Last week I discussed some of the bigger injuries that were occurring in the NHL and how you could take advantage of their injuries. This week we shall be looking at some of the bigger surprises that the NHL has seen so far, this upcoming season. Every season we have some players who are seemingly shooting for the stars at the start of the season but eventually cool down, I think we're bound to see some sort of regression in some players cases soon enough. Meanwhile, we can expect some players to start heating up at some point soon. Teams have played a range of five-nine games so far – approximately 10 percent of the season has been played, there is time left for your favorite players to pick up the pace. While you may think your fantasy season is over already, the league's scoring race will balance out over time as we've only had a small sample size of the 2022-2023 season.

* The top row in the stat tables are the players current stats this year, and the bottom row is their career stats. The powerplay and shorthanded sections are for points in these respective areas. *

#1) Dominik Kubalik – LW – Detroit Red Wings

Contract: $2.5M – 2 Years remaining

As it stands, Kubalik is on pace to smash career bests this season which can partially be accredited to his 55-goal pace through the full 82 game season currently. As someone who was acquired to help round out their top-nine forward group, he's sure looked fantastic on the top line in Detroit so far. While benefitting from a Tyler Bertuzzi injury, Kubalik should see a decline in production at some point. This level of performance is too good to be true and once Bertuzzi comes back he should lose that ideal spot on the roster. A shooting percentage of 25% while averaging less than 15 minutes and 30 seconds of ice time a night seems impossible to sustain for a player who last hit 20+ goals 3 seasons ago.

#2) Miro Heiskanen – D – Dallas Stars

Contract: $8.45M – 7 Years remaining

With the team finally moving on from John Klingberg after what seemed like an eternity of him being on the trade block, the defensive core in Dallas is now led by 23-year-old defender Miro Heiskanen. It was always going to be interesting to see how a more two-way styled defender would do in a more offensive role. So far with just three points through six games, it hasn't been looking too pretty. It can be a challenge to produce offense from the back end if you're also not getting the most support up front either. Of the players who have multiple goals on this roster (not counting Heiskanen), they have combined for a total of 18 goals for this team. That is a little concerning when the team in total has 23 goals scored on the year. For Heiskanen to succeed, the depth pieces in Dallas will have to start producing as well. A talented top-six can only take you so far in this league. When you see defenders making over eight million dollars a year, you expect to see them average more than half a point per game by the end of the season.

#3) Brock Boeser – RW – Vancouver Canucks

Contract: $6.65M – 3 Years remaining

If you're like myself and you're a huge Boeser fan, seeing him start the year so cold in the goal department is really discouraging to see. Granted the entirety of the Canucks have been a mess to open the season. With a winless record so far and a goals per game of 2.57, the Canucks simply need to be better top to bottom, including Boeser. A player who is known for being a shoot-first, goal scoring winger cannot be goalless in the first six games of the season. This season it seems that the Canucks are trying different line combos, in years past we've seen Boeser play primarily with Elias Pettersson. We are currently seeing a trio of Boeser, Tanner Pearson and Bo Horvat. That is a dip in teammate quality, you're removed from a top line centre to play with Pearson who is at best a top-nine winger and Horvat who is a solid second line centre. This type of player, making this type of money should not have zero goals, less than shots per game and average their lowest average time on ice since their rookie season (16:13). I expect a rebound to happen at some point for Boeser, maybe not a rebound but for him to eventually look somewhat like his old self. But for now, he is a scary player to roster in category-based leagues given his inability to produce in the peripheral categories mixed with his lack of offensive production.

#4) Gabriel Vilardi – C – Los Angeles Kings

Contract: $825K – 1 Year remaining (RFA this upcoming summer)

While being labeled as a two-way forward, Vilardi is currently on fire with over a point-per-game currently. While playing primarily in the Kings' middle-six group of forwards, he has found himself playing alongside some talented players on the Kings' top powerplay unit with Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty, Kevin Fiala and Adrian Kempe. Vilardi absolutely has the potential to be a solid two-way centre at the NHL level, he just doesn't have the track record to show me that he can keep this level of production up throughout the course of a full season. As it stands, Vilardi is currently being deployed in a more offensive friendly role, as you can tell as he leads the team in points. He averages 3:26 per night of powerplay time and an oZS% (offensive zone start percentage) of 60.9%. He has the potential to stay as a rock-solid player for years to come, I just see this player regressing as the season ages.

#5) Elias Lindholm – C – Calgary Flames

Contract: $4.85M – 2 Years remaining

While I can't overly fault Lindholm for coming out flat, I can say I am shocked to see how little he has done this season. Both of his former linemates in Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk are off the team, so Lindholm has had to find chemistry with two new linemates which will take time. But to play alongside of talent such as Jonathan Huberdeau and Tyler Toffoli and to only have two goals through six games is unacceptable. Through his six games this season, his oZS% is currently at its lowest that it's ever been statistically at a rate of 49.5%. For a player who is your top option, he needs to be playing in the offensive zone more. Something to note is that his oZS% has been on the decline from when he first arrived in Calgary to now, it has decreased from 60.4% to the low 49.5% that it is now. Expect Lindholm to find his footing at some point, good players always do. With Calgary and their 5-1 record, for them to sustain any sort of success long-term they will need Lindholm to produce. Be patient with him, his low cap hit for the numbers that we've seen him put up is incredibly valuable, alongside his excellent ability in the faceoff dot as well he is a great asset for category leagues. He isn't just a player who will end up being in the 50%+ range for faceoff percentage, he is a guy who takes a lot of faceoffs as well as he is tied for 18^th most taken faceoffs in the NHL this season.


Overall, the start of every hockey season has players who over perform and others who start of sluggish. It happens every year and we always see the natural order restore itself often. There is truly nothing better than seeing a player start out strong, and you manage to claim them off your league's free agency/waiver wire. This is a series that I plan to keep going throughout the season as the NHL does not lack in shock value.

If you're looking to discuss anything hockey with me, check out my Twitter account (@JamieMolloy_DH), as well as on the articles themselves!