Happy Saturday, prospect enthusiast. Welcome back to another installment of The Journey.

If you can believe it, we are fast approaching the midway point of the season. With that, we should have good indications towards the prospects that we have respectively invested in – at least for the short term. Whether they are full-time members, rotating pieces, pure point producers, or role players, you likely have a basic idea by now. 

Of course, it's those prolific point producers that often squeeze all of the love from us as writers. When in reality, more often than not, they are usually the rarest. With that in mind, I thought I would shed some light on a few of those prospects doing all the little things – the “peripheral beasts”. Coincidentally, many of those "beasts" also happen to be posting solid numbers, making them all the more sought after. 

Here are your top-producing shot takers, hit makers, shot blockers, and penalty instigators.

Shots

Nils Hoglander, Canucks

If you happen to catch a Canucks game, you may be asking yourselves "who is this undersized waterbug running around the ice, providing constant pressure on puck carriers, while also displaying solid skill”? Oh, him? That's just Hoglander. 

His stat sheet may not show it, which currently shows four goals and 10 points. However, the 20-year-old Swede has been one of the club’s best forwards and currently leads the way with respect to SOG among prospects. Over 27 games, he's now totaled a whopping 62 pucks on net, or an average of 2.3 per game, if that's more to your liking. In fact, he's only had two games all year in which he has failed to record a shot. The kid has one speed – go. 

Oliver Wahlstrom, Islanders

Wahlstrom sits just outside of the top-10 among prospects in shots taken, but to be fair, the kid has played just 16 games. In a short timeframe, the 20-year-old has posted 36 shots and has become quite the staple on the Islanders secondary power-play unit. In fact, his point-per-game (four on the powerplay) over the past six games puts him right there as one of the hottest players in the league. This should come as no surprise. He was drafted for one reason – to shoot the puck. He is the perfect "buy low" prospect at the moment and should be picked up while the points are flowing.

Drake Batherson, Ottawa

Okay, if I'm being real, Batherson could be placed in almost all of these categories. His lucrative season is not just showing up on the scoresheets as points, but also as: shots, hits, and even blocks (tied for the lead among prospects). If I had any advice on prospects to invest in right now, Batherson sits well in the top three. He can do it all, and with 11 points in his last eight games, is a worthy pick-up in the shallowest of leagues. He has 57 shots, 42 hits, and 17 blocks. Don't hesitate, just acquire.

Additional Names:

Pius Suter, Blackhawks – 53

Joel Farabee, Flyers – 50

Jordan Kyrou, Blues – 51

Alexandre Texier, Blue Jackets – 40

Kirill Kaprizov, Wild – 43

Dillon Dube, Flames – 33

Hits

Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Flyers

Banger leagues are what NAK was built for, and his services should be owned even in shallow multi-cats. His artform is framed around being a hard-nosed pest, with a non-stop motor and tremendous work ethic. He's one of those players that every team strives to acquire at least one of, if not more. Despite averaging just 12 (and change) minutes of ice-time, he's racked up 49 hits, which sits tops among prospects and within the top-50 league-wide. 

Jesse Puljujarvi, Oilers

As I've mentioned in the past, Puljujarvi has returned to North America a changed man. He looks stronger on the puck and more importantly, confident in his own game. It helps to be lined-up next to Connor McDavid, but in his defense, he had to earn that right. 

He now sits comfortably in the top echelon (among prospects) in most categories and is slowly climbing that ladder to eventually live up to that third-overall label. Of course, there is still a long way to go in that regard. He's up to 55 SOG, 46 credited hits, and hopefully, the points will eventually catch up to his peripheral productivity. All signs point towards a solid pick-up.

Additional Names:

Carl Grundstrom, Kings – 39

Josh Norris, Senators – 32

Julien Gauthier, Rangers – 25

Blocks

Max Comtois, Ducks

Comtois is enjoying a nice season thus far, sitting in the top-three in the majority of team stats, which include: points (15), shots (45), plus/minus (+5), power-play points (3), and hits (48). The Ducks may not flaunt themselves as the most attractive with regards to fantasy potential, but Comtois seems to be one of the knights in shiny armor in this case. He sits third on the club as Fantrax's most owned players (48.8%), trailing only John Gibson and new kid on the block Trevor Zegras. 

If you are in need of anything in the peripheral department, Comtois, to the surprise of none, looks to be a solid option.

Additional Names:

Dylan Gambrell, Sharks – 17

Eetu Luostarinen, Panthers – 15

Nicolas Roy, Golden Knights – 13

Alexander Volkov, Lightning – 15

PIMS

Trent Frederic, Bruins

Ah, penalty minutes, also known as the dying category. With fights becoming ever-so taboo, the PIM category has become somewhat of a moot point – for me, at least. With full-blown fights a rare occasion in 2021, It seems weird for a fantasy owner to be benefiting from a four-minute high-sticking penalty or a five-minute boarding call. Perhaps it’s just me.

Frederic (along with a seldom few) seems to be the exception to that argument. The 23-year-old has had to earn his spot on the Bruins bottom-six, primarily by being a ruthless go-getter who's not afraid to shed the mitts. With 43 PIMS, 35 hits, and 23 SOG, he lies as a solid multi-cat option for deeper leagues.

Additional Names:

Zack MacEwen, Canucks – 17

Michael McLeod, Devils – 16

Thanks for joining me this week. Follow me on Twitter @hall1289 for more prospect updates.