One of the big talking points heading into the NHL’s all-star season is the list of snubs.

While some will put together a list of fantasy all-stars, many of the names mimic the NHL. You don’t have to be a genius to figure out the Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews would be fantasy all-stars.

Obviously, not everyone having a great season can make the all-star roster, but it would be nice if a few more underappreciated players play in the game.

The same holds for fantasy. The big names get all the accolades, but there are plenty of those who deserve more recognition.

Below are 10 players who would have an argument for a fantasy all-star team but may not make everyone’s initial roster.

Before I begin, a quick caveat. A lot of a player’s value will depend on your league settings. Someone with a lot of penalty minutes and hits would lose their lustre in a points-only league. I tried to include players that would cover several different fantasy leagues so everyone would have an option.

10. Adrian Kempe

Not too many people had faith in Kempe this season. That goes a long way to explaining why the 2022 NHL All-Star went undrafted in most Yahoo leagues. Despite a ranking of 104 in basic Yahoo leagues and being able to slot in as left wing or right wing, he’s available in 58 per cent of Yahoo leagues. However, he’s quietly become one of L.A.’s best offensive weapons. His 19 goals are tied for 27th in the league and leads the Kings, while his 28 points are third-best. He’s demolishing his shot numbers, averaging 2.89 shots per game (up from last year’s career high of 2.27). He’s also on pace for slight career highs in PIM and hits. While he has only six power-play points, he’s playing on the top unit with Anze Kopitar, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if he bests his career high of 14 power-play points as well.

9. Alex Nedeljkovic

Some of his numbers may not seem that great, but he can still contribute in many fantasy leagues, depending on your settings. If your league counts saves, then Ned’s value skyrockets as he currently sits seventh in the league in saves. His numbers (13 wins, 2.90 GAA, 943 saves, 0.911 SV %, one shutout) are very similar to Connor Hellebuyck (14 wins, 2.90 GAA, 1,017 saves, two shutouts, 0.910 SV %).

8. Radko Gudas

You’re never going to choose Gudas for points, but he continues to be a beast in peripherals. In 45 games, he has 57 PIM, 67 shots, 199 hits and 66 blocked shots. How great are those numbers? Let’s look more closely at his hit total, where he is first by a mile. The next closest is Ryan Reaves at 165, and the next closest defenseman is Alexander Romanov at 147. Only six defensemen have at least 125 hits. His 66 blocked shots give him an average of 1.47 per game, his highest since 2018-19. His 1.27 PIM per game is his highest since 2016-17. His 11 points are just a bonus.

7. Chandler Stephenson

Stephenson missed a couple of games before the all-star weekend due to Covid-19 protocols, but it’s been amazing what he has been able to do despite all the injuries in Vegas. He should have been the all-star representative, not Mark Stone. Stephenson has 38 points in 43 games, which is a 72-point pace. That’s unbelievable, considering he’s been dragging Evgenii Dadonov around for a good chunk of the season while Stone and Max Pacioretty were injured. So far this season, Stephenson has 14 points in 17 games when either Stone or Pacioretty are missing in action.

6. Ryan Hartman

While it would be easy to say Hartman’s success is because he’s been lined up with Kirill Kaprizov, he’s earned that spot. It’s similar to Bryan Rust a couple of years back. Tear it up on the third/fourth line, force the coach to give you more opportunity and continue to produce. In the first 14 games of the campaign, Hartman played more often with Marcus Foligno, Jordan Greenway, Nico Sturm, Brandon Duhaime and Frederick Gaudreau than Kaprizov. Hartman is now on pace for 66 points, almost double his previous high. He’s putting up career highs in PIM, shots and faceoff wins. He’s up to 3.22 shots per game, which is a crazy high mark for him (last year, he was at 1.45, and he’s only averaged more than two shots per game one other time in his five seasons). His hit rate is down, but that’s a trade-off you always accept.

5. Ivan Barbashev

He’s pointless in five games, but he had 24 points in 19 games before this cold streak. He is still on pace for 65 points. That’s a massive increase over last year’s 82-game pace of 26, and destroys his career-high pace of 33. Maybe one of the reasons for the recent slowdown has been he’s been taken off the line with Robert Thomas and Vladimir Tarasenko. About four games ago, he was switched to a different unit, lining up with Ryan O’Reilly and Pavel Buchnevich instead. One of the bonuses with Barbashev is that he can slot into either left wing, right wing or centre spot in Yahoo, the rare triple-eligible position player.

4. Mackenzie Weegar

I will admit that I was one of those who didn’t believe that Weegar could replicate last season, when he put up career-high numbers thanks to an injury to Aaron Ekblad. I was wrong, as Weegar has continued to produce points and has improved on his peripheral numbers. While he’s on pace for 47 points (down from last year’s 55), he’s also on pace for career highs in PIM, shots, hits and blocked shots. Not small increases, but significant ones. His shot rate, for example, is at 2.43 shots per game. His previous high was 1.87, set a year ago.

3. Jesper Bratt

The Devils forward already has a career high in points and is only two goals off from matching his career high even though we’re only at the halfway point of the season. It’s a good thing for his owners, as he doesn’t contribute in any fantasy category outside of points or shots. With 41 points in 42 games, he’s on pace for 80 points. His shooting percentage of 12.4 per cent is significantly higher than last season’s 6.9 per cent, but isn’t that much higher than his career average of 11.5 per cent. His nine power-play points are three off a career high. He had a fast start to the season, but has been excellent since lining up with Jack Hughes, and has 17 points in his last 13 games. He has more seven-shot games (three) than shotless games (two).

2. Devon Toews

Normally, an almost point-per-game defenseman would be a guaranteed all-star, but in Colorado, you play second fiddle to Cale Makar. Toews 0.97 points-per-game is the sixth highest among defensemen (minimum 10 games), trailing only Makar (1.10), Adam Fox (1.07), Victor Hedman (1.02), Roman Josi (1.00) and Kris Letang (0.98). Toews is now on pace for 80 points (his previous high for an 82-game pace was 48 a year ago). He’s also posting career highs in shots per game, power-play points and hits.

1. Jacob Trouba

I’m in one league that counts goals, assists, plus/minus, PIM, power-play points, faceoff wins, hits and blocked shots. In that league, Trouba sits as the ninth-highest ranked player. Not defenseman, but among all skaters. In those settings, he’s the second-highest ranked dman, just behind Kris Letang. The PIM gives him an extra boost in the standings, but there’s a lot about his game that fantasy owners have been waiting for, ever since Trouba signed that massive contract a few summers ago. He’s on pace for 42 points, a huge improvement over last year’s 82-game pace of 26 points, and his highest since joining the Rangers. He’s on pace for career highs in PIM, shots and blocked shots. He’s also on pace for his second-highest total for hits. The only issue is power-play points, where he only has three on the season.