I was writing about the Carolina Hurricanes and their offseason movement and one player we haven't really talked much about is Andrei Svechnikov. It wasn't that long ago that I thought he was on the verge of genuine superstardom. He hasn't reached that peak yet, and in fact took a step back pretty much across the board in 2021. So, what is he?

We need to keep his age in mind here. He is still just 21 years old and is only about to enter his prime. When we look at what he's done, he's in rarified air: since the 1994 lockout, there have been six players with 50 goals, 80 assists, and 500 shots in their age 18-20 seasons. Those six players are Marian Gaborik, Ilya Kovalchuk, Sidney Crosby, Steven Stamkos, Nathan MacKinnon, and Andrei Svechnikov. What is curious is that he was clearly the least used on the power play among all those guys. In those seasons, he has 10 PP goals, while no one else on that list had fewer than 18, and four out of the other five had at least 21 (Stamkos had 50!). If he performs on the power play like the rest on this list, he might not be far off from what Gaborik did to start his career, and that's exceptional.

His usage is what is concerning. He got up to 17:32 a game last year, but that's still not a lot. When we look at the elite producers in the league on the wing – Kane, Guentzel, Panarin, Rantanen, Marchand – they're all over 19 minutes a night, some over 20. Svech doesn't have to play 20-21 minutes a night to be extremely valuable, but if he can get to 19 a night, we are talking a 70-point winger at least. In conjunction with his ability to put up nearly three shots and two hits per game as it is, well, the upside is clear. In a multi-cat league, a winger with 30 goals, 40 assists, 240 shots, 150 hits, and 20 PPPs is a top-25 player. Those are all reasonable targets for him, assuming he gets the ice time he deserves.

If he doesn't, well, there may not be a huge increase coming. He will rebound from last season, but it's a matter of whether that rebound is going from 20 goals/82 games to 25 goals/82 games, or all the way up to 35 goals/82 games.

Svech's issue last year was at 5-on-5. He shot 7.1 percent, a career-low, and had a 58.3 percent IPP, also a career-low. He also saw a career-low in shots/60 minutes despite having a shot-attempt rate much in line with his career. It seemed he genuinely just missed the net more, and I have to think that's randomness in a weird, shortened season more than anything else.

To back me up here, this is Svech's shot chart at even strength in 2019-20, his best season of his three (from HockeyViz):

And, for comparison, here is what he did in 2021:

Both times shooting from the low-to-mid slot, one season resulted in 10.9 percent shooting, the other in 7.1 percent shooting. The fact that his expected goals stayed right in line with previous seasons, as did his shot rate, but his goal rate cratered indicates a rebound here. Just a modest rebound probably adds 6-7 goals to his total last year, and that brings him across the 30-goal mark in an 82-game season. It is why I say that Svechnikov should be a 30-goal threat this year; all his metrics line up to tell us this.

According to Corey Sznajder's data, Svech was third among Carolina forwards in primary shot assists per 60 minutes, and that's on top of all the shooting data we just posted. He is a true threat both with and without the puck, and that's what makes him different than, say, a Patrik Laine.

The upside for Svech is immense and he's just starting to scratch the surface. He had a down year in 2021 and that'll make him relatively cheap at the draft table come September. The 21-year-old has more upside in a hits league than a non-hits league, but he could be top-end in almost any format.

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Pick up your copy of the 2021 Dobber Fantasy Hockey Guide today! It is updated through training camp so the current information is always available.

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Travis Sanheim was signed over the weekend by the Flyers, avoiding arbitration. He will be UFA in two years when his contract is up.

At one point, I thought Sanheim was the heir apparent for the power play with Shayne Gostisbehere out of the picture. He was generally great on controlled zone entries and was above-average by shot and shot assist rates. All this as a 21- to 23-year-old. He even got close to 22 minutes a night last season, but very rarely got PP1 minutes. With Ryan Ellis and Keith Yandle in the mix now, he's even further back.

