While the top rookies get all the accolades from the NHL, fantasy general managers realize some of the lesser-talked-about newcomers can be valuable pieces for future championships.

Sure, having an Alexis Lafreniere, Kirill Kaprizov or Jason Robertson on your fantasy squad is incredible, but if your league counts categories such as hits, PIM and blocked shots, then there may be other options. These rookies are playing for their future and things aren't going to be handed to them. They are going to hit, fight and block as many shots as it takes to stay in the lineup. They don't have the luxury of taking a shift off.

Of course, it's challenging to gauge who is going to stick in the NHL. Of the top 10 rookies for hits in 2015-16, only four (Joel Edmundson, Darnell Nurse, Jake Virtanen and Jake McCabe) are still playing in the league. The other six (Klas Dahlbeck, Miikko Salomaki, Oscar Lindberg, Iiro Pakarinen, Sergey Kalinin and Andreas Martinsen) are either in the AHL or playing overseas.

Will the players on this list be the next Nurse or the next Salomaki? It's hard to say. Not all of them will stay in the league. Some of them may be a flash in the pan and be out of the league within a couple of seasons, but they're worth keeping an eye on, especially in deeper leagues.

10. Tanner Jeannot

He only played 15 games, so the 24-year-old would still be considered a rookie next season, but he deserves a mention. Although we have to wary of small sample size syndrome, Jeannot was willing to throw his weight around. Not only did he post five goals and seven points in his 15 games, but he also averaged 1.5 shots per game and finished with 53 hits. That would put him on pace for 290 hits over an 82-game season.

9. Zach Whitecloud

One reason why Whitecloud is lower on this list was that he lost ice time as the season went along. Going from 19:18 per night in the first quarter of the season to 16:23 in the last quarter is a worrying trend. However, there's no denying that he provided decent peripherals, finishing with 24 PIM, 54 shots, 85 hits and 75 blocked shots in 51 games. He's continuing that value throughout the postseason with 16 PIM, nine shots, 22 hits and 30 blocked shots in 13 games.

8. Nathan Bastian

Back in 2018-19, Bastian played seven games with the Devils, where he scored three goals to go along with 10 PIM, 13 shots and 24 hits. He spent all of last season in the AHL, but made the Devils full-time this season. Although a knee injury cost him a month of the season, he still got to play in 41 games in a bottom-six role. His 136 hits were second among NHL rookies, although the rest of his stats don't look as impressive (1.1 shot per game and 21 PIM while averaging 12:37). Thanks to the Devils trading some of their top players at the deadline, Bastian received a promotion near the end of the season, averaging 15:23 minutes per night in his last 13 games.

7. Olli Juolevi

When Juolevi was drafted fifth overall in 2016, he was expected to be the next offensive defenseman for the Canucks. Back then, he was considered to be a puck-moving defenseman who didn't play a physical game. Injuries have slowed down his development (I'd list him as a potential Band-Aid Boy) and the Canucks now have better offensive options on the blue line. When Juolevi is in the lineup now, it's as a bottom-pairing defenseman. However, he's also worked on his physical game, compiling 24 shots, 23 hits and 30 blocked shots in 23 games with Vancouver this season. If he can move up to the second pairing, he'll have a good opportunity to be a 150-shot, 100-hit, 100-blocked shot defenseman in the long term.

6. K'Andre Miller

The loss of Tony DeAngelo for the Rangers early on was probably the best thing that could have happened to the team. It forced the rest of the defensemen to step up and take advantage of more responsibility. This allowed Miller to average slightly more than 21 minutes per night. He finished with 20 PIM, 62 shots, 93 hits and 77 blocked shots in 53 games. Those 77 blocked shots were the most among NHL rookies and his 93 hits were the fifth highest.

5. Mathieu Oliver

The 24-year-old power forward may not have been on many fantasy radars at the start of the season, but he was a sneaky pickup if you needed peripherals by the end of the campaign. He started the year on the taxi squad, but once he was inserted into the lineup, he earned the trust of the coach and received more ice time. While he had only five points in 30 games, he also had 70 PIM and 62 hits. A lower-body injury forced him to miss a month of action at the end of the year.

4. Ryan Lomberg

Florida seemed to hit a home run on every single one of their projects this season. Sam Bennett was excellent for Florida after the trade from Calgary, Anthony Duclair put up a 60-point pace and Carter Verhaeghe had almost a 70-point clip. The 26-year-old Lomberg was another excellent pickup for the Panthers. While he isn't mentioned in the same breath as his teammates, Lomberg finished with 67 PIM, 47 shots and 90 hits in 34 games. In the playoffs, he improved on those numbers with 30 PIM and 25 hits in six games.

3. Alexander Romanov

He didn't play any of the Habs' first 10 postseason games, not getting into the lineup until Game 4 against the Jets, so his fantasy value may have taken a bit of a nosedive. But don't overlook what he did in the regular season. Romanov had 21 PIM, 71 shots, 138 hits and 60 blocked shots in 54 games. Not only did he lead rookies in hits, but he was also the only rookie to reach at least 100 hits and 30 blocked shots. His ice time decreased as the season went on and his power-play time dried up, but he's expected to be a top defenseman for Montreal for years.

2. Nikolai Knyzhov

What separates Knyzhov from almost every other player on this list is his opportunity. Except for Knyzhov and number one on this list, many toiled away with little ice time. However, Knyzhov's ice time skyrocketed from under 12 minutes a night in his first 13 games to over 19 minutes a night in his last 15 contests. He was given a top-four role and regularly played with Erik Karlsson and Brent Burns. Knyzhov finished with 39 PIM, 61 shots, 84 hits and 54 blocked shots in 56 games. While he won't even be known for his offense, playing with his superstar linemates helped Knyzhov pick up eight points in his last 26 games.

1. Artem Zub

The 25-year-old Sens defenseman drew a lot of eyeballs this season. While he’s not known for his offense, maybe there's a chance he will reach a 30- or 40-point pace one day. Those in multi-cat leagues hope it doesn't come at the expense of his peripherals. This season, the rookie rearguard had 26 PIM, 89 hits and 70 blocked shots in 47 games. More importantly, his ice time went up significantly as the season went on from 15:52 in the first seven games of the season to 20:27 per night in the last 13.