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. We now have a few regular season games of Connor Bedard‘s performance. Statistically, there isn’t much to discuss yet. He is taking a lot of shots, which is what was anticipated. More than that, though, is his ability to create basically every single shift. For 95% of the league, it is incredibly difficult to look dangerous every time a player steps on the ice; even some point-per-game guys have nights where they would have better served their team in the press box than on the ice.

In what I’ve seen, what stood out about Bedard was his ability to constantly create. Whether it was digging a puck out and flying the zone, creating a lane for himself on a disadvantageous zone entry, finding soft areas of the defense where he can pounce on a loose puck, or whatever else he needs to do to have that shift be a shaky one for the opposition, he’s a menace. A lot of the draft talk was about his shot – and it’s beyond impressive what he can do with a puck in a very small space – but his ability to shift in and out of lanes, or get the puck to a teammate in a good area, is surreal for a player that turned 18 years old over the summer.

It isn’t that he wasn’t expected to excel; all signs clearly point to him being a generational talent. But it’s something else to see a player be head-and-shoulders above everyone else at the age of 18 years and 3 months or whatever it is. Even Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid were in the age-19 seasons as rookies. The only thing that’ll hold Bedard back from fantasy stardom in the next year or two is the team around him. Other than that, he’s been as advertised, and then some. (oct12)

2. Because of Bedard, the Blackhawks have become must-watch TV whenever they are broadcasted nationally. Nothing against the Wild/Leafs or Flames/Penguins, which are both decent matchups in and of themselves. Yet here I am viewing two of the five worst teams from last season face each other, and I’m watching with interest and not just in the background while I’m typing. That’s how genuinely curious I am in watching Bedard, and it’s not just because he’s on two of my fantasy teams. Hopefully the powers-that-be at Sportsnet can alter their original plan because he’s already a ratings driver. 

Patrick Johnston / @risingaction : HNIC rightly hyping up Conor Bedard but bizarrely he's on Sportsnet's national broadcast just three more times this season: Monday vs the Leafs, then twice in January (vs Vancouver, vs Calgary). Go figure. (oct15)

3. If Bedard hasn’t learned that he can’t do it all himself, then he soon will. Teams already know to zero in on him – he’s not some top-secret prospect that opponents don’t have a book on. We know that when Bedard has to dish the puck, the league’s top finishers don’t play for Chicago. Although Bedard recorded an assist on Tyler Johnson‘s late third-period goal (his second of the game), the Hawks were on the wrong end of a 3-2 score Saturday night against the Habs. So like Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid in their early years with their teams, Bedard will find that wins in the NHL are an uphill battle for a rebuilding team. At least Bedard is meeting expectations with a single point in each of his three games.

Cole Caufield, who scored the first goal of that game for the Habs, has 48 goals over his last 83 games. That’s why projecting 50 goals for him this season isn’t that much of a reach. (oct15)

4. Players like Bedard and Caufield might be the future, but Auston Matthews is the present. Matthews has burst out of the gate with back-to-back hat tricks, including three goals against the Wild on Saturday. I’ll admit that I just defaulted to Connor McDavid in my DobberHockey Experts Panel Rocket Richard pick. However, I went with Matthews last season, but he “only” scored 40. Obviously a 46% shooting percentage isn’t sustainable, but he’s also only 44 goals away from 50. Is it fair to say that his ADP of 7.6 in Yahoo might have been a bit low?

William Nylander has also gotten off to a strong start. He scored a pair of goals and added an assist on Saturday. He has at least a goal and an assist in each of his two games. Thank goodness the center experiment didn’t come to pass, although I think he would have been fine anyway. (oct15)

5. While we're talking Hawks, Taylor Hall took a hard hit during last Wednesday night’s game in Boston and missed a few shifts. He tried to gut it out on a power play but left the game midway through the second period and did not return. The team has said that he’s week-to-week, which is rarely good news.

As incredible as Connor Bedard has looked, Chicago’s depth has looked predictably shaky. Hall is the team’s top forward after Bedard, and after Hall it’s… thin. We will have to wait and see how long the winger is out, bu t Andreas Athanasiou jumped to the top line and top PP unit in his absence. That could be a nice little waiver pickup for someone but the upcoming schedule for Chicago is not kind: three games next week against Toronto, Colorado and Vegas, and then a two-game week with games against Boston and Vegas again. Five games in two weeks against four playoff teams is not the ideal schedule but desperate times and all that. (oct13)

6. Logan Cooley made an impression during his NHL regular-season debut on Friday. Cooley recorded two power-play assists in 19 minutes of ice time in the Coyotes’ 4-3 shootout win in New Jersey. Cooley was in fact on the Coyotes’ first power play, so based on the ice time and power-play time, it appears that he will be used in a key role straight away and not given limited and sheltered minutes like a lot of rookies. Unless you’re in a shallow league with room for only top-tier centers, feel free to add Cooley as soon as possible. He should also be firmly in the second tier of Calder Trophy candidates behind only you know who.

