Two weeks ago I wrote about William Karlsson and his stellar playoff performance so far throughout the postseason. Since then, the Vegas Golden Knights have kept up their torrid pace throughout the playoffs and are now only one win away from entering the Stanley Cup Finals. William Karlsson and many others players have been huge for their success but over the past few games it’s been Jonathan Marchessault’s time in the spotlight. His dominance throughout the postseason is only a small sample of his excellent season with the Knights, as he quickly turned into one of the most valuable fantasy hockey players in the league.

Despite going undrafted as a prospect, Marchessault had always put up stellar numbers in the minor leagues before he reached the NHL. Throughout his time in the QMJHL, he scored over a point per game in his final two seasons and ended his last year in the league with 95 points in only 68 games. In his first AHL season he tallied 64 points in 76 games and would eventually end with 263 points in only 306 games. From 2011 to 2015 Marchessault saw almost only time in the AHL but showed glimpses of his offensive potential, leading to his call up with the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2015-16 season. His 18 points in 45 NHL games wasn’t spectacular, but it showed he could perform in very limited minutes.

After the season ended, the Florida Panthers took a chance on Marchessault by signing him to a two-year, $1.5 million deal and he did not disappoint. At 26 years old, Marchessault had his breakout season as he finished the year with 30 goals and 21 assists, good for the third-most points on the Panthers.

After that, the rest is history. Vegas claimed Marchessault in the expansion draft and he quickly became a star for the new club. Through only 14 games in the playoffs this year, Marchessault has recorded eight goals and 10 assists, tied for the eighth most in the entire NHL. In just his last three games he has four goals and one assist while since the start of May he has the second most points by any skater. According to our Fantasy Hockey Geek tool, out of all skaters Marchessault ranks fifth in total fantasy value (in an average 12-team Yahoo league measuring goals, assists, shots on goal, power-play points, and hits).
 

Besides his impressive point totals, Marchessault’s 58 shots are tied for the third most by any skater in the postseason, as he’s one of only eight skaters to register over 50 shots so far in the playoffs. And though his power play point totals aren’t great (still good but not great), his hit totals are excellent for a player of his offensive talents. His 36 hits are tied for the 20^th most by any skater and he’s only one of three players to have over five goals and 30 hits.

And this is all after arguably one of the most successful regular seasons out of any player this year. After being only a 50-point guy with Florida last year, according to our Fantasy Hockey Geek tool, Marchessault provided the 32^nd most value out of all skaters this season.
 

Marchessault’s 75 points were tied for the 29^th most points in the league while his 27 goals just cracked the top 50. Similar to his success in the playoffs, Marchessault killed it in several other categories, taking the 15^th most shots on goal and recording 98 hits. Out of the entire league 98 hits isn’t that impressive but for a scorer he provides good value for that category. Out of all 25+ goal scorers in the NHL, Marchessault’s 98 hits were the 11^th most. The only downside to Marchessault’s season was his low power-play points, as he had the third lowest amount of power play points out of all players who scored at least 70 points.

Similar to William Karlsson, Jonathan Marchessault has blossomed into a fantasy superstar on the Knights, and his run throughout the playoffs has only confirmed it. Continue expecting big things from the 27-year-old superstar as Vegas as a team continues to dominate the league.