For the last 19 years (12 with The Hockey News) Dobber has reviewed each team from a fantasy-hockey standpoint and graded them.

The 20th annual review will appear here on DobberHockey throughout the summer/fall. This is not a review of the likely performance on the ice or in the standings, but in the realm of fantasy hockey both for the season ahead as well as the foreseeable future. Offensively, will the team perform? Are there plenty of depth options worthy of owning in keeper leagues? What about over the next two or three years? These questions are what I take into consideration when looking at the depth chart and the player potential on that depth chart.

Enjoy!

The 2022-23 Dobber Hockey Fantasy Guide was released a few days ago and is ready for purchase in the Dobber Shop! There are projections, draft lists, line combinations, prospect talk, and a whole lot more. Get everything you need for your season-long leagues in one spot!

Gone – Ryan Getzlaf, Sonny Milano, Sam Steel, Zach Aston-Reese, Gerald Mayhew, Buddy Robinson, Vinni Lettieri, Dominik Simon, Greg Pateryn, Brogan Rafferty, Andrej Sustr, Jacob Larsson

Incoming – John Klingberg, Ryan Strome, Frank Vatrano, Olli Juolevi, Glenn Gawdin, Chase De Leo, Colton White, Austin Strand

Impact of Changes – This franchise is still building for the future which is why they didn't move out many significant pieces. The additions of Strome and Vatrano will give this team some much-needed scoring depth: only Troy Terry and Trevor Zegras had more than 42 points in 2021-22, and they were the only Ducks with at least 20 goals (Adam Henrique's injury held his totals low). It gives them a cushion they didn't have a year ago.

Of course, adding John Klingberg should help the young core on the power play, which was about league average. His defensive play has fallen off as he's aged but he's still a terrific puck-moving defenceman that will help with the man advantage. He also gives the team more options on the blue line, like moving Kevin Shattenkirk into a more sheltered role. All this will impact Jamie Drysdale's immediate fantasy upside, though. He now has a lot of competition for a top power play spot, so we may have to wait another year before a full-fledged breakout.

Ready for Full Time – The big name that should make an impact is Mason McTavish. He got his nine games in 2021-22 but was sent back to Junior by the middle of November. With both Getzlaf and Steel gone, even with Strome coming back, McTavish could settle into a third-line centre role, supposing they don't have him on the wing as they did in his brief NHL stint. He likely won't have a feature role at even strength or the power play right out of the gate, but he has the skills to earn a bigger role as the season wears on.

Having played parts of two seasons in the AHL, we should keep an eye on Jacob Perreault. A talented offensive first rounder from 2020, Perreault could be ready to make the jump. With depth wingers like Simon, Aston-Reese, Milano, and Lettieri all gone, there are spots on the third and fourth lines for rookie wingers to make their mark, and Perreault is near the top of the list.

There could be a roster spot for Olen Zellweger if he impresses in training camp. The left-shot defenceman turns 19 in September, so he's still a fresh face, but he has 91 points in his last 66 Junior games, and Anaheim isn't near as deep on the left side of the blue line as the right. He could end up in the third pair/press box tour, but he'd need to be very impactful in preseason games.

Fantasy Outlook – The team got better in the offseason but they still have a steep climb, even in a Pacific Division that doesn't look deep, or at least could be weaker than in 2021-22. They were 27^th in 5-on-5 scoring as the lack of depth mentioned earlier was an ongoing issue. Adding Strome and Vatrano, with a healthy Jakob SIlfverberg, and a hopefully impactful McTavish, should all help up front. We know Zegras is special, and Terry looks to finally be rounding into form but for this team to be bountiful from a fantasy perspective, those depth guys will need to score. It looks more hopeful than it did this time last year.

Team defence could be a problem and thus make for good matchups in fantasy. Adding Klingberg should help the offence at all strengths, but he needs to turn his defensive play around. Cam Fowler is on the wrong side of 30, Shattenkirk's career is winding down, and Drysdale is still growing. There should be fantasy goodness here, but everyone needs to step up to help John Gibson in net.

Gibson is the crux to the team's success. He hasn't had a season with a save percentage over .904 since 2018-19 and we could blame a declining team, but great goalies can still play well behind a bad defensive team (like Connor Hellebuyck). If nothing else, an improved offence should help his win totals, having averaged just 18 every 55 starts in those three years.

Fantasy Grade – C+ (last year was C-)