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, Brennan Des and Dobber

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The Midseason Guide is now available! You’ll find second-half projections by team in the PDF guide and on a downloadable spreadsheet, upsides, analysis, goalie situations, trade deadline breakdowns, advanced stats, prospects information, our usual NCAA and European free agents to watch, and much more. Head over to the Dobber Sports Store, or check your Downloads if you pre-purchased it.

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1. A day after Dobber advised me to add John Klingberg to the Midseason Guide in some way, shape, or form to the Edmonton and Toronto sections, Klingberg signed a one-year contract with the Oilers. Good call Dobber! As mentioned in the Midseason Guide, Klingberg fills a need for the Oilers because he is a right-shot defenseman who can be paired with Darnell Nurse and help the power play.

For more on the signing, read the Fantasy Take from Cliffy. My personal opinion: I probably won’t rush to the waiver wire to add Klingberg in any league, given the uncertainty with his hip and him likely needing some time to get back up to NHL speed. Keep in mind that he last played a game on November 11, 2023.  I’ll say he plays 30 games and picks up 14 points, so just under a half point per game. (jan18)

2. In the Penguins’ 5-2 win over Buffalo on Friday, Cody Glass, Bryan Rust, and Alex Nedeljkovic led the way with a goal and an assist each. Yes, Alex Nedeljkovic the goalie – that is not a typo. Nedeljkovic is now the first goalie in NHL history to be credited with both a goal and an assist in the same game. He has also scored FOUR goals in professional hockey: two in the AHL, one in the ECHL, and now one in the NHL. Hopefully someone out there started Nedeljkovic in a league that counts goals and assists for goalies (and good on your commissioner for including those categories!).

As for the goaltending side of things, Nedeljkovic made 40 saves in the win. All in all, an amazing night for a goalie who has been on the below-average side of the goaltending ledger (-6.29 GSAA). Yet with Tristan Jarry being sent down to the AHL yesterday, Nedeljkovic’s fantasy value stands to improve with more volume, as his new tandem partner is rookie Joel Blomqvist. It’s been quite the news week for Penguins’ goalies, hasn’t it? For more detailed analysis of the Penguins’ goalie situation, including our estimation of the split of starts for the rest of the season, check out the Midseason Guide. (jan18)

3. Another goaltending note: The Hurricanes activated Frederik Andersen from IR. Andersen backed up Pyotr Kochetkov in Friday’s game, while Dustin Tokarski sent back to AHL. Andersen has been injured so often the past few seasons, so it’s hard to trust him. He played in only 16 games last season and has appeared in only four games this season. However, he’s had a sub-2.00 GAA both this season and last, proving he’s very effective when healthy. You just have to have the IR roster spot for him and just consider any contribution from him a bonus as opposed to an expectation. (jan18)

4. Simon Nemec has reportedly expressed unhappiness in playing in the AHL. This makes sense, as Nemec played 60 games with the Devils last season but has been held to nine NHL games this season. Injuries have had something to do with that, as Dougie Hamilton and Jonas Siegenthaler were out for extended periods of time last season and are back in the lineup this season. The plan may have been for Nemec to play in the AHL last season until the injuries took place.  

To explain the Devils’ situation, I’ll grab this quote from the Midseason Guide: “Between Nemec, Seamus Casey, Luke Hughes, and Anton Silayev, the Devils have an excess of young defensemen to dangle for that impact forward. Whoever gets moved eventually (and it won't be Hughes) will see their stock rise with the sudden drop in competition.” Maybe that guy is Nemec. It would make sense for the Devils to add a forward for the playoffs. J.T. Miller? (jan18)

5. Speaking of Miller and his buddy Elias Pettersson, I projected second-half improvements for both, although not quite at a point-per-game level for either. As a guy who watches the Canucks more than any other team, how do I think this gets resolved? I’d have to assume Miller is the one who gets traded, and it seems more likely that it will happen before the deadline than it did when the news first surfaced. Pettersson would fetch more because he is younger, but there is more risk in trading him unless the Canucks really desire a massive shakeup. As for one or both bouncing back, it should only get better from here… you would hope. A fresh start could help with that too. (jan18)

6. Maxim Tsyplakov has been suspended three games for an illegal check to the head of Ryan Poehling during a game on Thursday. Tsyplakov will be eligible to return on Saturday January 25 against Carolina after sitting out today’s (Saturday’s) game as well as games on Monday and Friday (rematch against Philadelphia) next week. (jan18)

7. Some not-so-good news on Toronto forward John Tavares, as he was placed on IR (lower body). The team said he would be week-to-week from here on out. Who knows how long that actually means. (jan17)

8. Going back to December 1, Auston Matthews now has 13 goals in 19 games while averaging 3.8 shots per contest, and that’s a lot more like him. (jan17)

9. Jakub Dobes was a big difference-maker again for the Canadiens on Thursday, stopping 32 of 33 shots for the win. He now has a .963 save percentage in four starts, allowing four goals along the way. Those four starts have all been on the road, and include Florida, Washington, Colorado, and Dallas. It is hard for a goalie to have a more impressive start to an NHL career. (jan17)

Dobes has been fantastic at every level over the last number of years, be it the NAHL, USHL, NCAA, or the AHL, where this season he sports a 9-3-1 record (the team is 12-7-2 without him). As the Canadiens look like they belong in the playoff wildcard race, Dobes might end up stealing starts as well as being a reasonable bet for a win on any given night. (jan15)

