In this week's edition of Capped, I am evaluating some of the waiver wire pickups that carry some value down the line in future years as well, so this edition will be mainly about players who are on the younger side. Around this time of year, the teams that have sold off some of their assets at the trade deadline will begin to use their younger skaters in order to give them NHL experience, and so the clubs can see how far along these young players are in their career. This is crucial for NHL management because it can help give them an idea as to what slots they need to fill in the offseason. Why rush a prospect to the NHL when they're not ready, not much sense in that.

* Something that I have noticed is that the players who have been drafted within the last couple of seasons tend to have a higher roster percentage on Fantrax versus ESPN. I believe that is because Fantrax generally hosts more dynasty and keeper formats that give extra value to those young players. Putting this as a disclaimer that while ESPN has players at a lower rostered rate, that isn't necessarily due to the player itself *

#1) William Eklund – LW – San Jose Sharks
Contract: $894K – 3 Years remaining
Roster Percentages: Fantrax – 44%, ESPN – 3.9%

A name that doesn't really get talked about much these days since he was initially drafted seventh overall by the Sharks in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. A lot of that may be because he's only played 9 games in the NHL prior to this season and then went back over to the SHL to continue the season. While his numbers took a dip from his draft year to his draft plus one season, Eklund has rebounded nicely this season in the AHL with an outstanding 41 points (17 goals) through 52 games – those being his first 52 in the American League.

After moving on from their best roster player in Timo Meier, and after clearing out smaller contracts like Nike Bonino and Vladislav Namestnikov, Eklund has gotten the call up. As of the time of writing this, he is listed on the first line alongside of Tomas Hertl and Fabian Zetterlund, while the names on this line don't get talked about in the same breath as the NHL elites. That can still be a solid trio in the NHL.

The fantasy summary that is listed on William Eklund's DobberProspects page reads as "A highly-skilled offensive player who has shown the ability to produce at a high-level in the SHL during his draft year. Older for the 2021 draft class but as talented as they come.". In a prospect system as average as the Sharks', a guy like Eklund is the standout that this team has been looking for within the last handful of drafts.

As the player makes shy of $1-million, if he can realistically produce at even a half a point per game through the early stages of this contract, he may be a rock solid player for a long time. When it comes to salary leagues, my motto is to find players that produce in areas at a high quality level for the cheapest possible contract. You want to maximize your cap space as effectively as possible, finding the players on cheap contracts who can chip-in on occasion is what can help vault you to contender status fairly fast.

#2) Jack Quinn – RW – Buffalo Sabres
Contract: $863K – 3 Years reamaining
Roster Percentages: Fantrax – 55%, ESPN – 3.6%

With seven points (four goals) in his last 10 games, and averaging more time on ice than his season during that stretch, it shows that the young forward is slowly finding his game. While eligible for the Calder Trophy (awarded to the league's best rookie during the regular season), he is tied for sixth in points with Wyatt Johnston (DAL) with 29 points (0.51 points per game) while playing in eight less games and averaging less ice time per contest. Out of the top 10 rookie scorers, Jack Quinn is currently receiving the least amount of ice time per game.

As a rookie, Quinn is averaging half a point a game on a Buffalo team that is having success at scoring this year (232 goals this year, third in the NHL), while being a secondary piece to the team's offense. In Quinn's draft year he was described as having a high-end goal scoring ability, while being a cerebral player with good hockey IQ. I think we're starting to see that description come to life before our eyes.

I know I've talked about Quinn before, but this is truly a young hockey player that I have become more and more privy too when it comes to his ability to perform. In his draft plus two season (2021-2022), Quinn put up 61 points (26 goals) through 45 contests in the AHL. Being a point per game in any league is impressive, especially when prior to that season you've only played 15 games in that league. People may say that the AHL isn't the NHL, and that is very much the case, but that is still a professional sports league and to see a young player come in and absolutely dominate it in the fashion that he did is something that we don't see regularly.

Similarly, to Eklund, this is the time to take full advantage of a young player like Quinn, you're getting points scored from a player who makes below $1-million, while you could pay $5-million for similar numbers, may as well spend less of your fantasy league's cap. Quinn is further along in his development than Eklund is, but both are uber skilled from what we've seen so far. In terms of the salary leagues that I'm a member of, we can extend player contracts once they're over. This could be seen as controlling your asset, with these young players its almost a no brainer to give them another contract once their existing one expires.

* Honorable mentions: Rasmus Sandin (WSH), Wyatt Johnston (DAL), Shane Pinto (OTT), Matias Maccelli (ARI), Owen Power (BUF), Kirill Marchenko (CBJ) * 

With that being said, there are a couple of the young players who could be valuable additions to your fantasy team's in the near and distant future. Being able to add players for cheap while having them perform is key to succeeding in salary cap leagues.

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