This is probably a case where a player will be more valuable in the real world than fantasy. Sanheim doesn't post much for hit rates and his block rates are meagre. Without the PP minutes, there just won't be enough production to lift him out of the hole left by his lack of peripherals.

Someday, Sanheim could be a valuable fantasy defenceman. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like it'll be in Philadelphia, considering both Ellis and Provorov are signed for five years. If Sanheim hits his fantasy ceiling, it's probably after he's traded in a year or two.

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I was reading Dobber's Ramblings yesterday and he mentioned one specific destination for Nikita Gusev that interested me: Pittsburgh.

It seems as though the Penguins want to do what they did during their Cup runs five years ago: run three scoring lines. That would put Crosby, Malkin, and Carter as centres on three lines, provided they're all healthy. Even with Guentzel, Rust, Kapanen, and Zucker, there are still top-9 roles to fill out. These ostensibly could go to guys like Zach Aston-Reese or Brock McGinn, but adding cheap scoring is usually never a bad idea.

When everyone is health, the team could run something like:

Guentzel-Crosby-Kapanen

Zucker-Malkin-Rust

ZAR-Carter-Gusev

You can put Gusev with more responsible players while keeping him away from top matchups. That seems like a situation he could thrive in.

From the aforementioned data via Corey Sznajder, Gusev remained a dual threat last year by being above-average by both shot rate and primary assist rate. He just isn't very good in transition and that's where he could use help from guys like Carter or Aston-Reese.

I still believe in Gusev's talent and his ability to produce in the right spot. A number of teams could use him in a depth scoring role, and a team looking for another Cup like Pittsburgh could use that.

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Is it just me, or could the Columbus Blue Jackets be kind of underrated for fantasy this year?

Last year was a bad year. There was turmoil all season for them and it seemed Laine/Tortorella were never on the same page. We have a new coaching staff though, and we've seen quotes they don't want to slam square pegs in round holes. That should be good news for Laine, who never seemed comfortable in 2021.

Let's assume for a minute that Max Domi is ready for the start of the season. The top-6 could look something like this:

Nyquist-Roslovic-Laine

Voracek-Domi-Bjorkstrand

That isn't bad? It is certainly not much worse than teams like Anaheim, Arizona, Buffalo, Los Angeles, or even Nashville. With Zach Werenski running the power play and a (hopefully) more forward-thinking coaching staff, could we see some good fantasy seasons here?

Roslovic was pretty good in Columbus, all things considered. Setting aside his production, he led the team in carry-in percentage (zone entries with control) and he led the team in primary shot assists per 60 minutes (comparable to other players like Jason Robertson and Vincent Trocheck). He isn't a volume shooter, but he could rack up the assists, being comparable to seasons Ryan Johansen had a few years ago – around 15 goals and around 40 assists. That is not nothing when Roslovic will assuredly be nearly free in most fantasy drafts.

And what about Laine? Can a new coach and more ice time get him back to 30 goals? If he can play with Roslovic or Domi all year, two good playmakers, I bet that he can.

Keep Columbus in mind when trying to make picks later in fantasy drafts. There could be some gold here.

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Some sad news to pass along:

The Boston Bruins are heartbroken by the passing of Dorchester native and former Bruin Jimmy Hayes. Our thoughts are with his wife Kristen, his sons Beau and Mac, and the entire Hayes family during this very difficult time. pic.twitter.com/j9W7CyxSGs

— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) August 23, 2021

Hayes had 334 NHL games across seven seasons, playing for Chicago, Florida, Boston, and then finishing with New Jersey in 2017-18. He had 54 goals and 55 assists in his career. His brother, Kevin, currently plays for the Philadelphia Flyers.

All the best to the Hayes family and their friends during this incredibly difficult time. And far be it for a fantasy writer to give advice outside of fantasy, but: call a friend today. Just call a friend or a family member you haven't talked to in a while. They might want to hear from you, too.