Fantasy Top-10: Surprises for the 2017-18 Season

Tom Collins

2017-08-28

 

In every hockey league season, there are always a few players who completely shock us with their production.

Last year saw guys like Eric Staal, Brad Marchand and Conor Sheary outperform pretty much every projection there was.

This year will be no different. Predicting these players is difficult, but it’s also a lot of fun.

Below you’ll find 10 potential surprises for the upcoming season. These players will be much better than many projections out there are currently giving them. Some will have a rebound season, some will experience a breakout and some are rookies that aren’t getting the love they deserve.

 

10. Steve Mason

I’m one of those who don’t believe the Jets signed Mason to $4.1 million per year for two years to put him in a timeshare. Connor Hellebuyck was awful for most of last season with a .907 SV % and a 2.89 GAA. The 26-19-4 record was nice, but imagine how many more wins the Jets could have had with even an average goalie in net. Mason is a small upgrade over Hellebuyck and has shown the ability to put together a great streak and, at times, season of hockey. Mason will get more than enough starts, at least for the first year of his contract.

 

9. Oscar Klefbom

Many people are expecting big things out of Klefbom, but I think he’s still being sold a little short. The projections I’ve seen have him between 35-45 points. I really like him for 55-plus points. Klefbom finds himself in a great situation as the Oilers power play quarterback. Last year, he lost that spot for the middle part of the season. Once he got it back at the end of the campaign, he had 18 points in 26 games. That won’t happen again this year.

 

8. Anders Lee

Many have Lee pegged for the low-50s range for points. And that’s a high. But should it really shock anyone if Lee hit 65 points? Lee spent the first quarter of last season playing with guys not named John Tavares, and Lee responded with five points in 20 games. Then he got moved alongside Tavares at both even strength and on the power play and immediately exploded with 30 goals and 47 points in his next 61 games. That’s a 63-point pace. Why would the Islanders want to mess with the chemistry Tavares has with Lee, especially when Tavares could leave next summer? Keep Tavares happy and hope that he stays. The best way to do that is a full year of playing next to Lee.

 

7. Cam Ward

I posted a couple of weeks ago about why I thought Scott Darling would disappoint. A lot of people haven’t been sold on Cam Ward the last few years and always believed a new goaltender was ready to usurp him. But it hasn’t happened. I think Ward starts at least 30-35 games, more if Darling struggles or can’t prove he can handle 50-plus starts.

 

6. Jonathan Huberdeau

📢 advertisement:

Strange as it may sound, Huberdeau has never broken the 60-point barrier. Last year was supposed to be the year, but a pre-season injury ruined that. He was excellent once he got back in the lineup with 26 points in 31 games, a 69-point pace. I like Huberdeau to hit the 70-point mark this year. The Panthers as a whole should be much better after an injury-plagued season and Huberdeau will be the one leading the squad.

 

5. Fredrik Claesson

There was a lot of talk earlier this summer about who is going to be Erik Karlsson’s partner now that Marc Methot is in Dallas. For a while, the talk was Claesson was the right man for the job. Obviously Claesson’s fantasy relevance depends greatly on whether he does get a regular role with the Sens captain as he hasn’t shown any level of production at the professional level in North America. If it turns out he’s a good fit, he should be able to put up 30ish points.

 

4. Nick Schmaltz

I see a lot of projections for Patrick Kane getting to 80-plus points. But anyone outside of Jonathan Toews/Brandon Saad are pegged for less than 50. Schmaltz has been excellent every where he has played until his NHL rookie season last year. He struggled for a while, but once he lined up with Toews or Kane, he put up 24 points in 35 games, despite no power play time and 14 minutes per game overall. I like him to get at least some PP time and a more regular role with Kane and threaten for 60 points. 

 

3. Bryan Little

Little could be a consistent 60-point player if he stays healthy. And I have a hunch this will be the year it happens. Last year, out of players that played 1,000 minutes, Little was 28th in goals per 60 minutes, and 29th in points per 60 minutes. His biggest concern now is the emergence of the younger players, especially Mark Scheifele, taking away minutes. However, he’ll still play an important role on the power play and is guaranteed top-six ice time.  

 

2. Joshua Ho-Sang

While much attention will be paid to the 2017 draft class and players like Clayton Keller, Tyson Jost and Charlie McAvoy, don’t overlook Ho-Sang. The Islanders forward is still a rookie and will contend for the Calder Trophy all season. He played well in 21 games last year and should be able to see an increase in playing time and is pretty much a shoo-in for consistent power play time.

 

1. Robin Lehner

In 2016-17, Lehner gave up a goal every 12.57 shots, eighth best among goalies who faced at least 1,000 shots. The problem is Buffalo gave up the most shots against per game. So, while his .920 SV % is above average, his GAA is also higher because of the sheer amount of shots faced. Buffalo is a young team on the rise and new coach Phil Housley, plus defensemen Marco Scandella and Nathan Beaulieu, will work on bringing down the shots against. Lehner will benefit greatly from this. 

6 Comments

  1. Big Ulf 2017-08-28 at 18:37

    Too bad about Mason, Hellebuyck needed a solid veteran backup guy (à la Montoya a few years back), not someone who could steal his starts. Helly wasn’t the major problem last year. It was the coaching and undisciplined nature of play.

