Welcome back in everyone! This week is all about up-and-coming value, and maybe getting on the ground floor of some potential breakout players this season, or maybe just players that are going to take that next big step as the season rolls along.

Connor McMichael – C/LW – Washington – 23 years old

Contract: $4.20M – $2.1M AAV – One year remaining

Stock all the way up! This has been a player that I've been excited about for a couple seasons not, but to be able to also roster him in fantasy is enjoyable. The knock on Connor McMichael was that game really lack defense, and even if that's the case, this is fantasy hockey and my league doesn't track +/-, so let's lock and load.  

Last season, Alex Ovechkin had a quote going into a game against Edmonton (and I'm paraphrasing here), that although the Capitals didn't have a Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, etc, he said that the Caps have McMichael and Aliaksei Protas. I thought the quote was cool, support your guys and all that, but I think there might be more here with these two, McMichael in particular. This could potentially be a breakout with him, his line along with Tom Wilson and Pierre Luc-Dubois has been surprisingly effective and on a player basis right now he has 33 shots on goal, second on the team only to Ovechkin, to go along with his 12 points in 11 games.

For those in cap leagues, he's affordable at his current AAV, could be an addition that you keep around for a while, and it helps that he is C and LW eligible. His roster numbers on ESPN have gone up 35% this week, and I'm sure that's a close number to what's going on over at Yahoo.
 

Pavel Dorofeyev – RW – Vegas – 24 years old

Contract: $3.67M – $1.8M AAV – Two years remaining

Ever just like the way someone plays and want to roster them just because of that? Don't put it past me here, I watched his shifts closely a week ago (had a Vegas stack in DFS) and was impressed. Pavel Dorofeyev was a player that coming in I really didn't have on my radar much for in fantasy. For Vegas, outside of the top dogs, I was more interested in Alexander Holtz and what Tomas Hertl would look like on this team for a full 82 games.

For fantasy, this is a player that I would target in larger leagues, and in DFS the Vegas second line has had high roster numbers since around 2019 so you'll be amongst friends if you decide to roster him on a given night. Dorofeyev has five goals and three assists in his last six games and while I'm not sure if this falls under a "breakout", I think maybe surprise contributor might be more in line here.


Matthew Knies – LW – Toronto – 22 years old

Contract: $2.78 (ELC) – $925K AAV – Pending RFA

I thought after his draft year that maybe I was just hyping Matthew Knies up more than others because it's Toronto and that's one of the most popular teams we have. I would read about his play but seeing it for the first time I think that there's something special here, and good news for us, he's also going to be perfect for fantasy and DFS. His roster numbers are down, he plays elite players, and he is currently on a low AAV contract. I mean, that's a hat trick in and of itself.

I thought coming into the season that Knies point potential didn't really hinge on his even strength time so long as he stayed in the Toronto top six, but everything to do with his power play time. I envisioned the 49- to 52-point range, but without the power play exposure, breaking 60 will be difficult to do. The nice thing about his game, outside of who he is on a line with, is that he also has 34 hits to go along with the shooting ability. Anytime I can get a player that can provide that in fantasy where goals are seemingly random, I take it.

*Salary Cap data from PuckPedia.com  

For continued fantasy news and notes, follow me on Twitter @ndySanz.