Cooley’s first career assist was on a Sean Durzi goal. Durzi currently has the upper hand over Juuso Valimaki in the Coyotes power play battle. Durzi also logged 23:26 in this game, which is substantially higher than his average of between 19-20 minutes per game in LA last season. Arizona might not have seemed like an ideal destination for Durzi when he was traded there, but it could turn out very well for him because the Coyotes now appear to be more of a real NHL team than they have been in previous seasons. (oct14)

[Fantasy Take: Durzi Goes to the Desert]

7. Devon Toews agreed to a seven-year, $50.75 million contract extension on Friday. Toews was on the final year of his current deal with a cap hit of $4.1 million, so he won’t be nearly as efficient a player in cap leagues starting next season with his new cap hit of $7.25 million.

Since being traded to Colorado prior to the 2020-21 season, Toews has elevated his game with back-to-back 50-point seasons. Of the 20 defensemen to reach at least 50 points last season, none did so with as little power-play points (7 PPP), power-play time per game (2:02) or percentage of available power-play time (38.1 PP%) as Toews. (oct14)

8. Zach Werenski is expected to miss the next week or two with a quad contusion. Werenski left Thursday’s game against Philadelphia after being involved in a knee-on knee collision. David Jiricek was recalled from the AHL to fill Werenski spot. After Werenski left the game, former Flyer Ivan Provorov logged the bulk of the minutes on the power play among the Jackets’ blueline. Provorov was just 5% rostered in Yahoo leagues and 37% rostered in Fantrax leagues, so he’s a d-man to take a flier on while Werenski is out of the lineup. Jiricek might receive some power-play time as well. (oct14)

9. For some reason, I’ve seen multiple questions about Tanner Jeannot this week. With a number of players experiencing early-season surges or placed into unexpected roles, a player like Jeannot is often in the discussion as to whether he is worth keeping. In many formats, Jeannot is picked in the late rounds for his steep contributions in hits and penalty minutes, yet is easily replaceable when it comes to scoring. It’s only one game, but Jeannot hasn’t set the world on fire with zero points and two hits in 11:48 in ice time.

Whether to add or drop Jeannot depends on how much you need those bangers categories. If you play in a league where hits and/or penalty minutes are buckets that you need to fill in head-to-head or roto categories, then he should provide abundant quantities of both. However, if hits and/or penalty minutes are simply numbers to be added to the equation of total points (eg. X points for every goal, Y points for every assist, Z points for every hit, and so on), then it doesn’t matter as much whether you place emphasis on offense or on bangers categories – you don’t need a balanced formula of offense and peripherals to win each week. Then a player with substantially more offensive upside than Jeannot might be a better fit for your roster.

To compare Jeannot to other players, check October's Top 100 Roto Rankings. Feel free to leave feedback. (oct14)

10. Oliver Wahlstrom has been skating at practice as an extra. The hope is that he’s still trying to get up to speed as he returns from knee surgery. My spidey-sense is always tingling when it comes to certain teams, and the Islanders are one of them. Whether Wahlstrom is healthy enough to play may not be factoring into their decisions as they seem to like certain players in certain roles – if Wahlstrom can’t fit into whatever their plans are for him, then just getting into the lineup may be difficult. We will have to see where things stand a week or two from now, but my offseason hopes are being dashed. (oct13)

11. Good news for Connor McMichael. So far. It has taken some time for him to really find his stride in the organization and being slotted where he is shows what they think of him: A lot. If the Capitals don’t feel a player is clearly ahead of their veterans, they aren’t going to get much of a role. That McMichael seems to have played his way into the top-6 shows he has made the jumps the team wants to see. Earning enough ice time for a fantasy-relevant role is something else entirely, though. (oct13)

12. Roope Hintz was out for Dallas’s home opener against St. Louis. The team said that with a long layoff coming – they don’t play again until Tuesday – there was no need to push Hintz right now. For a guy that has endured injuries, even when he’s stayed in the lineup, starting the season in this manner is a bit disconcerting but hopefully he’s 100% come next week.

Tyler Seguin was on the top line with Jason Robertson and Joe Pavelski, and also joined the top power play unit. That move left Ty Dellandrea alongside Wyatt Johnston and Jamie Benn while Mason Marchment skated with Matt Duchene and Evgenii Dadonov on what looks to be a pretty good third line.

