Each season, fantasy general managers go into their drafts wanting to grab the shiny new toy.

However, when it comes to rookies, many GMs look only at the top names consistently mentioned in the national media as Calder candidates. You see plenty written about Alexis Lafreniere, Tim Stuetzle, Kirill Kaprizov, Marco Rossi and goalies Igor Shesterkin and Ilya Sorokin, but what about some of the rookie names you don't hear as much about? Last year, Nick Suzuki, Dominik Kubalik, Martin Necas and John Marino were overlooked in fantasy drafts in favour of Jack Hughes and Kaapo Kakko.

I'm thinking this year will be different than normal seasons. Older players may need more rest days, while younger guys are less likely to have groin or hamstring pulls, not to mention less likely to have at-home stresses and family. Some teams could be leaning on their rookies and young guns more than they usually would as greybeards get more games off.

(You can read more about rookies and potential Calder nominees in Dobber's 15th Annual Fantasy Guide, available for purchase here.)

Below are 10 rookies who aren't mentioned as often as some of the big names but are worth putting on your watch list. They won't all be dynamite, and some may only play a few games before being sent to the minors/taxi squad, but there could be a path for them to succeed this season.

10. Ville Heinola

If I knew he was making the Jets, he would be top-three on this list. However, no one seems to know what the plan is for Heinola this season. One big advantage for Heinola, and many European players, is that they've been playing hockey in the last few months. Heinola played 19 games in Finland before the World Juniors, so he may be in better hockey shape than some of his teammates.

9. Barrett Hayton

A year ago, Hayton was impressive in training camp, and the team rewarded him by keeping him on the main roster. Then they wasted his potential by giving him little power-play time while playing him 11 minutes a night without any regular linemates (Phil Kessel, his most frequent linemate, was on the ice for 47 per cent of Hayton's 5-on-5 shifts). However, Arizona losing veterans Derek Stepan, Taylor Hall, Carl Soderberg, Brad Richardson, Vinnie Hinostroza and Michael Grabner means there are plenty of holes to fill by young players, so Hayton should see a significant increase in ice time. The only concern is Hayton hasn't skated or practiced in training camp, but he should still make the roster.

8. Ty Smith

Remember all the hype over Smith last offseason? Many who had him pegged as a Calder candidate and just as many were shocked when he didn't make the team. This season, he should be a lock to make the team, but the same hype as a summer ago isn't there. There isn't much room on the power play, but if the Devils struggle early, they may look to give the rookie some reps.

7. Jake Oettinger

The Dallas goalie will be the backup for most of the season as Ben Bishop is on the IR for several months. Anton Khudobin is the de facto number one guy, but he's never been the top guy for a full season, so it will be interesting to see if he can handle the workload. Plus, goaltending will be tough to gauge this season, with so many back-to-backs and a condensed schedule with no Christmas break, All-Star break or bye week. With Dallas' first four games pushed back because of COVID concerns, that will equal even more of a condensed schedule for the Stars and possibly a few more starts for Oettinger.

6. Gabriel Vilardi

Vilardi has had a long road to the big leagues, but he has looked impressive in his short stint with the Kings. After missing a year with a back injury that had many believing he would never be the same player (he missed a lot of development time), Vilardi has proven his doubters wrong. He had seven points in 10 games with the Kings last year while averaging less than 13 minutes per night. There's a good chance he starts this season centring the second line.

5. Ville Husso

As alluded to in the section about Jake Oettinger, backup goalies will be more important this season than ever before, so it wouldn't be surprising if one or two emerge to take over the top duties. The 25-year-old Husso will be backing up Jordan Binnington in St. Louis, which is a great spot for a backup goalie to steal the show. Binnington took over from Jake Allen a couple of years ago, and Allen took over from Binnington last season in the postseason. Blues head coach Craig Berube is not afraid to scratch the number one for the backup, but for Husso to succeed, he needs Binnington to falter.

4. Jack Studnicka

This one is a long shot, but his high ranking is due to Studnicka skating on the top line with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand throughout training camp. It seems like he'll be given the first shot to sub in for David Pastrnak, who is out for another month recovering from a hip injury. He won't replace Pastrnak for the whole season, but if Studnicka is hot out of the gate, he'll continue to get favourable deployment for quite a while even after Pastrnak gets back.

3. Victor Soderstrom

It's possible the first-round pick from 2019 will be leading the Arizona power-play at some point this season. Oliver Ekman-Larsson has been the Coyotes' top guy for years, but his power-play production has been lacking the last four years. He hasn't reached 20 power-play points since 2015-16, and last year had only seven power-play points in 66 games and started losing his grip on the top spot as the season went on. He's also been the subject of trade rumours. If OEL struggles again, it won't take the team long to replace him, and Soderstrom could be the guy if that does happen.

2. Owen Tippett

The Panthers have a couple of holes to fill this year after the loss of Mike Hoffman and Evgenii Dadonov this offseason. Many believe that Anthony Duclair is a shoo-in for one of the spots, but don't overlook Tippett's potential. He's been on a top-six line throughout Florida training camp, often with Jonathan Huberdeau (with Aleksander Barkov on a separate line). Tippett also scored two goals in a scrimmage game and was, by all accounts, one of the most impressive players on the ice. Yes, we're talking about practice, but his performance will go a long way to earning him a spot in the lineup, and any type of positive impression should move him up the lineup.

1. Josh Norris

While no guarantee that it is going to stick for the full season, Norris has been lining up with Brady Tkachuk and Dadonov this preseason. That should also point to Norris getting prime power-play time as well. It will be tough for him to remain in that top spot, however. If the Sens decide they want a veteran to center the top line, or if the brass decides that Tim Stuetzle should be the top center, then Norris is dropping to the third or fourth line. He's a boom or bust option for this season.