Every Sunday, we 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, Alexander MacLean, and Dobber

___

1. The Kings might be best known for their prospect riches at this moment, but their veterans reminded us that their time isn’t quite over yet if their season-opener against Vegas was any indication. Anze Kopitar, who I thought fell further in drafts than he should have, scored a hat trick while posting two assists to go with a plus-3 and seven shots. Perhaps due to age, Kopitar’s ADP was 86 in Yahoo leagues, so I gladly scooped him up in one league. He helped me win a championship in that same league last year, so I’m not prepared to write him off because he’s 34 and the Kings aren’t loaded with offensive talent (yet).

Drew Doughty also had a game, scoring a goal while adding three assists with a plus-2. At age 31, Doughty probably has a lot of wear and tear. Yet I still like what he brings to the table in multicategory leagues. Even if his ADP was just outside the top 100, I still like Doughty as a top 100 roto option. (oct15)

2. If you notice a Jacob Peterson being added in your league (as I did recently by the league’s Stars fan), it’s because he was playing on one of Dallas’s scoring lines beside Joe Pavelski and Roope Hintz. He made good on that, scoring a goal along with first-unit power-play time in 16:35 of icetime. Peterson might warrant an add in deeper leagues at this point, but he might be one of those players that you’ve never heard of (2017 5^th round pick) that could make some noise in fantasy leagues. He is currently 0% rostered in Yahoo leagues and 5% rostered in Fantrax leagues.

3. Although Canucks' rookie Vasily Podkolzin didn’t see as much time on the top line as sophomore Nils Hoglander, Podkolzin managed to score his first NHL goal on Friday. Because Travis Green decided to play his top six a lot more than his bottom six in this game, Podkolzin was held to just seven minutes. I like his two-way game and his overall keeper value, but I don’t think you need to pick him up in single-season leagues. For more on Podkolzin, see his Dobber Prospects profile. (oct16)

4. Alex Barre-Boulet, who was claimed off waivers earlier this week from Tampa Bay, made his Kraken debut Thursday and recorded an assist in nine minutes of ice time on a line with Alex Wennberg and Joonas Donskoi. He’d been a point-per-game player for the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL for the past three seasons as well as a 100+ point scorer in the QMJHL, so he was ready to get a longer look in the NHL whether that be in Tampa or elsewhere. Even with numerous offseason departures, Tampa just didn’t seem to have the room. Keep an eye on Barre-Boulet. (oct15)

5. You may have ignored Tyler Bertuzzi in your draft because he is expected to miss a handful of road games in Canada due to not being vaccinated. Or maybe even due to the principle of not getting a vaccine when the world is trying to end this pandemic. Yet the signs were there that Bertuzzi would break out, such as improved production season by season, and success with top-line center Dylan Larkin. Yet no one would have expected a four-goal game against Tampa to start things off.

Obviously Bertuzzi isn’t going to shoot the lights out every game like this. But because we often think success in the first game is a sign of things to come, Bertuzzi will become a very-hot waiver-wire grab. I stated back in Bubble Keeper Week that I like Bertuzzi this season, but that was before the news about his unvaccinated status and how he couldn’t cross the border. Unless he changes his mind about the vaccine, you will be forced to sit him for a few games. But he’s also proving that you can’t ignore him simply for that reason. (oct15)

6. The last of the big-name RFAs has officially signed on the dotted line. Brady Tkachuk agreed to a seven-year contract worth $57.5 million, which means Senators fans and fantasy managers won’t be subjected to a lengthy holdout. The signing should also dispel rumors that he only wanted a bridge deal because he doesn’t want to stay in Ottawa long-term, and with that of course any immediate possibilities that he would be traded. Tkachuk will fill your SOG and Hits buckets in multicategory leagues, while improved scoring will affirm his elite status in those leagues. (oct15)

7. I know it’s easy to be pessimistic about Detroit with Jakub Vrana‘s injury, but there is lots of good here to be excited over. Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider are both in the lineup, Michael Rasmussen is the 3C, and Alex Nedeljkovic is in nets. All the pieces aren’t here yet, but some of them are, and that’s something to be excited over. (oct14)

8. Adam Gaudette and Dylan Strome were both healthy scratches for the Chicago Blackhawks on opening night. It is worth mentioning the two of them because in very recent memory, both players were looked at as future top-9 centres in the league, be it first, second, or third line. It doesn’t take long for fortunes to change in the NHL.

This isn’t a permanent state of affairs. Both players could play their way into a role for the rest of the year. And both players might not combine for 50 games. One problem is if they want to use them at centre, the top-9 is full. If they don’t, there is, at most, one spot in the top-6. In other words, even if these guys crack the lineup, it’ll be hard to accrue the TOI necessary to be valuable in most leagues. (oct14)

9. Whether you like it or not, Alex Chiasson is on the Canucks’ first-unit power play as a net-front presence. He even scored a power-play goal on Friday, his first as a Canuck since signing after his PTO. Chiasson was held to just 11 minutes overall, meaning that he will likely have minimal value at even strength. He played the exact same role for the Oilers the past few seasons, where roughly half of his points were on the power play. Once Brock Boeser returns from injury, I would be interested to see if Chiasson stays there. But if you were hoping Conor Garland would be on PP1, that doesn’t appear to be happening. (oct16)

10. Every year, the Dobber team puts together its preseason predictions in a Panel format. We go over individual trophies, conference champions, the Cup winner, and more. We do this not only to get our thoughts out into the universe one last time before the season starts, but to help the reader. Aggregate opinions are almost always better than solitary ones, so getting the panel to weigh in can help the reader a lot.

