This week, I will look at some players in the Western Conference who don't necessarily stand out as players who hit or block shots, but are quietly above average in one or both of those categories. Some of these skaters might have started slowly and come on lately or vice versa.

If you were already aware of these players’ success in the areas of hits or blocks, then you're probably doing well enough in your pool.

Anaheim Ducks

Frank Vatrano has had an excellent start to the season with 14 goals, nine assists, 100 shots on goal, 47 hits and 30 blocks in his first 27 games. This is from a 29-year-old in his ninth season, who has career highs of 24 goals, 41 points, 139 hits and 75 blocks. He has a chance to set highs in all of those categories.

Pavel Mintyukov is a 20-year-old rookie who had never played a professional game of hockey before this season. In 27 games, he has 12 points, 38 hits and 28 blocks. He has a chance to put up 35-40 points, 110-120 hits and 80-85 blocks. For a young offensive defender, he has another element to his game that not many others do.

Jackson LaCombe, like Mintyukov, had never played a professional game of hockey before this year. He left the University of Minnesota at the end of 2022-2023 at the age of 22. He has played 26 games for the Ducks, posting just three assists. He has been a little inconsistent but has also put up 21 hits and 36 blocks while averaging 19:46 per night. The offense could be there, whether there will be an opportunity for that in Anaheim or not, but he has shown he is capable of one day reaching 100 hits and blocks as well.

Arizona Coyotes

Sean Durzi has a career-high of 74 hits and 142 blocks to accompany an enticing offensive side to his game. He has slowed down this season with just one point in his past nine games after posting 12 points in his first 16. He still has 13 points in 25 games and is on pace for 43 points and 150 blocks. He has seen his number of hits reduced and is only on pace for 25-35 in 2023-2024.

J.J. Moser averaged just over 15 minutes per game in his first six contests of 2023-2024, where he went pointless, with six hits and six blocks. In 20 games since, he's had 12 points, 18 hits and 40 blocks, averaging over 20 minutes per game. He's on pace for 38 points, 75-85 hits and 125-135 blocks.

Calgary Flames

Martin Pospisil started with a bang in Calgary as a 24-year-old rookie. He had five points, 21 shots on goal and 22 hits after his first seven NHL games. Since then, he's played eight games and gone pointless, with 13 shots on goal and 15 hits. He's also been a healthy scratch twice in the past three games for the Flames.

A.J. Greer is a 26-year-old who played 61 games with Boston in 2022-2023 and had five goals, seven assists and 101 hits. In 26 games with the Flames, he's chipped in four goals, four assists and 42 hits, which puts him on pace for 10-15 goals and assists and 120-130 hits.

Chicago Blackhawks

Jason Dickinson has matched his career-high of nine goals after just 27 games in 2023-2024. He is on pace for 20-25 goals and 40-45 points while adding 115-125 hits, 75-85 blocks and perhaps more than 500 faceoff wins. He has had good starts before but has never had more than 30 points in a year.

Colorado Avalanche

Nathan MacKinnon has seen a small uptick in blocks so far this season as he has 27 in 27 games –on pace to break his previous career-high of 53 from 2015-2016. I'm not sure I like that MacKinnon is getting in front of shots considering his injury history, but it's a fantasy bonus for a player who is still on pace for 110-115 points.

Joel Kiviranta had four points in his first three games as a member of the Avalanche. In his 11 games since he has cooled down with just one goal, but he has had 17 hits and 11 blocks. He has a career-high of 11 points but has had campaigns of 97 and 117 hits while with Dallas.

Dallas Stars

Joe Pavelski has played 1,229 career games in the NHL, posting 445 goals, 551 assists, 1,294 hits and 1,057 blocks. He isn’t slowing down at 39 years of age as he has 25 points in 26 games to go along with 24 hits and 22 blocks. His career high is 147 hits and 84 blocks. Not bad for a 7th-round pick in 2003.

Thomas Harley is 6-4 and 206 lbs, but he's not a physical player by any means. In his rookie year in 2021-2022, he played 34 games and had 30 hits and 30 blocks. In 2022-2023, he played just six games for the Stars before seeing steady ice time in the playoffs. This season, he has played 23 games and has six goals, four assists, 11 hits and 44 blocks. He could break 100 hits and put up 30-35 points.

Edmonton Oilers

Connor McDavid has 23 points in his past nine games. It appears that whatever was ailing him earlier in the year has been fixed. Injured or not, he has been hitting a little more in 2023-2024 and has 36 hits and 15 blocks after 23 games. His career-high for hits and blocks is 89 and 44. We've seen other superstars like Auston Matthews, Nathan MacKinnon and Elias Pettersson increase these totals over the past few years to try to improve overall as players and it seems McDavid is no different.

Los Angeles Kings

Carl Grundstrom is in his sixth NHL season (all with the Kings) and has never played more than 57 games or had more than 12 goals/19 points. Having said that, he's had more than 100 hits three times already, with a high of 144 last year. In 25 games so far, he has seven goals, two assists and 52 hits. He's on pace for 15-20 goals and 145-155 hits.

Andreas Englund is a sixth or seventh defender and is in his first year with the Kings. He's 27 years old and has been up and down between the NHL and AHL for seven years. His career-high is 47 games, 133 hits and 33 blocks. After 25 games with the Kings, he has a career-high seven points and already has 57 hits and 27 blocks, all while averaging just 12:41 per game.

Minnesota Wild

Joel Eriksson Ek has put up very similar stat lines in hits and blocks over his eight seasons, averaging 137 hits and 55 blocks, but he has elevated his offensive production each year without taking away those stats. In 2023-2024, he is on pace for 30-35 goals, 60-65 points, 135 hits, 65-75 blocks and 650-750 faceoff wins.