One big benefit of having guys like Benn, Seguin, and Duchene on the roster is they can play multiple forward positions, including center. It allows the team to endure injuries without having to change their lineup too much. That kind of flexibility is great for the team. The Stars have games against the Ducks and Flyers next week. Not a bad schedule for someone to grab Seguin on the wire in shallower formats. (oct13)

13. Viktor Arvidsson is on the long-term injured reserve and that means he’ll have to miss at least 10 games. It is a tough blow for a team that really can’t afford injuries to their forwards. Being able to roll three scoring lines is supposed to be the advantage they have over most of the West. Without it, they’re a much weaker team.

It will be interesting to see if this means anything for Arthur Kaliyev when he returns from suspension. There are not many players who can replace what Arvidsson does and Kaliyev may give them the best chance to do it. What the lineup will look when Kaliyev is back in the lineup will be very interesting for many fantasy owners. (oct13)

14. Watching the Rangers/Sabres game this past Thursday, it was Alexis Lafrenière that stood out more than anyone. It wasn’t just the goal he scored, either. His forechecking caused disruptions all night long for the Sabres blueline, and never made it easy on them when he was on the ice. Whatever issues that were plaguing him in the preseason look to be gone. If he can turn into a serious shift disturber night in and night out, he may be starting to hit his potential. A lot more than one game is necessary, but it certainly was a very good start to an important season for him. (oct13)

15. Over the last couple seasons, the Rangers' top line has been very good at controlling the play whenever Kappo Kakko‘s been there, they’ve just had trouble scoring goals – 6.6% shooting at 5-on-5 with him on the top line and 10.2% without. Being able to finish with consistency is something Kakko has been able to do when skating with Filip Chytil, for the most part. If he can bring that finish to the top line, with the way he helps them control the play, it could turn that trio from a good scoring line to a flat-out dominant top line. Time will tell if they can find that scoring chemistry, but he’s getting the opportunity to show it again. A lack of peripherals will keep his fantasy value muted, but the production could come around in very short order. (oct12)

16. At Sabres' practice last Wednesday: Casey Mittelstadt (upper body) was back and alongside rookie Zach Benson. I will admit that it’s a surprise to see the team go that direction after having him alongside Tage Thompson for so much of the preseason, but it may be an indication that Benson will not be staying past the 9-game mark. He was unlikely to, anyway, but this is pushing me in the direction of “he’ll be back in junior after Halloween” rather than “he’ll Seth Jarvis his way into 60-some games and be in the press box for the rest.” Whatever happens, it has been tremendously impressive to see him go from the 13^th overall pick to the roster of a potential playoff team in a matter of months.

Matthew Savoie was also on the ice for practice but was not skating on one of the lines. He might be a guy to take Benson’s spot down the road if Savoie needs some time to get up to speed (that’s just my guess). (oct12)

17. Buffalo is continuing to lock up their young defense corps as Mattias Samuelsson was extended one year ago today, Rasmus Dahlin got an eight-year extension a few days ago, and now Owen Power has been locked up for seven more years at $8.35M per season. He has managed 38 points in 87 games while showing great promise at both ends of the ice.

For fantasy owners, this is a tough sell in cap leagues. Power has a grand total of 123 blocks+hits in his 87 career games. That is with 23:39 in TOI each night so it’s not as matter of low ice time levels. Anyone in a multi-cat cap format will have a huge decision at the end of the season because not only does he need to pick up the peripherals, he is stuck behind Dahlin for top PP time for… a while. It seems tough to say he’ll be worth it in 2024-25 but a few more years of salary-cap growth might make his AAV more palatable down the road. (oct12)

18. Allow me to riff on Tom Collins’s territory a bit here and offer up my own top-10 list here today. (Speaking of whom, be sure to read Tom’s Top-10 articles. He has written a lot of goodness recently predicting first-time 70-point forwards, first-time 50-goal scorers, and so on.) With the NHL starting tonight, it’s time to let those reasonable takes fly, and that’s what we’re doing today. Here are 10 reasonable fantasy hockey takes for the 2023-24 season:

– Arizona is This Year’s Buffalo

In fantasy hockey, we want to be a year early rather than a year late. Fantasy drafters who took a chance on Buffalo’s offense being for real – or, rather, Tage Thompson being for real – were rewarded in 2022-23. On the flipside, those who thought Calgary’s offensive explosion from 2021-22 would carry over without Matthew Tkachuk were punished. Such is fantasy hockey. So, if we’re looking for a team to break out offensively like Buffalo did, where do we look? To the desert, of course.

