Every Sunday, we’ll 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, Cam Robinson, and Dobber

1. Keep in mind that neither Kirill Kaprizov nor Alexis Lafreniere should be the first rookie drafted in single-season leagues. Even though Igor Shesterkin already made his debut in 2020, he played only 12 regular-season games and is thus still considered a rookie.

Shesterkin went early in the fourth round in my mock draft last weekend with an ADP of around 40. He’s expected to be the Rangers’ starting goalie, so he will likely have a much greater impact on fantasy teams than Kaprizov or Lafreniere. (dec26)

2. Kirby Dach‘s injury is unfortunate both to Team Canada and the Chicago Blackhawks. To anyone saying that he shouldn’t have been playing in the World Junior Tournament, young players need to play, and there haven’t been a lot of opportunities for them to do so in 2020. Yes, there’s an NHL season ahead for Dach, but a player could get injured playing in junior hockey, the World Juniors, or the NHL. You can’t bubble wrap these guys when what they really need is experience.

As for Dach’s fantasy value in NHL leagues, keeper owners should be thinking longer-term than the upcoming season anyway. Dach’s ADP in Yahoo leagues is about 160, so your chances of finding an adequate replacement on the waiver wire are very good, even if you had him pegged as a potential sleeper. (dec26)

3. More under-the-radar than Dach’s injury, the Blackhawks are also expected to lose Alex Nylander for four-to-six months after undergoing knee surgery. In terms of who could step up with the losses of Dach and Nylander, you may recall that the Hawks acquired Brandon Pirri from Vegas back in late September. Pirri has to score in order to stay in an NHL lineup, but this could be exactly what he needs. Pius Suter, who led the Swiss League in scoring last season, might also receive a longer look at training camp. (dec26)

4. The Nikita Kucherov injury news (hip surgery, out entire regular season) is a huge blow to his keeper league owners as well as single-season leagues that have already drafted. Speaking of which, this injury is an example of why it’s best to wait until much closer to the start of the season to hold your draft. Typically, the weekend before works best for me, as a lot of unexpected injuries can take place between now and opening night.

The injury has numerous implications for the Stanley Cup champions. For starters, moving Kucherov to LTIR enabled them to finally re-sign Anthony Cirelli, who could be in line for a more offensive role. It also doesn’t force them to move Tyler Johnson, even if the Lightning are still trying to shop him or leave him exposed in the Seattle expansion draft. As well, right wing prospects Alexander Volkov and Alex Barre-Boulet now have a better chance of making the Lightning out of camp, although you’ll still want to temper your expectations of them making an immediate impact. (dec26)

5. It is time for Filip Zadina to really show what he’s made of. He turned 21 years old last month and now has two pro seasons under his belt in North America. He had 25 goals across 80 games in the AHL, which portends good things for him at the next level. My concern is that there may not be a playmaking center for him this season so expectations should be muted, but I would love to see Zadina show what made him so coveted back in 2018. (dec25)

6. I am not sure he gets enough power-play time to get to true “breakout” status, but Ilya Mikheyev played to a 50-point, 200-shot pace in his limited action last year. What can he do given a full year in the top-6 and in a Canadian Division that features a few very weak defensive teams? I hope we get the chance to find out this year. My wish for the Leafs is that Mikheyev is healthy and stays near the top of the lineup all year. (dec25)

7. We don’t often see rookies get to the top line in their freshman season but we saw Brady Tkachuk do that a couple years ago and I’m hopeful we see Tim Stuetzle do it as well. The team is utterly bereft of good centers so unless one of their other prospects hits, the center position is wide open. I find it hard to believe someone like Chris Tierney or Artem Anisimov ends up as the 1C. Burning a year of ELC on Stuetzle is bad business for Ottawa but great for me so let’s pull for that. (dec25)

8. The Habs should look a bit different this year with both Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Nick Suzuki in the lineup all year, and the additions of Josh Anderson and Tyler Toffoli adding some scoring. My wish is that Jonathan Drouin finds the magic that made him a very coveted player a few years ago. He will have good linemates and will be on one of the power-play units. He should be cheap in drafts, and with better linemates, could be a value this year. (dec25)

