech defenseman Jan Rutta earlier this week. Rutta is unlikely to make a fantasy ripple being behind Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook for offensive looks, but adding a mobile defenseman that is competent at both ends of the rink is a slight boost for the entire roster. Of course, that's assuming Rutta transitions smoothly and acclimatizes quickly. This has the feel of a 'double down' on last year's signing of Michal Kempny, but it's also a low-risk move.

6. Does Red Wings brass have it in them to leave veterans Darren Helm, Niklas Kronwall and Jonathan Ericsson available to be plucked by Las Vegas?

Nick Jensen showed a lot in his debut season — his skating ability and acumen to break the puck out of his own end is an important asset. Thirteen points through 49 games hardly moves the needle, but his peripherals were respectable (59 shots, 56 blocked shots and 55 hits). Additionally, Jensen also played a solid possession game (50.4 Corsi For percentage at five-on-five) on the 24th-ranked Corsi For team in the league.

Jensen is still off the fantasy grid in the majority of settings, but he appears to be a late-bloomer with potential. Additionally, those cross-category results move the needle in deep rotisserie formats.

7. Marcus Johansson registered an 18.6 shooting percentage, including a 14.0 percent mark at five-on-five last season. Over the previous three years, he posted 11.9 and 9.7 marks, respectively. Obviously, Johansson's shooting percentage is going to drop, but how much of his fantasy value is going to be lost?

He'll turn 27 in October and has solidified himself as a top-six winger and member of the No. 1 power-play unit. That’s a cushy fantasy setup, and despite another early exit from the postseason this spring, there is no reason to expect Washington to slow down offensively in 2017-18.

Johansson could see a slight uptick in even-strength ice time and offensive zone starts, and his power-play role alone banks him 15 to 20 points per year. More shots would also help mitigate the upcoming drop in his scoring efficiency. Two years ago, he registered 1.78 shots per game. Returning to that level of shot volume would go a long way in helping Johansson maintain his value.

8. Looking for some potential draft-day steals that could fly under the radar because of missed time. Jacob Trouba likely fits that bill.

He quietly posted a career-high 33 points last season, while also averaging the most ice-time-per-game (24:58) through his first four years. He's entering his age-23 campaign on the heels of an excellent cross-category showing in 2016-17. Trouba's 154 shots, 107 blocked shots, 54 PIM and 107 hits are a nice boost to his offensive numbers.

The obvious roadblock in front of Trouba is Dustin Byfuglien, and without looks on the No. 1 power-play unit, Trouba's scoring upside is capped. However, Winnipeg is moving in the right direction and should be able to ice two strong power-play units.

Trouba is a low-risk, high-upside target and a Byfuglien injury away from a cushy fantasy gig as the No. 1 defenseman in Winnipeg. The asking price should remain reasonable, too.

9. I've been encouraged by Vladislav Kamenev dating back to last season. He should have a genuine shot at cracking the Nashville roster and, in particular, climb into a center role that could be opened if Mike Fisher decides to retire or if Calle Jarnkrok is plucked in the expansion draft. This would be the time to buy in deeper keeper/dynasty settings.

Here's a snippet from our Prospects Guide: The lanky Russian made strides in all areas of his game in his sophomore-pro season, finishing second on Milwaukee in points with 51 (70 games) and leading the team with a plus-11 rating. Kamenev played a more aggressive brand of hockey, shored up his defense, and added about 10 pounds to his 6-2 frame (now weighs 200). The Preds are really happy with how he’s progressing and he will likely get in at least a dozen games with the big club in the year ahead before making the jump as a NHL-regular in 2018-19.

10. Make sure to check out the final 2017 NHL Entry Draft Rankings at Dobber Prospects. I'm particularly interested to see where Erik Brannstrom is selected. Peter Harling, DobberProspects' Managing Editor, gave him a huge jump in the rankings, but the Swedish defenseman doesn't have the size NHL teams have traditionally coveted.

His international experience alongside already having 38 games of SHL action stand out, but it's also encouraging to see that he dominated against his peers with 12 goals and 30 points through 26 games in the SuperElite league. Brannstrom doesn't turn 18 until September, either.

BTW: Since Peter released his rankings earlier this past week, Cam Robinson also posted his Top-75 Prospects eligible in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft in a recent Prospect Ramblings.

