Every Sunday, we share 21 Fantasy Rambles from our writers at DobberHockey. These thoughts are curated from the past week’s 'Daily Ramblings'.

Writers/Editors: Ian Gooding, Michael Clifford, Alexander MacLean, and Dobber

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1. Do yourself a favour next year and don’t draft goalies early. We went into the season with the undeniable top-four of Andrei Vasilevskiy, Connor Hellebuyck, Robin Lehner, and Darcy Kuemper. Only Kumeper (4) and Vasilevskiy (8) are ranked in the top 15 of standard Yahoo leagues (W/GAA/Sv%/SO). Jakob Markstrom is number one, and he was drafted outside the top 100, same with Tristan Jarry at number six, and Jeremy Swayman at number 10.

Then there’s the headache for those of us that drafted any of Jack Campbell, Vitek Vanecek, Sergei Bobrovsky, or Vasilevskiy. All of them have been absolutely awful in the second half, and they are killing fantasy seasons. In two of my dynasty leagues I am running identical tandems of Pavel Francouz and Karel Vejmelka, and they’re putting up better numbers than those high-end names right now. Goalies are random to begin with, and then the good ones that get played more get tired down the stretch, or they get injured. The investment risk is just way too high for it to be a viable strategy in the long-term year over year. (apr13)

2. Carey Price made his long-awaited season debut on Friday, which happened to be his first game since last season’s Stanley Cup Final. Given his recovery from knee surgery and his personal struggles, the main takeaway should be that he has made it back to the Canadiens’ lineup. The game score shows Price stopping 17 of 19 shots he faced but taking a 3-0 loss to the Islanders. Price did shut out the Isles over two periods, which is a positive if you’re looking for a reason to use Price in what’s left of the season. (apr16)

3. This week, I documented the recent struggles of Andrei Vasilevskiy. Sure enough, the Lightning will be bringing back Brian Elliott for one more season as Vasilevskiy’s backup, signing him to a one-year extension at his current cap hit of $900,000. With the Bolts gearing up for the playoffs and two more pairs of back-to-backs, don’t be surprised to see a little more of Elliott down the stretch, which would make him a sneaky waiver-wire pickup. Elliott has picked up wins in each of his last two games – a shutout on Sunday against Buffalo, and a win in relief of Vasilevskiy on Thursday. (apr16)

4. It’s been a tough year for the Islanders. First the passing of Clark Gillies, then Jean Potvin, and now Mike Bossy.

As I said on my Twitter, Bossy is one of my all-time favorite players. I had the poster on the wall and everything. Full disclosure here: I was even an Islanders fan for a few years as a kid, and it had a lot to do with Bossy. Okay, it also had something to do with me getting sick and tired of hearing other kids talk about how awesome Wayne Gretzky and the Oilers were, so I took the Islanders side in the 1980s clash of dynasties. A side that I learned quickly I was very much in the minority on, especially with many bandwagon Oilers fans and a vocal “cup belongs in Canada” crowd. But I digress.

Bossy was true 50 goals in 50 games. Not just that, but 53 goals as a rookie. Also, nine consecutive seasons with 50 goals or more. An average of 57 goals per season in his career. Yeah, I know, everyone was scoring goals back then, but no player has ever recorded that many consecutive 50-goal seasons. Bring that along with the four Stanley Cups and you have a zero-doubt Hockey Hall of Famer. He reminded me of that Hall of Fame status in the hockey card he signed for me.

I think what I admired about him the most was how he stood true to his convictions. In an era when teams would regularly “goon it up,” Bossy refused to sell out to that element of hockey culture, being single-minded in his focus on scoring goals instead. Many of us will admit today that fighting is damaging to the sport, but Bossy was ahead of his time in condemning unnecessary violence when it was considered an essential part of the game. The whacks to the back he continually received seemed to contribute to his forced retirement at the young age of 30.  

A terrific goal scorer and tremendous role model is gone too soon at age 65. May he rest in peace. (apr16)

5. Vasily Podkolzin‘s stock is rising right now. The rookie scored a pair of goals with an assist on Thursday, giving him power-play goals in back-to-back games. The eye test shows a player who is much more involved in the play, and that’s caught the attention of Bruce Boudreau, who has bumped up Podkolzin’s ice time as a result. He’s one of the featured players in the Frozen Tools Forensics article this week, so I won’t dive into his situation much further here. (apr15)

6. Ilya Samsonov doesn't have a quality start since (scrolls down) February 15. That’s 12 consecutive games where he has not recorded a save percentage above .909 in a single game. Strangely enough, he entered Thursday’s game with five consecutive wins before getting yanked against the Leafs. The Capitals haven’t had an easy schedule during that stretch, but you’d think he’d have at least one standout performance. If Washington faces Florida in the first round, things could get ugly for the Capitals goalies. The Capitals better bring their scoring to the playoffs. (apr15)

