One of the best feelings in fantasy hockey is when a player you believe in breaks through for a monster season.

In fantasy hockey, players who come out of nowhere to score 70 points are gold, but they are tough to find. There are always the obvious choices, but those are selected high in drafts. One of the keys to championship success is hitting on those potential breakthrough players later on.

In most seasons, about one-third of all players who post 70 points are reaching that mark for the first time. This means you should always be on the lookout for those sleeper picks.

Below are 10 long shots who have a chance to reach 70 points this season for the first time in their career. I'm excluding obvious players, so don't be surprised that names such as Elias Pettersson and Kirill Kaprizov are missing. I'm also excluding players who put up a 70-point pace in either of the past two shortened seasons, so William Nylander, Roope Hintz and Adam Fox are also not listed.

I’d also like to thank Nathan Weselake for filling in for the last few weeks.

10. Tyler Bertuzzi

This may seem like a laughable pick, considering the top three Red Wings in points last season had 70 points combined. There’s also Bertuzzi’s unvaccinated status to consider, as he won’t be allowed to play games in Canada. However, the vaccination thing may work itself out. The league may apply for an exemption like the NBA did (and was granted). Rules may change throughout the season. Bertuzzi might choose to get the vaccine instead of losing salary for each game missed in Canada. As for Bertuzzi’s on-ice play, last season he had seven points in nine games before missing the rest of the season with a back injury. He's shown improved production each season and should continue to be a fixture on the top power-play unit.

9. Aaron Ekblad

Florida has a lot of players that would be much sexier picks to hit 70 points for the first time (Carter Verhaeghe, Anthony Duclair, Sam Bennett and Sam Reinhart), but Ekblad also has a lot of positives going for him. Everything will have to line up perfectly for him to hit 70 points, but he's the top power-play guy for a high-octane offense. He averaged 25 minutes per night last year and was on pace for a career-high 52 points before he went down with a leg fracture. He was also up to a career-high 2.9 shots per game.

8. Alexis Lafreniere

After an extremely disappointing rookie season, many fantasy general managers may choose to shy away from the Rangers sophomore forward. However, last year he had seven points in his final nine games while finding chemistry with Mika Zibanejad and Pavel Buchnevich. There will also be a spot on the top power-play unit now that Buchnevich is in St. Louis. I'd like to see Lafreniere take more shots, but there's a reason why he was considered to be an elite player when he was selected as the first overall pick.

7. Joel Farabee

Every couple of years, it feels like there's a Flyer player who has been in the league for a few years who has slowly increased production and then all of a sudden breaks through. Sean Couturier and Travis Konecny are the best recent examples, and Farabee could be the next in line. He put up a 57-point pace last year, which may be overlooked considering it was 38 points in 55 games as doesn't seem as impressive. He was inconsistent last season, but if he can fix that this season, he could be a threat for 70 points.

6. Dominik Kubalik

Like everyone on this list, everything has to fall perfectly in place for Kubalik to reach 70 points. However, there are some things that he has in his favour. He's put up a 0.68 points-per-game average in each of his first two campaigns, which equates to a 56-point pace. He has chemistry with almost anyone and seems locked into a top-six role. He finished last season alongside Patrick Kane, so there's hope he can continue that plum spot this year. He also saw more power-play time as the season went along, finishing the last part of the year on the top unit. Now, he would need all of that to continue this season, but there's unquestionably the opportunity.

5. Drake Batherson

What's not to like about Batherson? He plays on the top power play, is a top-six fixture and showed significant progression last season. He put up 17 goals and 34 points in 56 games, a 50-point pace. His 15 power-play points led the Sens and his two shots per game were half a shot higher than the previous season. He also likes to throw his weight around, finishing with 102 hits. He dominated the junior leagues and the AHL. He’s going to dominate the NHL.

4. Conor Garland

Garland has a great opportunity to put up career highs. On an awful Coyotes team last season, Garland had 39 points in 49 games, which equates to a 65-point pace. This year he has an opportunity to play with much better linemates, and if he can get on that top power-play unit with Elias Pettersson, Quinn Hughes and J.T. Miller, then it wouldn't be a surprise to see Garland not only reach a 70-point pace, but to reach the point-per-game mark.

3. Martin Necas

Last season, Necas probably had one of the quietest breakthrough campaigns you'll ever see. He finished with 41 points in 53 games, a 63-point pace over 82 games. From March 1 to May 6, he had 30 points in 34 games, a 72-point pace. That's pretty impressive considering he averaged less than two minutes per night on the power play. Despite that, he still put up 11 power-play points. Another small uptick in ice time and some more power-play time should be enough to put him over the 70-point hump.

2. Jesse Puljujarvi

From April 5 to the end of last season, at least 80 per cent of Puljujarvi's even-strength shifts involved Connor McDavid. In that timespan, Puljujarvi posted 12 points in 18 games, which equates to a 55-point pace over 82 games, but he also played just 46 seconds per night with the man advantage. In the preseason, he’s also been alongside McDavid. If that continues, plus an increase in power-play time, gives him a great opportunity to reach 70. 

1. Jack Hughes

In the 2020 offseason, Hughes put on 15 pounds of muscle and looked ready to dominate the NHL. He started with eight points in his first nine games, but then the Devils ran into COVID issues. Many players wound up with the virus, including Hughes. The battle with COVID caused him to lose the 15 pounds pretty quickly. Then the Devils had a brutal schedule where they played 25 games in 44 days, and Hughes was never able to recuperate, and he finished with 23 points in his last 45 games. Even though his production wasn’t great, his underlying numbers were awesome. Now he's had another full offseason to train and should hopefully put up a more consistent pace this upcoming season. The addition of Tomas Tatar and Dougie Hamilton will also help improve the Devils’ power play and overall offense, which in turn will benefit Hughes.