11. We've all been back and forth on just how good Jake Guentzel can be and just how significant the statistical decline would be for both wingers if they were exiled off Sidney Crosby's flank for a sizeable stretch. My thought is Conor Sheary is more dependant on Crosby and Guentzel is clearly the better offensive talent and fantasy asset.

12. Robby Fabbri has just 123 regular season games under his belt over the last two years but in those games, Fabbri’s points per 60 minutes (1.81) is nearly identical to that of Jaden Schwartz (1.82). Fabbri’s shots per 60 minutes (6.97) is a bit higher than that of Schwartz’s (6.57), as well. Schwartz is coming off a 55-point season, while Fabbri managed just 29 points in an injury-shortened campaign. Including Fabbri’s injury into the equation, it’s easy to figure out which one will be significantly cheaper when draft season starts.

The general concern here is where the 21-year-old Fabbri will be slotted in the lineup. His most-common linemate last year was Vladimir Tarasenko, and that’s a very good sign. Schwartz also had Tarasenko as his own most-common linemate. The reasons for this are Fabbri’s injury and his slotting up and down the lineup. Fabbri also only played two games before his season-ending knee surgery (for which he should be ready at training camp) under Mike Yeo. Where he fits on the roster is certainly an open-ended question.

Both the knee surgery and the lineup slotting are concerns but those concerns will be built into his cost for drafts. Given that he was sometimes going around the 150th pick before the last season, he should come at a steeper discount coming into this season. If all breaks right, he has 20-goal and 60-point potential. If not, the pick is late enough in drafts that it won’t hurt a fantasy roster that much. He’s the perfect type of player to target.

13. Depending on the depth of the league, there’s a good chance Kevin Fiala wasn’t even drafted for 2016-17 fantasy rosters. Looking at his raw point production from the regular season, there isn’t much impressive here with 11 goals and 17 points in 54 games. However, all 11 goals were scored at five-on-five. That number tied such players as Jonathan Toews, Patrice Bergeron, Jamie Benn, Ryan O’Reilly, and Matt Duchene for goal scoring at five-on-five. He did so in about 400 fewer five-on-five minutes than those players as well.

Looking at it from that angle, it’s a bit more impressive. He also had two goals in five postseason games before fracturing his femur in the second round. That injury should be a concern but he’s already walking and it may not be as bad as it could have been — (diagnosed as 4-6 months recovery in late April).

As a 19-year-old in the AHL, he led the team in points with 50 in just 66 games, a team that included current Nashville teammates like Pontus Aberg and Frederick Gaudreau. He also had about 2.6 shots per game, again, a very solid number. That shot rate translated to the NHL, as well, as he finished with more shots per minute than players like Brandon Saad, Blake Wheeler, and teammate James Neal.

We have all summer to wait and hear about his progress rehabbing his injury and he’ll probably be eased into things. It’s hard to think he’ll be drafted highly come September regardless of the news, and that makes him a target.

14. Fantasy owners probably aren’t eagerly anticipating a potential Chris Tanev trade. But his acquisition would help his new team’s goalies. Although his offensive numbers and real-time stats (hits/blocked shots) are nowhere near spectacular, Tanev plays a simple stay-at-home game, makes few mistakes, and costs his team very few penalties (his career high is 14 PIM, set this season). As CBC’s Elliotte Friedman said during Game 4, asking price will be high. For a team like Dallas that is looking to rebound and compete for a playoff spot, Tanev would be a great fit.

15. Another potential trade candidate is Evander Kane. Sabres’ new GM Jason Botterill has no loyalty toward Kane, and it sounds like ownership isn’t thrilled with his off-ice behavior. Kane is a risky investment in both real-life and fantasy hockey, not just because of the perceived character issues but also the injury risk. Band-Aid Boy Kane played 70 games this past season, which was his highest total in five seasons.

But it’s difficult to completely ignore Kane in fantasy hockey. If he stayed healthy for the entire season, he would have hit 30 goals. He provides robust totals in both hits and penalty minutes and there’s a good chance that your league counts one of those categories. He’s also consistently at or near the top 10 in shots on goal in spite of the games missed. Yes, he’s high risk, but he’s also high reward.

