We are less than two weeks away from Christmas holidays and there's no shortage of interesting hockey news to talk about. Unfortunately, it seems as though Ben Bishop's career has come to an end after a tumultuous rehab start in the AHL this week. Thanks to a degenerative knee injury, it seems as though Bishop has played his last NHL game, which is a real shame. I guess that means Braden Holtby's stock just went up a bunch, so if you need a goalie, go see if he still happens to be available on your waiver wire!

Aside from the news on Ben Bishop, Gary Bettman also reiterated this week that the NHL was going to allow players to decide for themselves if they want to participate in the Beijing Olympics that are coming up in less than three months’ time. Between COVID concerns and the growing number of countries implementing diplomatic boycotts of the games, it should be really interesting to see how much participation we get from the NHL players. Personally, I've been itching for a true best-on-best tournament for years now, but I could see some real obstacles getting in the way of that. February is still a way away, so we will have to wait and see what develops. In the meantime, though, let's take a look at some players that have been trending upward recently!

Sonny Milano

So this is an awkward one for me. Some of you may recall about a month ago I did my column and named some players that it might be time to cut bait on for this season. Among the players on the list was Trevor Zegras, who at the time had just five assists. Since I posted that writeup, Zegras has netted 17 points in his last 13 contests. The real exclamation point of all of this was the incredible goal Milano scored earlier this week. 

For those of you who live under a rock and may not have seen it, Zegras lifted the puck with his stick from behind the opposition's net. It looked like he was going to attempt a "Michigan" lacrosse-style goal, but then tossed the puck over the net to teammate Milano who then batted the puck out of mid-air and into the net all while keeping his stick below the crossbar! It was a bonkers goal, and one that has gotten a ton of eyes on both Zegras and Milano this week.

The two American forwards have definitely found some chemistry with one another, and it seems like Milano may finally be finding his scoring touch in the big leagues. He has 20 points on the year over the course of 24 games. His eight goals and 12 assists put him on pace for 68 points on the season. He is averaging just 15 minutes a game, which isn't a ton, but so far, he has been able to stick to the first power-play unit, which has yielded six of his 20 points. 

He needs to put the puck on net a little more for my liking, as he averages just under two shots per game. He does have dual-wing eligibility so that makes him more flexible to fit into your lineup on busy nights. He won't get you a ton in terms of hits or blocks, but if you need some help offensively, Milano could be a sneaky little addition to your roster that could help support the rest of your team. He is still 39 percent rostered in Yahoo leagues, so there's a chance he's still available.

Anthony Cirelli

The Tampa Bay Lightning have been without the services of Nikita Kucherov and  Brayden Point for a while now, and despite that they are still 17-6-4. A lot of that credit deserves to go to Cirelli, who has been an absolute stud for the Lightning thus far this campaign. Now, there is a caveat that comes with Cirelli at the time of writing this article. He's missed the past two games with an unspecified upper-body injury, but it doesn't sound like anything too serious, so he could be back for next week.

With that disclaimer out of the way, let me get back to gushing about how good he's been. In 25 games, he's netted eight goals and added nine helpers for 17 points. Now I know 17 points isn't exactly setting the world on fire, but he does so much more. He's truly a jack-of-all-trades whose usefulness will vary depending on how your league is formatted. 

He is a reliable source of faceoff wins as he is already up to 160. What makes this even more sneaky good is that he is dual-eligible to slot in at right wing. I'm personally in two leagues that track faceoffs, and finding solid players who can get you draws and slotting them into wing positions is truly invaluable. Aside from the draws though, he plays the game with a physical edge. 

He averages just over a hit a game with 28 on the season so far. Aside from dishing out some pain though, he also isn't afraid to sacrifice the body to block some shots either. He has 26 blocks in 25 games, and you don't see many forwards averaging over a block per game. On top of hits and blocks, he also averages two shots per game which is an acceptable total. Cirelli contributes in virtually every skater stat you could ask for. He sees deployment in both the man advantage, as well as the penalty kill and overall he averages over 20 minutes of ice time per night. It's kind of mind-boggling to me that he only is rostered in 43% of Yahoo leagues. Whether you are in a roto league or head-to-head, Cirelli can make an impact for your squad. 

Conor Garland

Conor Garland was a player I was super-hyped for heading into this season. He came over from Arizona in the big Oliver Ekman-Larsson deal and I thought the sky would be the limit for him on this Vancouver Canucks roster that was just oozing with potential. Well, after a dismal start to the season for the Canucks, team ownership finally cleaned house this week. Jim Benning and Travis Green were both sent packing and were swiftly replaced by Jim Rutherford and Bruce Boudreau. 

It's still early, but after three games under the guise of Coach Boudreau (BRUCE THERE IT IS!) the Canucks are 3-0 and seem to be rejuvenated. They may never lose another game again! In all seriousness though, I think Boudreau is a great fit for this team, especially the forwards. Garland has 20 points through 28 games. It's a pretty decent rate of scoring, and he is on pace for 59 points, just barely missing the 60-point plateau. This would easily still be career best numbers for Garland, but I think there is still room for more here, and I think we could still see more if the Canucks can keep this new-found momentum going into the new year. 

A major selling point for Garland is he shoots a ton. He's averaging just under three shots per game which is great. Unfortunately, he won't get you a ton outside of shots and points. Additionally, I feel like he has been criminally underused on the man advantage. The Canucks have opted to have a large net-front presence in the form of Alex Chiasson rather than an extra skilled guy on the ice on their top unit. It seems as though Boudreau is going to give multiple players looks on the special teams' units though. So hopefully Garland can capitalize.

At even strength, it seems as though Boudreau has opted to put Garland with Elias Pettersson in hopes to get the Swedish phenom going. Petey has been absolutely awful so far this year. If these two could find some chemistry it could go a long way for both players. I still think Garland has a pretty safe floor for points this season, while his ceiling remains high. Garland is rostered in 64 percent of Yahoo leagues, so he can still be had in some places. 

Well that's all for this week. I will be back again next Sunday with some more fantasy hockey speculation. Stay vigilant with the waiver wire and make sure your team is optimized to be the best it can possibly be! Cheers!