The issue is it doesn’t leave room for explanation. We just throw out some names and move along. Well, I want to talk about some of my selections and seeing as the season starts tonight, it’s my last chance to do so.

Anyone that missed the Dobber Preseason Panel can view it here. Below are a couple of my thoughts; you can view the rest by following the link. (oct12)

11. For the Norris Trophy, I was looking for three things:

• A defensively-responsible player who will eat a lot of minutes
• A high point total
• A good team

That narrows us down to a handful of picks and I’ll piggyback off Adam Fox‘s historic win and say Charlie McAvoy is the Norris winner in 2022.

I’m of the belief that whenever Cale Makar puts together a 75-game season, he’ll be in the running for the Norris. Quite honestly, had the Bruins gone with Matt Grzelcyk with their PP1 role, I would not have taken McAvoy. But with those PP1 minutes, he’ll easily push past a 50-point pace, giving us the point totals we’re looking for.

Besides that, McAvoy plays PK and was at 24 minutes a game last year. He should be closer to 25 minutes this year, and that gives us our high level of TOI we’re looking for.

I will talk about Boston a bit more later, but I have them as winning their division. That would give us the good team we’re looking for.

As mentioned, other guys fit this bill: Aaron Ekblad, Victor Hedman, Adam Fox, and Alex Pietrangelo, to name a few. This was a case where I didn’t see a real clear front-runner outside of likely Makar, and he was the other guy I was considering. I think McAvoy has a reputation for being better defensively than Makar and that’ll help with the voting.

I don’t think there are many wrong answers here. We’ll see who’s right in nine months! (oct12)

12. I mean, I get the push for Trevor Zegras, but the Calder is Cole Caufield’s to lose. There is just too much in his favour.

To start with, we know Caufield was a generational scorer at every level up to the NHL. That puts him in the rarified Kessel/Kane category immediately. He then got to the NHL and put up eight goals and 78 shots in 30 games. Not elite, but it’s a 20-goal, 200-shot pace as a rookie. He backed that up with good offensive micro stats. We have a 20-goal, 200-shot rookie who will be playing top line, top PP minutes and has one of the greatest scoring pedigrees we’ve ever seen. Yes, this is Caufield’s to lose.

Zegras is in the mix, and I have to think Cole Sillinger is as well. The more I dug into Sillinger in the offseason, the more it seems a lot of teams missed the boat on him. His scoring pedigree is legitimately great and I think he’s a future star in this league. That he’s made the team out of camp is only a big boost here. (oct12)

13. As is always the case, taking in the training camp news and preseason action brings prospects to our attention. Some for positive reasons and some for negative. Here are the prospects who made the biggest impact – one way or the other – on me…

Note: this is not to say that others didn’t make an impression. Many did, but I expected it. Such as Nils Lundkvist – he’s been great, but I fully expected that. He even leapfrogged Zac Jones. But I think very highly of Lundkvist and others like him, so I am not including those players here. These are only the players I’d move up or down my lists by quite a bit.

Karel Vejmelka, ARI, Up: I love this sleeper pick enough to scoop him in one keeper and one dynasty. Originally drafted by Nashville in 2015, he wasn’t signed until Arizona signed him as a free agent in May. He beat out Josef Korenar for the backup goalie job. At 25 he is the right age for a goalie to make his mark in the NHL. And listed at 6-4 (though some sources say 6-3), he is prime goalie size. But the thing I like the best? He’s behind Carter Hutton. I can’t think of a better (i.e. really bad) goalie to be behind. The only problem is – will Arizona win 25 games this year? (oct11)

14. Lucas Raymond, DET, Up: He went into camp 15^th on my Fantasy Prospects List. He ends camp at No.4. Pretty much tied for third, in fact, with Alex Newhook. Raymond dominated. Was clearly Detroit’s most prolific player. Today we find out of he makes the team and there is actually some speculation that he may not (???). If he doesn’t make the team, then we know that Steve Yzerman and the Red Wings are all in for ‘Pain for Shane’.

Grigori Denisenko, FLA, Down: Ugh. I hated that the Panthers over-signed NHL players. Too many bodies on one-way contracts means that their elite prospects have zero chance of making it. They eased some of that by trading Juho Lammikko, but not enough. Still… the reality is, if Denisenko had a strong camp then he would have lasted longer. He was cut awfully early. I don’t like that at all, and he fell from 10^th on my Fantasy Prospects List down to 19^th.