16. Boston green-lighting David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy when ready means newcomer Anders Bjork has a shot if he earns the job. Obviously, he'll have competition, as Danton Heinen and Jake DeBrusk are both coming off solid seasons in the AHL with Providence.

Additionally, there could be two winger spots open in the top six. David Backes profiles best as a third-line center, and Ryan Spooner and Frank Vatrano aren't top-six locks, either. The Bruins have the Patrice Bergeron–Brad Marchand and David Krejci–David Pastrnak duos locked in, and the third wheel on each line will carry plenty of fantasy value. Those position battles will be important this fall.

17. Our Top-10 guru, Tom Collins, broke down the top playoff-driven value changes last Monday and one player that has stood out lately has been Craig Smith. He looks like he's a step quicker than most of the other skaters. This could be the result of potentially being fresher. Assuming his undisclosed injury wasn't of the lower-body variety or an ailment that impacted his skating ability, of course.

Regardless, looking ahead to next season, Smith will be an interesting player. His point and goal totals have declined annually since posting 24 tallies and 28 assists during the 2013-14 season. However, he's a capable mid-line winger that posted a 7.7 shooting percentage during the regular season. The high-volume shooter could beef up his goal total through better efficiency and a few more shots.

And that leads to the other obvious factor that'll influence Smith's fantasy stock … ice time. He dropped to a career-low 13:49 per game last season. If he's doesn't receive a boost in opportunity, he won't bounce back. He's probably off the fantasy radar in most settings, but in deeper leagues, there is upside. Don't forget that he also has the potential to help across most rotisserie categories.

18. Casey Mittelstadt is a quick-rising prospect that's already 6-foot-1 and 201 pounds. Our Dobber Prospects crew is pretty high on him, as well: "Mittelstadt could be the prospect with the highest skill in the 2017 NHL draft and as such be the best fantasy option."

Peter Harling also selected Mittelstadt third overall in the most recent staff mock draft and has him ranked third in his rankings. Call me intrigued.

19. Dylan Strome is going to spend the summer in Arizona to train and prepare for his first professional campaign. He accomplished everything at the junior level this season expect winning the Memorial Cup and the World Junior Championship — taking second place in each.

The Coyotes are looking for Strome to improve his overall strength and specifically to improve his skating ability (explosiveness and overall speed). Strome added approximately five pounds over the winter while keeping in touch with Arizona strength and conditioning coach JP Major, and now the duo will be able to fine-tune an off-season training program to have Strome ready for training camp.

This is a situation to monitor over the summer and leading into fantasy draft season. We're obviously not going to hear that Strome is slower, or that he's not in the best shape of his life. What we're looking for is offense in exhibition games, alongside coach speak that suggests Strome is going to be handed a go-to offensive role. The Coyotes have the clientele to surprise offensively, so there could be more fantasy relevant players in the desert than there has been in years.

20. Out of all the Stars skaters, Tyler Seguin is probably the one who disappointed the least. He failed to reach 30 goals, which would have been his fourth straight 30-goal campaign, but he did manage at least 70 points for the fourth consecutive season, set a career-high in shots on goals (308), and tied a career-high in power-play points (29). He didn’t live up to his fantasy draft position but things could have been a lot worse.

The most curious aspect of Seguin’s season isn’t his production, it’s the fact that even with all the injuries, he played nearly a full minute less per game in 2016-17 than he did in 2015-16. That is significant, as he managed 3.24 points per 60 minutes in all situations from 2013-16. Even if he were just his Dallas-era average, the drop in ice time alone would mean about five fewer points. It was a conscious decision, too, as he averaged over 19 minutes a game from the start of the year until New Year’s Day, and under 18 minutes a game after when he and Benn were split up.

A career-worst 7.11 percent shooting at five-on-five was the big culprit for a decline in goals. It’s weird, too, because his shot rates were normal and it appears he was getting in good positions to shoot.

One big concern, of course, is the fact that he had off-season shoulder surgery. All indications are that he’ll be ready and healthy for training camp but as we saw with Benn, rehabbing surgery in the off-season doesn’t mean that he’ll be in top form come October (yes I’m aware they’re different injuries). Maybe he will, maybe he won’t. He should drop out of the top-10 in drafts given his performance and injury, which either makes him a value selection or a sucker’s bet. It depends how you think he’ll rebound from surgery.

Have a good week, folks!!