  2. stugots 2017-08-28 at 22:51

    Guy at my draft: That’s a reach on Bryan Little
    Me: I’m not worried, Tom’s got a hunch

    • Tom Collins 2017-08-29 at 16:18

      lol. I actually meant I have a hunch he stays healthy this year. And if he does, he’s a 60-point guy. He’ll still put up excellent per-game stats.

      But that would be funny if you said that.

      • Karl Paquette 2017-08-30 at 01:09

        Im going the other way on Little. Hes a guy whose been chronically UNDERRATED year in year out- with sneaky good per game totals. That being said Im having issues this year because…

        A) He doesnt shoot- not nearly enough for a player were expecting at this tier. I hate assist dependant forwards cause the swings are so extreme. He’ll be in good company (finisher wise) but Im not sure theres a more definitive stat towardssporadic production for a forward than low sog totals.

        B) The youth movement is on in Winnipeg. The BIGGEST factor here is the ppp. Would anyone be remotely shocked if Little is a staple on PP2 all of a sudden. Im going to be honest- Im having a tough time seeing him on PP1 with those names.

        C) Contract year. yes the stereotypes should prove accurate that maybe he’ll play his heart out for that new minty contract BUT… does it behoove Winnipeg brass to force feed him opportunities to earn more?? I mean they probably love Little (why wouldnt they?) and will be more than willing to pay the appropriate raise at the end of his term. But that being said- they will have a lot of big money contracts coming in like dominoes relatively soon. I know Little has ALREADY earned his money- and theyre not going to go out of their way to sabotage him- but again- would it be shocking if they shifted the pp time and ozone starts to the scheifele/Ehlers line? It makes sense upstairs and down stairs.

        In closing I am a Jets fan and a Little fan. I am also a poolie and I really feel like Little went from your under the radar mid roster boost. To a guy whose going to level out (step back) offensively- before signing a difficult cotract y next year. Just my two cents- and just chiming in for conversation purposes- fully aware I might end up being waaaaay wrong- lol! But this is the first year in awhile Im avoiding Little. #MyTwoCents

  3. GB 2017-08-29 at 10:03

    Mason also has a long injury history and has proven to be wildly inconsistent. Flyers finally got sick of his endless whining about sharing starts too. My sense is this will not end well in WPG. The problem is Helly’s development may be hamstrung by this move.

    • Tom Collins 2017-08-29 at 16:19

      Mason has put up some decent seasons though. At some point, Helly will have to shoulder some of the blame for not putting up decent numbers yet.

Leave A Comment

UPCOMING GAMES

Jun 06 - 20:06 EDM vs FLA

Starting Goalies

Top Skater Views

  Players Team
BROCK NELSON COL
MARCO ROSSI MIN
JASON ROBERTSON DAL
SAM BENNETT FLA
LEON DRAISAITL EDM

Top Goalie Profile Views

  Players Team
SERGEI BOBROVSKY FLA
LUKAS DOSTAL ANA
SERGEI IVANOV CBJ
MACKENZIE BLACKWOOD COL
KEVIN LANKINEN VAN

LINE COMBOS

  Frequency CHI Players
24.2 ILYA MIKHEYEV RYAN DONATO CONNOR BEDARD
21.0 JOE VELENO LANDON SLAGGERT LUKAS REICHEL
21.0 TEUVO TERAVAINEN FRANK NAZAR TYLER BERTUZZI

DobberHockey Podcasts

Fantasy Hockey Life: Emma Lingan on the Nashville Predators

Emma Lingan of the Hockey News is here to report on the Nashville Predators. Jesse and Victor interview Emma about returning pros Filip Forsberg, Jonathan Marchessault, Ryan O’Reilly, Steven Stamkos, Luke Evangelista, Michael Bunting, Zachary L’Heureux, Joakim Kemell, Roman Josi, Brady Skjei, Ryan Ufko, Juuse Saros, and Justus Annunen.. In Cat’s Instincts, Cat Silverman of […]

Fantasy Hockey Life: Pittsburgh Penguins with Josh Yohe

Josh Yohe is here to report on the Pittsburgh Penguins. Jesse and Victor interview Josh about returning pros Sidney Crosby, Bryan Rust, Rickard Rakell, Evgeni Malkin, Tommy Novak, Rutger McGroarty, Ville Koivunen, Erik Karlsson, Matt Grzelcyk, Kris Letang, Owen Pickering, Tristan Jarry and Alex Nedeljkovic. In Cat’s Instincts, Cat Silverman of InGoal mag breaks down […]

Fantasy Hockey Life: Seattle Kraken with RJ Eskanos

RJ Eskanos of Emerald City Hockey is here to report on the Seattle Kraken. Jesse and Victor interview RJ about returning pros Jared McCann, Chandler Stephenson, Jaden Schwartz, Jordan Eberle, Kaapo Kakko, Shane Wright, Matty Beniers, Andre Burakovsky, Eeli Tolvanen, Jani Nyman, Vince Dunn, Brandon Montour, Ryker Evans, Joey Daccord, and Philipp Grubauer. In Cat’s […]

Keeping Karlsson: KK Leagues Report – 2025 Champs!

Derrick talks to the big winners of the various Keeping Karlsson leagues from this past season. He’s first joined by the new KKUPFL Ultimate Champion Ian and the reigning fast-track winner Alec. Then Derrick is joined by the year 1 KK Dynasty League champions Ian (different Ian), Saqib, and Brett, aka the “Good ol’ Ottawa Boys”.

FIND US ON FACEBOOK

📢 advertisement: