Top 10 players who can rebound from sophomore slumps

Not every young player is going to improve every season, much to the chagrin of fantasy general managers. No matter how great a class of rookies may be, a number of them will go through the dreaded sophomore slump. Many of them get back to a high level of play, while for others, the rookie season was their career peak.

Below are 10 players who just went through their sophomore slumps. Remember that many of them will be going into their third season next year, so maybe you can acquire them cheap if you believe they will have a big break out season in the next couple of years. It is interesting to note that three players on this list play for Arizona. If all three can rebound, that bodes very well for the future of that franchise.

10. Mattias Janmark

Janmark was a tough call for this list since he didn’t technically have a sophomore season as he missed all this year after suffering a knee injury in training camp. So he may be off the radar for some fantasy general managers. He had an okay rookie year with the Stars in 2015-16 with 15 goals and 29 points and could improve next year, especially if Jiri Hudler, Alex Hemsky and Patrick Sharp are not re-signed. That will leave quite a bit of ice time to be filled.

9. Oscar Lindberg

The Rangers had a bit of a strange season when it came to fantasy hockey. They were the fourth-highest scoring team in the regular season at 3.09 goals per game but no player hit 30 goals and no player hit 60 points. It was truly scoring by committee. You would have hoped that Lindberg could have got in on the scoring, but instead he had a setback from his rookie campaign. He finished with just 20 points, and saw his plus/minus, PIM, shots, hits and power play points all decline. He’s going to continue to struggle for ice time because of the Rangers depth and won’t be fantasy relevant for quite a while, if ever.

8. Joonas Donskoi

Usually when a more marginal fantasy asset has a setback season, you expect there to be a decrease in ice time. But Donskoi’s ice time was not affected and he was still on the second power play unit. He went from 11 goals and 36 points as a rookie to six goals and 17 points as a sophomore. Depending on what happens this offseason, I really like Donskoi’s chances of rebounding next season. There’s a chance Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau aren’t back next season and that opens up two spots in the top six.

7. Louis Domingue

After an adequate 2015-16 rookie campaign that saw him post a 15-18-5 record with two shutouts, a 2.75 GAA and a .912 SV %, Domingue took a big step back this year. He finished with an 11-15-1 record with zero shutouts, a 3.08 GAA and .908 SV %. This is the second year in a row where Domingue had the chance to win the number one job with the Coyotes and he’s failed both times.

6. Connor Hellebuyck

Don’t let his win total fool you: Hellebuyck had a sophomore slump. Sure, he doubled his win total from 13 to 26. But the rest of his numbers suffered greatly. He dropped from a 2.34 GAA to a 2.89 GAA and from a .918 SV % to a .907 SV %. He was unsteady enough that the Jets were forced to play Ondrej Pavelec for eight of nine games in January/February and now there’s speculation the Jets may bring in a goalie to push for the starter’s gig next year.

5. Anthony Duclair

What a horrific season for Duclair as absolutely nothing went right for the 21-year-old. After a rookie season where he posted 20 goals and 44 points, Duclair hit rock bottom at five goals and 15 points. And a demotion to the AHL for a good chunk of the season. He lost power play time and overall time on ice. He’s going to be a boom or bust player next year.

4. Max Domi

Domi is probably the most talented player on this list, but he’s ranked lower because his sophomore slump wasn’t as bad as many may believe. He missed 23 games with a hand injury and that skews the data somewhat. His points per-game pace is just as good as his rookie season but he was down in a per-game pace for goals, PIM, shots and power play points. His ice time will slowly go up and the future of the Coyotes will revolve around Domi.

3. Sam Bennett

Bennett’s sophomore slump wasn’t as pronounced as some other players on this list. But it is worth nothing that he had a decrease in goals, assists, plus-minus, shots and power play points. He did double his PIM and increased his hit total, so at least he still had some value in some fantasy leagues. Bennett needs to see more power play time before he lives up to fantasy expectations.

2. Dylan Larkin

This past season was a setback for almost every Red Wing. But poolies had to be extra disappointed in Larkin as he contributed less than his rookie season in almost every single category. And worst of all he went from a plus-11 to a minus-28. That’s a huge decline in that category. Just remember Larkin is only 20 years old and will be a main component in Detroit’s rebuild. 

1. Shayne Gostisbehere

The restricted free agent is going to be in a harder position to bounce back than many others simply because of teammate Ivan Provorov. Which defenseman will be the top guy in Philly for the long-term and who gets the power play time? Philadelphia uses four forwards and one dman on their power play unit. This offseason could go a long way to determining the answer to the question. A show-me bridge deal for Gostisbehere opens the door even more for Provorov to sneak into the top role. A long-term big-money deal pushes the needle even more in Ghost’s direction.