Adam Beckman, MIN, Up: I legit thought Beckman was still two years away. Turns out he is ready right now. He didn’t make the Wild because their top six is filled. Rather than play him in a checking role, which we see most teams do, the Wild are doing the right thing here and putting him in the AHL to get top-six minutes there. He’ll play with Marco Rossi and Matt Boldy (when Boldy returns from injury) to likely form the most dominant line in the AHL. The team will likely make room for Beckman next season. (oct11)

15. Kaiden Guhle, MTL, Up: He may actually make the team today at the age of 19. Of course, this would probably just be short term until Joel Edmundson returns. But still – this is another prospect I figured was still two or even three years out. But he looks like a sure thing to make the team next year. And that’s if he doesn’t stick this year. I hope Montreal doesn’t keep him all year. They do not have a good track record with rushing their top young defensemen (ahem Mete, Juulsen).

William Eklund, SJS, Up: Well, we all know what this guy’s been doing. He’s forcing the matter. The Sharks would love to bring him along slowly but he’s just not having it. He’s been too good. He’ll probably stick, likely for the full season, and he’s an early Calder candidate.

Hendrix Lapierre, WSH, Up: I think I actually like Lapierre more than I like Connor McMichael, for points-only leagues. And I did not see that coming. Still a little weak on his faceoffs (as most prospects are when they first reach the NHL), Lapierre nonetheless picked up five assists in four games. I’m not sure Lapierre sticks for the full season, but he’ll get his nine games in I’m sure. (oct11)

16. Lapierre was one of the big stories of the preseason. While the injury to Nicklas Backstrom likely helped matters, Lapierre went into camp basically as an extra and played his way onto the team. Not a lot of rookies do that in the NHL, maybe a handful every year. He even had to beat out fellow prospect Connor McMichael to do so. His reward was lining up on the third line and second PP unit.

I am interested to see what he and a bevy of other rookies can do with their chance. We had another guy play on this slate – Cole Perfetti – who is just getting his feet wet in the NHL. We had other rookies across the night like Jamie Drysdale, Trevor Zegras, Cole Caufield, and Jack Rathbone. While none of these players are top-3 picks from their respective drafts, they’ve all played their way onto their team not long after being drafted, Rathbone excepted. It just goes to show that teams don’t need the first overall pick to kickstart a rebuild. Just ask the Los Angeles Kings. (oct14)

17. Check out Rick Roos' 2021-22 Fearless Forecasts, as he does every year before the season starts. This will be Rick’s 10^th season as a writer here on DobberHockey. Let’s give some props to Rick! A very thorough and meticulous fantasy hockey writer, I think everyone would agree on that.  (oct11)

18. Reports out of Edmonton suggest that Jesse Puljujarvi is looking as strong as he ever has and that he may be on the verge of a breakout. I wrote about Puljujarvi in an earlier Ramblings as well, when he was only 14 percent rostered in Yahoo leagues. He was up to 42 percent early last week, which has a lot to do with him playing alongside some player named Connor McDavid during the preseason both on even strength and the power play. (oct10)

19. The Ilya Mikheyev injury is just terrible luck, but I see it every year happening to one or two players. Last year was a Mulligan. He played five games in 13 months and returned from a fluke wrist injury. I generally give players 25 games to get going from that. And of course he was unproductive for those 25 games, give or take. And by the time he started getting some bounces, he was on the fourth line – which on a deep team like this is to be expected. Now here is, a fresh start, playing on the John Tavares line and having a good preseason, and now he’s out for what looks to be several weeks. At his age (turned 27 Sunday!), this is his only chance to show he can be a top sixer. All but dashed now. (oct11)

20. Unfortunate news for those looking to draft Matt Boldy as a potential rookie sleeper: the Wild forward is out (four to six weeks) because of a fractured left ankle. Boldy had been used with a variety of Wild scorers during the preseason, including Kevin Fiala, Marco Rossi, and Jordan Greenway. He could be used in a top-9 role once he returns, but the Wild may give him extended time in the AHL once he is ready to skate.

Elsewhere, the Wild sent Rossi, Adam Beckman, and Calen Addison to Iowa of the AHL. Rossi in particular may seem like a surprise demotion, as he seemed like an early Calder Trophy favorite. However, this might be the best move long-term, given that Rossi played very little last season because of a COVID-related heart condition. Iowa looks like it will be a strong AHL squad as long as these players are there. I’d have to assume that these prospects all get a chance with the Wild at some point this season – especially Rossi.  (oct10)

21. James Neal has made good on his professional tryout. The veteran winger has signed in St. Louis for one year at $750,000. Neal helped his cause by scoring a hat trick in one of his games and scoring a team-leading four goals in five games. Out of the expensive contract he signed with Calgary and eventually moved to Edmonton, Neal could deliver decent value for the Blues. He’s probably not a player you should target in fantasy drafts, but you might see him at the top of your waiver wire if he goes on another goal-scoring streak. Most recently, he was on a line with Vladimir Tarasenko and Robert Thomas, so there's a good chance he's used in a scoring role where he can potentially thrive. (oct10)

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.