7. Vladimir Tarasenko has points in eight of his last nine outings with nine goals and 15 points over that span. As well, he’s now scored 30 goals for the sixth time in his career. Remember when he was left unprotected in the Seattle expansion draft? Even though he wanted out of St. Louis, the Blues sure dodged a bullet when the Kraken passed on him. (apr15)

8. Robert Thomas extended his point streak to 12 games on Saturday. Most notably, he picked up five assists in a 6-2 win over the Sabres on Thursday. That five-assist total matched the single-game high this season, which has been reached six other times. Spoiler alert: I have added him to this month's Top 100 Roto Rankings, and that was even before the five assists. Why is Thomas a top 100 roto player, you ask? Well, he's a point-per-game player (72 points in 65 games). (apr15)

9. Tim Stutzle may be playing the finest hockey of his career at the moment, as he has scored points in each of his last eight games (interrupted by injury, so it’s not a true point streak). More recently, Stutzle has three multi-point games in a row. Stutzle has quietly surpassed 50 points this season – the third Senator to reach that mark. 

Josh Norris also reached 50 points this week and has 15 points in his past 12 games. He’s also in the top 25 in goals (33) in the league, even though he has missed 13 games. (apr15)

10. Is Michael Misa the next long-term keeper that you need to keep an eye on? Misa is the sixth player in OHL history and the eighth player in CHL history to be granted exceptional status. If you’re not familiar with exceptional status, it allows a young prodigy to play in Canadian major junior at age 15. Connor McDavid, John Tavares, and Aaron Ekblad are the most notable players to debut in the OHL as 15-year-olds, while current CHL stars Shane Wright and Connor Bedard also began their junior careers at that age. (apr15)

11. There are always some players that every person in the fantasy game has trouble giving up on. They are players that, for one reason or another, capture our attention and it’s tough to let it slip. It has surely happened to me, for better and worse. I had a lot of faith in both Tage Thompson and Valeri Nichushkin and, at different points, it appeared those guys may both be out of the league by age-25. (I guess Nichushkin technically was.) My faith was rewarded in those instances. There are also guys like Pavel Zacha and Kailer Yamamoto where I thought they would be scoring stars early in their careers, and while each is a solid NHLer, neither has reached anywhere close to the heights I had envisioned. So, let’s talk about Ryan Donato. [Follow the link for Mike's in-depth analysis on Donato] (apr14)

12. The past week saw a lot of big-name prospect news as all of Kent Johnson, Matty Beniers and Owen Power signed following the end of Michigan’s season. And all three made their debuts for Columbus, Seattle, and Buffalo, respectively. They are all prospects that we are high on for various reasons, so follow the link to read what Mike Clifford had to say about them. (apr12)

13. While Beniers collected an assist against Calgary in his first game, Power recorded his first NHL point in his second outing, also a helper. Power finished Thursday's game with 23 minutes of ice time, although none of it was on the power play. Although the Sabres appear to be providing him with regular minutes right from the get-go, the lack of power-play time might limit his time. Sometimes we want to add the shiny new toy right away, but it may take some time for the 19-year-old d-man to stand out in fantasy leagues. (apr15)

14. Let’s be honest here: five years into Casey Mittelstadt‘s career and he’s still not shown much at the NHL level. He doesn’t shoot a lot, hasn’t been shown to be a good playmaker, and isn’t particularly solid defensively. He hasn’t been Oh My God How Is He Still In The League-quality, but when looking at some of the forwards drafted after him in the 2017 draft’s first round (Martin Necas, Nick Suzuki, Josh Norris, Robert Thomas), he hasn’t had anywhere near the impact the team has hoped. He is young enough, and has had injuries impact him in recent seasons, that he deserves some leash, but next year is his age-24 season. A step forward in 2022-23 would be nice to see.

Mittelstadt (above) is the only real significant, immediate concern among their young kids. Dylan Cozens is pacing for 40 points this year, which doesn’t seem great, but his micro stats are looking strong in a number of areas from scoring chance generation to transition work. (apr14)

15. Buffalo, I think, is finally a team on the rise. They have a handful of exciting young stars already on the roster, they have a great top line, they have prospects tearing up the AHL, they have lots of draft picks, they have lots of cap space, and they have a great coach who has them playing to their ability every night. There are a lot of things going right, and a couple key free agent signings could really turbo-charge this rebuild. Playoffs might be a reach in 2023 just because of how good their division and conference are, but it would not surprise me, honestly.

Jack Quinn has had an absolutely monster season in the AHL with 25 goals, 54 points, and 122 shots in 37 games as a 20-year-old. He should be in the lineup next year and if this skill progression keeps up, he could be a big-time scorer in very short order. Maybe I’m being too lofty with expectations here, but he’s turned into a very legitimate super-prospect, and he could add immediate scoring depth in 2022-23.