The important part of Arizona’s season a year ago was the scoring depth development past Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz. It is guys like Barrett Hayton, Matias Maccelli, and Lawson Crouse that help the team’s middle-6 offense. Add rookie dynamo Logan Cooley to that mix, and both Sean Durzi and Jason Zucker, and this is a franchise rounding into form. After the All-Star break last season, Arizona finished the year 18^th in scoring at even strength. If the power play can ever come around, this team could make a big leap in 2023-24.

• Mathew Barzal Hits 90 Points

No offence to Anders Lee, but Bo Horvat is probably the most talented goal scorer that Barzal has had since John Tavares left. Instead of focusing on Barzal/Horvat not tearing down the house in the six regular season games they played together, the focus should be on Barzal skating over 21 minutes a night in those six games with Horvat next to him. Comparatively, Barzal was at 18:46 per game before Horvat arrived. If Barzal skates 20-21 minutes with Horvat beside him, this all-world playmaker could have a career year. 

• Brock Boeser Scores 40 Goals

Speaking of Horvat, his departure from Vancouver should assure Boeser stays on the top PP unit all year long regardless of Andrei Kuzmenko‘s performance. Over his final 20 games of 2022-23, Boeser was earning over 18 minutes a night, a marked improvement over the sub-17 minutes he was getting earlier in the season. He probably needs to shoot more, and just be more dangerous at even strength overall, but Boeser has the opportunity for a career season. It is up to him to make the most of it. (oct10)

[Follow the link for more…]

19. Brock Boeser entered the league with so much promise that it’s hard to believe that he’s never had a 30-goal season. Yet after his four-goal explosion on opening night, Boeser needs only 26 goals over the next 80 games to reach that mark. After dealing with the death of his father and a (since rescinded) trade request last season, Boeser seems to be more focused this season. Although he didn’t score another goal on Saturday, he was credited with an assist when his blast from the point was tipped in by Nils Hoglander. For what he’s been through, I really hope this is the season that Boeser reaches 30 goals. (oct15)

20. So, which transactions made the biggest impact on the last weekend before opening night? Well, let me ask myself: Which transactions had me spending the most time thinking hard, researching, and adjusting? And why? Voila – I have my topic for Monday's Ramblings. Here we go…

• Logan Stankoven, Dallas Stars – He was among the final cuts on Sunday.

What does this mean? Stankoven wasn’t expected to make the club. I had him at 20% in the Fantasy Guide, and the only reason I gave him that much was because he’s such an elite talent. He’s exactly the type to force his way onto the roster. Sure enough, he really dazzled in leading the Stars in preseason scoring with five points in six games. But Dallas already had their NHL roster filled, and it was already pre-determined. I feel like he needed 15 points in those six games in order to stick. He’ll be back, and I feel sorry for whichever forward gets injured and Stankoven comes up and fills in. Because Stankoven won’t be giving that job back.

• Shane Wright, Seattle Kraken – Among the final cuts.

What does this mean? Whether or not Tye Kartye made the team, I figured, was a matter of politics. Because that often seems to be the case. Wright is the crown jewel of the organization (other than Matty Beniers, that is). They wouldn’t dare send him down for a second year in a row, would they? Apparently so! Wright, who is still only 19, received a special exemption to play in the AHL over his OHL team (Windsor). This move means that Kartye makes the squad. This, despite the fact that Wright had two points to Kartye’s one in their four preseason games. So now the question is – can Kartye work his way into the regular lineup? Because with everyone healthy, the four lines look pretty set. He’ll play if they roll 13 forwards. Kartye is the type of player who could eventually work his way up the lineup through sheer determination.

• Brandt Clarke, Los Angeles Kings – Among the final cuts.

What does this mean? Last year I heard it from all sides how wrong I was to say that Clarke wouldn’t make the team. This year, I felt he was much closer and make the decision a lot tougher. However, Jordan Spence is very deserving a roster spot and he’s a year older. Nonetheless, I wavered on this one and basically had, in the end, both of them playing for half a season, likely with a few up-and-down recalls. That could still be the case, but to me this is a nod to Spence. I bumped him up to playing a full campaign. I still give Clarke a shade under a half-season, as injuries do happen and I’m sure we’ll see him relatively soon. (oct9)

[Follow the link for more…]

21. I read one fantasy writer (can’t remember who, but wouldn’t say who even if I remembered) who was ready to write off Evgeni Malkin this season. Even though Malkin is now 37, he may not be ready for that age-related decline just yet. Malkin recorded a goal and an assist on Saturday, giving him six points over his last two games (on back-to-back nights, no less). I’m also encouraged by Malkin because he has also averaged five shots over his three games. I wonder if the Erik Karlsson acquisition will bring new life into the Penguins as they try to make one more final push – or several more, considering how long their core has been together. Staying off the injured list will be key for all. (oct15)

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