9. Last year, we saw Shea Theodore finally break out into the hockey consciousness, and that was wonderful to see. This year, we’re pulling for Cody Glass. There have been a lot of positive quotes thrown his way this offseason from Mark Stone and Max Pacioretty, which bodes well for his potential fantasy value this year. I am on the record as saying I think he ends up the 2C in Vegas this year, which would be great for his fantasy value. I also think he gets a shot on their top PP unit, which is an even bigger bonus. I think he’s a steal in fantasy drafts right now, let’s hope he proves us right. (dec24)

10. It is time to get Timo Meier back on track. One could even say it is, in fact, Timo Time. Anyway, he had a 21-goal campaign in a reduced role a couple years ago, followed that up with a 30-goal season. Even in a down year in 2019-20, he was on pace for 25 goals, and remember there were chunks of time that team was missing both Logan Couture and Tomas Hertl. In a bad year where the team was poor and he was missing his centers for large chunks, Meier still managed an 82-game pace for a 25-goal, 57-point, 233-shot season. Oh, he also hits a ton. Even a marginal rebound here sees a big fantasy season, but he is much more valuable in banger leagues. (dec24)

11. I want to see a rebound from Rickard Rakell here. The chatter around the Ducks surrounds the prospects currently on the roster or those on the way, and that is the future of the team. However, Rakell had back-to-back 30-goal seasons before falling off to 20 goals/82 games over the last two years. His fortune is probably tied to Ryan Getzlaf finding the fountain of youth but Rakell should still be heavily featured and anyone playing 18 minutes a night pushing three shots per game is worth a gander in fantasy. (dec24)

12. I’m hoping for a big season from Jason Zucker. He had eight goals in 19 games for the Penguins spanning both the regular season and the playoffs, or well over a 30-goal pace. Now, shooting over 16 percent helps, but he averaged over 17 minutes a night with the Penguins (the first time in any season he’s done that) and will be locked into the top-6. I think he gets a crack on the top PP unit before Kapanen and Rust so he could be in line for a big year. (dec24)

13. I am at the point where I need Nico Hischier to really become A Thing, if only to save my personal credibility. Really though, I have been really high on him since his draft and thought he would be pushing for 70-point seasons by now. That won’t happen this year but he is in his fourth season and will be 22 years old for the campaign. I really would like for him to start making good on the promise he’s shown over the last five years or so. (dec24)

14. Can we get a full season from a healthy Ondrej Kase, please? This guy has been on the cusp of a breakout for a couple years but injuries have kept him to just 85 regular season games over the last couple seasons. With David Pastrnak likely out for at least a month, there could be some prime scoring minutes coming Kase’s way. As always, he needs to stay healthy to get those minutes so please, pretty please, a healthy season, yeah? (dec24)

15. After some arm wrenching, I’ve been working on my annual player point projections. It’s always a fun exercise in futility that I’ve been fortunate enough to find some good fortune and end up fairly close at the end of the day.

When considering the top finishers in this truncated ’21 season, I have Auston Matthews taking home his first Rocket. The top even-strength scorer of this generation is ready to explode. But if you’re looking for finishers who are ready to hit another high note, take a long look at Jake Guentzel and Kyle Connor.

I see the 26-year-old Guentzel in his absolute prime. He’s had plenty of time off to fully recover from the injury that cut his 2019-20 short while on pace for 42 goals and 90 points. This could be one of the final big seasons from both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. I like him to pop and challenge for a 50-goal pace. (dec23)

16. As for Connor, he’s not even at his pinnacle yet. But he’s ready to take it up a notch. Bam! 

The Jets winger scored at a 44-goal pace last season as a 23-year-old. His year-to-year numbers are an exception, not the rule. He’s witnessed his goal, point, shot and deployment totals increase in each of his four NHL seasons. All the while maintaining a ridiculous 15-16 percent conversion rate.

He’s done this while not banking a bushel of power-play points either. With him and Patrik Laine looking ready to amp it up a bit, and the return of the pure passing, Paul Statsny things could be in the works for a team uptick in PP effectiveness. (dec23)

17. The news came down on Monday that Oscar Klefbom would miss the entire 2021 campaign. This is, obviously, a massive hit to a blueline that could ill afford to take such a punch. If there was ever any question regarding Tyson Barrie‘s offensive role on the club, the answer is clear now. However, I present to you one other potential outcome: Evan Bouchard.

