The time has come, the time is now. NHL hockey it's time to go pow! Okay, maybe I was never a poetry major but the sentiment remains. By the time you read this, we'll be beginning a stretch of 116 straight days of NHL hockey. That's right, January 13th to May 9th will provide us with countless hours of enjoyment, stress, and anxiety.

It'll be grand.

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Let's talk about some cats that are appearing to be up the lineup ladder in comparison to where we initially pegged them.

Nils Höglander

In Vancouver, the team has been searching for linemates for Bo Horvat to work with forever. They traded for Tanner Pearson a couple of years ago and that's been a decent match. However, ideally, your lineup is deep enough that Pearson is a play-driving third-liner. And that’s still just one winger. 

Enter Höglander. 

The newly turned 20-year-old has played the last three seasons in the SHL. He tore apart the WJC in 2020 and would've done the same this year if he were born two weeks later. Instead, he's come to camp and been one of the best forwards on the ice. 

Now, for the caveat. The 5'9 winger is the only Canuck player who has had any game action under his belt this year. The motor has been clicking at full speed. That's going to provide him with a huge advantage over his mates. However, he's used that advantage to its fullest and impressed the coaching staff. He’s not only making this team, he’s going to play a prominent offensive role. 

We fantasy folk like that.

Höglander has his flaws though. His shot isn't all that hot. He can get worked over defensively at times. Yet, you cannot question his individual skills. He owns some of the most creative and exciting puck skills out there. 

Oh, and J.T. Miller was absent from practice on Tuesday morning and is reportedly out for two weeks thanks to a COVID exposure. Höglander took his spot on PP1 in practice and you can imagine he’ll start the season in that role. 

Another causality of Hoglander landing on L2 means it's highly probable that the Horvat line will not be tasked with matching up against the opponent's top players. That'll free them up for more offensive zone draws, so expect the captain to sniff at a career-pace. On the flip side, it does mean that Elias Pettersson, Miller and Brock Boeser will be going toe-to-toe in a matchup situation with the best and brightest that the Canadian teams have to offer.

That should make for some entertaining hockey, but perhaps not ideal for crushing personal bests.

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Kevin Labanc

Last year, the former OHL scoring champion signed a one-year, one-million-dollar deal in a 'bet-on-myself-help-the-team' type of deal. It did not work. Well, he's now a first-line player in SJ and I think he'll find a way back to being an interesting fantasy option.

The Sharks still don't have him on the top power-play unit, so that will hold back a real pop. But he did play at a 56-point pace while seeing PP2 and L3 deployment in 2018-19, so we know he can juice up the stats even without three-plus minutes on the man-advantage.

The rumours of Evander Kane potentially opting out of the season in some sort of bankruptcy move could open things up even further. Although reports (and logic) indicate that type of move is highly unlikely. 

I like San Jose to rebound after a disastrous 2019-20 season. Labanc needs to be a big part of that.

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Denis Gurianov

The Stars big man took a nice step last season cresting the 20-goal mark in 64 games and then going off for nine goals and 17 points in 27 playoff games. It appears as though he's locked down the LW1 spot next to Jamie Benn and Roope Hintz.

With Tyler Seguin out of the lineup for what is likely the entire condensed season, the offense won't flow so well in Big D. However, Gurianov should see all the juicy deployment he can handle. I think we could see another 20 goals with a few more assists in this 56-game campaign.

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Josh Norris

This one isn't quite as surprising if you’ve been reading my work for awhile. I’ve been pumping up the 21-year-old all offseason. And it sure looks like he'll begin the season as the Sens top-line pivot and have a spot on the first power-play unit. Not a bad place to be.

Norris was terrific as an AHL rookie last season – recording 31 goals and 61 points in 57 games. That led to a first-team all-star nod. Now it appears he can work his magic next to Brady Tkachuk – another player I like to take a big old step forward this season.

Ottawa has long been a near-barren wasteland for fantasy. Those days are quickly closing. 

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Kaapo Kakko

Okay, this one isn't all that surprising either. The 2019 second-overall selection was likely to see his deployment ramp up as a sophomore – even though his rookie season was one for the ages (in a tragic way). But early reports are coming in hot that the Finnish right-winger looks poised to pop off this season. 

Skating next to Artemi Panarin at even-strength sure won't hurt that potential. 

He won't be pulling PP1 time yet, so don't expect genuinely earth-shattering metrics. But the upside is just gross with that young core. And call me crazy, but a second PP unit with Kakko, Adam Fox, and Pavel Buchnevich could be worse.

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Carolina claimed Anton Forsberg off of waivers on Tuesday. This move makes him the de facto number three behind Petr Mrazek and James Reimer. The team subsequently put 2018-19 top AHL Goaltender, Alex Nedeljkovic on waivers. Clearly, the team would like Nedeljkovic to make it through and get his starts in Charlotte. However, simply putting him on waivers has to be taken as an indication of their long belief in the 25-year-old.

With both Mrazek and Reimer upcoming UFAs, there's a good chance we see a wholesale change in the Carolina net unless one of those guys makes hay this season. Just talking out loud here, but Freddie Andersen and Jordan Binnington are the top names trending towards UFA status for next summer. 

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Marcus Foligno signed a three-year extension with an AAV of 3.1M on Tuesday. The 29-year-old isn't much of a point-producing threat, but the dude knows how to bang. He's slated to skate alongside Joel Eriksson-Ek and Jordan Greenway on Minny's third line this season.

Those three will see a lot of defensive zone draws and be tasked with heavy play. His peripheries in multi-cat leagues should be juicy.

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Chalk this up as some of the least shocking news of the day. The Oilers' 2019 first rounder looked like he was auditioning for Weekend at Bernie's III for much of the final week of action at the WJC.

Broberg wasn't going to cross the pond and steal a job in Edmonton this season so it's not the end of the world. Both injuries shouldn't end his SHL season either.

Broberg has the wheels and gumption to be a point producer in the NHL one day, but I still see Evan Bouchard as the heir apparent to the Oilers' top power-play. 

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@Hockey_Robinson