Brock Faber is getting noticed as a rookie with 12 points and 44 blocks in 26 games. He's on pace for 35-40 points, 35-45 hits and 120-130 blocks. Don't be surprised if he is in discussions for the Calder by the end of this season.

Nashville Predators

Roman Josi is 33 years old now and would be excused a little for blocking fewer shots, but he still has 50 blocks after 28 games, to go along with 22 points and 18 hits. While Josi doesn’t kill penalties as often as he did before, he should still get to 60-65 points and 135-145 blocks.

Kiefer Sherwood has a career-high of 50 games, seven goals, six assists and 103 hits. He has played all 28 games to start 2023-2024 and has five goals, six assists and 82 hits. He's well on his way to becoming a full-time NHLer if he continues to do what got him there. 

Cole Smith could have been on the radar of a few people last year with 198 hits in 69 games while putting up just four goals and 13 assists. In 27 games, he has improved his production a little with 10 points and 71 hits. He's on pace for 30 points and 200 hits.

San Jose Sharks

Fabian Zetterlund is a 220 lb tank. In 28 games this year, he has eight goals, four assists, 28 hits and 28 blocks. That puts him on pace for 20-25 goals, 30-40 points, 80 hits and 80 blocks. He's averaged 2.4 shots per game and currently holds a 12.2% shooting percentage.

Nikita Okhotiuk has played 18 games in 2023-2024 as a 23-year-old rookie. He has six assists, 37 hits and 33 blocks, while averaging 18:06 per game. Like most young defenders, he's been a little inconsistent, but he could be someone to keep an eye on in deeper pools.

Ty Emberson was claimed on waivers from the NY Rangers in early October and has played 16 games with the Sharks in 2023-2024. He has four points, 34 hits and 20 blocks while averaging 17:51 per game. He's out with a lower-body injury right now but could have earned himself a regular role here for the balance of the season.

Kyle Burroughs is a 28-year-old who has never played more than the 48 games he played with Vancouver in 2022-2023. It seems like he has found a regular role with the Sharks this year. In 27 games, he has four assists, 57 hits and 55 blocks, while averaging 18:58 per game.

Seattle Kraken

Eeli Tolvanen was acquired on waivers by the Kraken from Nashville last season and has been a welcome addition ever since. He set a career-high with 18 goals and 31 points in 61 games in 2022-2023, while adding 91 hits and 51 blocks. He's carried that into this season, posting 18 points in 29 games, alongside 61 hits and 36 blocks. He's on pace for the very rare 100 hits and 100 blocks from a forward.

Yanni Gourde has played 83 career playoff games in the NHL and has 20 goals, 22 assists, 154 hits and two Stanley Cups. He tends to tone it down in the regular season as he has reached 100 hits just once, in 2022-2023 (118). In 29 games this year, he has just four goals, seven assists and 38 hits. While his offense has struggled, he is on pace for his second 100-hit season.

Tye Kartye got my attention in the playoffs last year when he put up five points and 44 hits in 10 games. He has carried that formula forward into this regular season, where he has nine points and 54 hits in 28 games. He's on pace for 25-30 points and 130-140 hits.

St. Louis Blues

Jake Neighbours has had an unbelievable start to the year with 10 goals in 27 games on 48 SOG, to go along with 39 hits as a 21-year-old. He could still see 20-25 goals and over 100 hits this season. I think a few people, including myself, might have limited his offensive production based on last season. However, he's showing potential for a higher offensive ceiling this year.

Oskar Sundqvist is back with the Blues after spending some time with Detroit and Minnesota over the prior two seasons. He's never going to produce more than 10-15 goals and 25-30 points, but he is capable of 100 hits, 60 blocks and 250 faceoff wins. In 27 games, he has 12 points, 28 hits, 23 blocks and 105 faceoff wins.

Vancouver Canucks

Elias Pettersson had 102 points in 2022-2023, along with 74 hits, 89 blocks and 442 faceoff wins. In his first 28 games this year he has 37 points, 37 hits, 24 blocks and 162 faceoff wins. He's sneaky physical as the opposition isn't expecting it most of the time.

Sam Lafferty had 27 points, 125 hits and 248 faceoff wins over 70 games last year, split between Chicago and Toronto. While his recent success can be partially attributed to playing on a line with Elias Pettersson, he has still produced well as a Canuck so far. In 28 games, he has eight goals, seven assists, 43 hits and 66 faceoff wins. He's on pace for 20-25 goals, 40-45 points, 110-120 hits and 175-200 faceoff wins.

Noah Juulsen appears to have won his spot over Marc Friedman for the time being. He has now played 17 games this year, with one point, 43 hits and 23 blocks. I'm not convinced that Juulsen is a full-time NHL defender, but he certainly puts up the hits and blocks when given the opportunity.

Vegas Golden Knights

Paul Cotter had 168 hits in 55 games last season and has 93 in 29 games so far this year. He does have some offensive capabilities as well with 13 goals and 18 points last year and 10 points so far in 2023-2024.

Winnipeg Jets

Dylan DeMelo is the type of player who always surprises me. Somehow, he has become a top-four defender in the NHL who averages over 20 minutes per game, but he's never stood out in junior or the AHL. At 30 years of age seems to be hitting his stride in the NHL, having played close to 500 games. This year, he has 10 points in 26 games, with 46 hits and 41 blocks. He's hit the 100 club three times prior.

Thanks for reading and if you have any questions or players you'd like me to look at please message or follow me on Twitter @gampbler15.