10. Injured Colorado Avalanche winger Valeri Nichushkin was skating in a non-contact jersey earlier this week and there was some hope that maybe he would return to game action in relatively short order. That does not appear to be the case as the team provided an update on his status and we shouldn’t expect him back until next week at the earliest. Colorado has a four-game week next week so getting Nichushkin back for that would be nice. (jan16)

11. Hampus Lindholm was skating in a non-contact jersey for Boston at Wednesday’s practice. Lindholm has already missed two months after an injury off a blocked shot in mid-November, and the team could really use him back in the lineup. (jan16)

12. In my Ramblings on Tuesday, I talked about changes certain players have made in their approach to offence, focusing on those who are creating more (or less) off the cycle and forecheck. Today, let’s check in on the other side of that coin and look for players who are creating more (or less) off the rush. All this tracking data comes from AllThreeZones and is all at 5-on-5.

In 2022-23, the average forward managed 9.23 shots or assists on teammate shots off the rush per 60 minutes. In 2023-24, that number dropped to 8.01 shots/assists off the rush per 60 minutes. That number has declined again 2024-25, landing at 7.94 as of Wednesday afternoon. The reason that is important is because across the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons, there was a very strong correlation (the r-squared number) between a forward’s offensive creation off the rush and their on-ice goals-for rate relative to their team. That means players who created more off the rush tended to have higher goals-for rates compared to their teammates. (jan16)

[Follow the link for more…]

13. Rory Kerins made about the best impact that you can ask for in a debut, last Monday. He recorded two assists in 15 minutes of ice time, recorded two shots, one block, and was a plus three on the night, earning Third-Star honors. The Flames also gave him some second-unit power play time and didn’t just feed him sheltered offensive zone starts at even strength. Over his last few seasons across the OHL, ECHL, and AHL, Kerins has been a point-per-game player everywhere and adapted very quickly to the new levels. He could be a rosterable fantasy player for the longer term as soon as next season. In the meantime, he’s a streamer. (jan15)

14. Leevi Merilainen is a 22-year-old goalie, that has put up good but not excellent AHL numbers the last two years, and is likely still a couple years away from a full-time NHL role. As an injury fill-in for the short term, ride the wave, but he's not suddenly a top-tier goalie prospect. The guys closer to full-time jobs like Erik Portillo, Justus Annunen, Dennis Hildeby, Joshua Dobes, and others should still be ranked ahead of Merilainen. (jan15)

15. The mid-season rankings from NHL Central Scouting are always fun to take a gander at. My feeling this year from all that I have seen and read about these prospects is that there are four top-of-the-lineup players in Matthew Schaefer, Michael Misa, James Hagens, and Porter Martone. After that, it opens up into another tier that runs to about the 10-12 range, for players that could be first line guys, or maybe will fill into that top-six forward, top-four defence kind of role. It feels a little shallower than the average year, but that top group of four makes up for a lack of depth with the immediate star power. All four of them could end up making it straight to the NHL in the fall. (jan15)

16. Sean Monahan is going to be wearing a brace on his wrist for the next two weeks before having his injury re-evaluated. That means he could possibly return before the Four-Nations faceoff break, but it seems like it would be more beneficial to the player and the team in the long run to give Monahan at least that extended break, which would mean another month from today out of the lineup. (jan15)

17. Leo Carlsson is someone that I was higher on coming into the season, but he’s really taken a step back as a sophomore. Now plenty of players do take this step back as they begin to emerge from a more sheltered role. 

Comparing Carlsson’s rookie season to this one, his deployment has relatively been the same, but the results haven’t been there. His ice time and shot rate is down, while most of the underlying percentages are similar. There is some bad luck, though part of it is also just a big step down in linemate talent. 

As a rookie he was played alongside one of Troy Terry or Trevor Zegras who could help him create offence, but this year he's been stapled to Alex Killorn and Brett Leason. Maybe that's why Anaheim is only shooting a paltry five percent with Carlsson on the ice. (jan15)

18. Red Wings' 20-year-old Marco Kasper, the eighth overall pick from 2022, has been riding shotgun on the top line beside Larkin and Lucas Raymond for the past few games, which has helped him produce some extra offense (six points in his last five games). Speaking of Raymond, he’s scoring at a 91-point/82 pace this season, building on last year’s 72-point breakout. (jan13)

19. Shayne Gostisbehere returned to the lineup earlier in the week after missing eight games with an upper-body injury. The Hurricanes boasted a 25.7% PP success rate before Ghost got injured but clicked at just 8% while he was sidelined. The team’s man-advantage will benefit from having him back. (jan13)

20. It’s funny how quickly opinions can change. About a month ago, fantasy managers were rightfully concerned because Jason Robertson had just 15 points through 25 appearances (0.58 points/game). Fast forward to present day and he has 25 points in his last 19 outings, more in line with the elite offensive player we know him to be. (jan13)

21. I haven’t forgotten about the Roto Rankings – I just haven’t had the bandwidth to update them with everything going on with the Midseason Guide. Expect the rankings to be updated later this month. Of course, your feedback is welcomed. I’ll remember to include Brandon Hagel this time too. (jan13)

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Be sure to also grab your copy of the 2024 Dobber Fantasy Hockey Prospects Report!

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Have a good week, folks!

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