It's an exciting time to be a Sabres fan. It is also an exciting time to be a dynasty owner with names like Quinn, Power, JJ Peterka, and Devon Levi sitting on the minor league roster. For anyone without some of the Sabres prospects, it might be worth inquiring about the prices now. They are only going to go up. (apr14)

16. Reading through Scott Wheeler’s prospect notebook from the past few weeks, Mason McTavish caught my eye, as both Wheeler and another source were raving about his impact on the game and how he was a man amongst boys in the OHL. With the retirement of Ryan Getzlaf, and the trade of Rickard Rakell there is a spot on a scoring line for McTavish next year. He has creativity, plus plenty of scoring ability in close and an NHL ready mind and frame. He’s my way-too-early pick as rookie of the year next season. (apr13)

17. Three players to keep an eye on. [Follow the link for more]:

Noah Dobson – I pegged him in the midseason guide as a played primed for a big second half based on a few of his numbers trending in a positive direction and boy has he delivered. In the third quarter, he put up 21 points in 24 games, with 10 of those on the power play, and a whopping 70 shots to boot. He has the ability to put up those kinds of numbers over the course of a season, though it may be a bit streaky next year until Barry Trotz is likely replaced for 2023-24 when his contract expires.

Jakub Vrana – After missing a large chunk of the season rehabbing from a shoulder injury, but since he returned at the beginning of March, and especially in the last 10 games, Vrana has put up nearly three shots a game, and more than a goal every other game. He is also playing at nearly a point per game pace despite only seeing 15 minutes of ice time per game. As that stands to increase over the next few years (and it will), his production stands to follow suit.

Rasmus Andersson – After slotting in behind Noah Hanifin and Oliver Kylington as offensive defensemen go on the Flames to start the year, Andersson has really picked things up in the second half. Since the mid-way point, the former second-round pick has 24 points in 34 games, with nearly two shots per game, and 23 minutes of ice time per game (nearly three minutes of which is with the man advantage). He’s still 120 games away from his breakout threshold as well. He should provide huge draft value next season in points-focused leagues. (apr13)

18. Stefan Noesen has some limited NHL experience and seemed to be out of the league for good, but his historic 40-goal season in the AHL – the first player to do so in 11 years – may spring him into another NHL contract. He's the kind of player that can thrive in the right situation, but he will need all of the lottery numbers to line up to make it work. If I'm an NHL GM I'm at least offering a PTO next fall, if not a two-way deal. (apr13)

19. Matt Duchene now has 39 goals and 76 points. Both are career highs. The most surprising thing? It’s not a contract year! We didn’t buy his early-season production. The bubble was going to pop. Except – it didn’t. And in fact, Duchene’s production has increased even further. His 5on5 S% is too high at 10.9% and he is the top forward on the team in terms of offensive-zone starts. So, of course next season will be lower than this one. But he’s going to get 90 points this year, and it’s hard to imagine a player following up 90 points with anything under 70. So I consider 70 pretty safe for 2022-23 with this guy. And after seeing what David Perron has done after the age of 30, I won’t rule anything out. Because let’s be honest – 10 years ago we felt that Duchene had way, way, way higher upside than Perron. (apr11)

20. I’d be shocked if the Blackhawks brought back Kevin Lankinen next season. Both he and Collin Delia are UFAs this summer. UFA goalies Chicago should target: Ville Husso, Darcy Kuemper. The pickings are slim after those two, since I doubt Marc-Andre Fleury returns. There’s Thomas Greiss, Jack Campbell and Joonas Korpisalo. After that, I don’t like any who are left. Makes you appreciate what Arizona has done – looking outside the NHL for their two goaltenders. (apr11)

21. Oskar Steen signed a two-year, one-way deal with the Bruins. Yes, it was for the NHL minimum, but the fact that it’s a one-way deal. Likely a potential third-liner, but his numbers in the AHL and his size (5-9) indicates that there is an “over-achiever” factor that makes me wonder if three or four years down the road he gives us more than expected. If he starts teasing with flashes of production next year (in brief spurts), you can expect him to quickly become a “Dobber Darling”. (apr11)

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We have launched our new DFS subscription. These tools have a very solid track record. And for the late portion of the season and playoffs, we are offering $20 off. Avid DFS players will more than make this money back over the remainder of the season I’m sure. Right now it is for Draft Kings, but we will have other DFS tools available over time.

Yahoo daily fantasy tools are now ready! Check out DFS Central.

In the spirit of the above, I am launching a new section on DobberHockey. We are going to increase our content for DFS and sports wagering. The “bare bones” hub of this section can be found here. I will have links and more content soon. In the meantime, if you or someone you know writes blogs or social media posts about DFS or game lines and want more exposure – please reach out to me here and let me know how you can contribute. We’d like to have some content during the week on top of our current Saturday slate.

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Have a good week, folks – stay safe!!

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