Seriously, people, Bouchard is the guy I would want working the puck around on that Oilers top power play. He oozes offensive instincts. He owns the type of howitzer that would make Al Iafrate nod knowingly. His 36 points in 54 AHL games as a rookie last season speak to those skills. This year, he’s been hanging out in the Swedish second division and doing his thing with six goals and 17 points in 23 games. That sits third for defenders with a couple of vets ahead of him.

I’ve heard the whispers that the Oilers prefer Philip Broberg to Bouchard long term. Broberg is fast. Bouchard is not. Neither are tremendous defenders but I’d give the edge to the former London Knights captain. When it comes to intelligence and offensive creation, it’s a no brainer to Bouchard as well. With the expanded rosters, coupled with the Klefbom news, I think we see Bouchard get his chance this season. He’s coming in with a half-season of play under his belt. He’ll be hot and ready like a Little Caesars pizza at camp. (dec23)

18. I mused recently that Buffalo kind of has some bad luck. They added Eric Staal and Taylor Hall in the offseason, and that gives them a legitimate second scoring line for the first time in several years. Unfortunately, they’re now in a division with Boston, the Islanders, the Rangers, Philly, Pittsburgh, and Washington. Five of those teams were legitimate playoff teams last year and a sixth – the Rangers – are one of the up-and-coming teams in the league. With only four teams making it out of each division, the Sabres seriously have their work cut out. (dec22)

19. Alex Ovechkin is a player who in 2019-20 was tied for first in goals (48), second in shots (311), and more hits (184) than anyone that finished within the top 100 in scoring. That’s dominance in three of your six roto categories. Yes, the assists were light (19), but you can make that up elsewhere.

There is the age thing, as Father Time is undefeated. Yet, Ovie is cut from a different cloth. We’ve witnessed an extended aging curve with greats like Gordie Howe and Jaromir Jagr and Tom Brady (I know, wrong sport).

It’s even possible that we’re still talking about Ovechkin as a fantasy impact player five years from now, even though it might be a toned-down version. There’s a risk in drafting a 35-year-old player early, but hey, it’s a shortened season. (dec20)

20. In dynasty leagues, my interest in Vitek Vanecek just spiked tremendously. I think he’s a good goalie and a solid prospect and on any other team I might have even christened him a Golden Boy. But in Washington, home of Ilya Samsonov, I had written him off.

Vanecek has to clear waivers to be sent down, so he would have been the third goalie. But now with the Henrik Lundqvist news (out for the season), Vanecek is the backup! And given that Samsonov has never played 38 games in a season before, I think Vanecek gets some starts. What if he does better than Samsonov? Odds of that are low, but they are certainly possible. Prospect goalies are tough to project as it is, and the odds of Prospect Goalie X becoming an NHL success are pretty slim. The odds of circumstances making Vanecek a better fantasy own than Samsonov can’t be slimmer than that, can they?

Anyway, in my deep dynasty I didn’t even have him on my list. Now he’s on there as a late pick. I won’t mind sitting on him for two seasons to see what happens. If he performs well, perhaps he moves to another team. Seattle? (dec21)

21. NHL Schedule of Events in 2021:

Jan 03 – Training Camps Open
Jan. 13 – 2020-21 NHL Season begins (official)
Apr. 12 – NHL Trade Deadline
May 08 – Regular Season ends
July 15 – Latest date of Cup game
July 17 – Submit expansion protected lists
July 21 – Expansion Draft (Kraken)
July 28 – UFA opens/Free Agent Frenzy

So everything is wrapped up in mid-July. The trade deadline happens with 26 days left in the season, which shaves about a week off. The seven non-playoff teams from last season can open training camps on December 31.

Players need to opt out one week before their respective training camp opens, if they plan to opt out for this season. I don’t anticipate many, if any, players to opt out. (dec21)

Have a good week, folks – be safe!!

Thanks for continuing to support the website and if you’re bored and need a fantasy hockey fix – visit the gang in the forum here.