The first preseason game of the season was played on Saturday evening, with the Stars edging out the Blues in a 2-1 shootout final. Since I know you've missed hockey, here are some highlights:

Jordan Binnington already appeared to be in midseason form with this save:

Justin Carbonneau scored the first goal of the preseason for the Blues. Carbonneau, the Blues' first-round pick (19^th overall) in the 2025 draft, finished with 20:27 of icetime. Yes, this is a preseason game and Carbonneau will likely return to junior, but the Blues wanted to see what they have in Carbonneau with many regulars not in action for this game.

Logan Mailloux and Dylan Holloway assisted on Carbonneau's goal. Mailloux and Philip Broberg each logged over 25 minutes in icetime. Acquired in the offseason from Montreal, Mailloux should be given a long look to make the team. If he does, he may receive icetime on the second power play.

Mavrik Bourque scored the Stars' goal while logging 20 minutes of icetime in this game. Bourque is coming off his first full season with the Stars, where he registered 25 points in 73 games. Although he has high upside, Bourque may need to be patient with the amount of icetime he will receive on a deep Dallas roster. Virtually none of the Stars' top players dressed for this game.

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I'll take this opportunity to share the names of some players I've drafted in my slow auction draft recently, along with what I might expect from the coming season. This is a partial keeper league with bidding still underway, so the players I am listing are not my entire team.

These aren't necessarily players that you should target, as every player has a certain value. Instead of making blanket statements like "do not draft this player" or "target this player in all of your leagues", I prefer to focus on the idea of constructing a roster being a value-building exercise. In other words, getting the most out of your picks.

I've listed these players in order of ADP on Fantrax, which is where this league is.

David Pastrnak, RW, BOS

Is there any one team out there that will be more dependent on one player for their offense as Boston will be for Pastrnak? According to multiple projections that I have reviewed, Pastrnak could clear 100 points for the fourth consecutive season, while their next-highest scorer might struggle to reach 60 points. That was actually the case last season, when Morgan Geekie finished second on the Bruins with 57 points. Despite the lack of scoring depth on the Bruins, Pastrnak is still a consensus first-round pick (Yahoo ADP 7.1, Fantrax ADP 7.53) for his ability to push 50 goals and 100 points while potentially leading the league in shots on goal.

Clayton Keller, LW, UTA

I would consider Keller one of the most underrated players in fantasy hockey. Perhaps this flew under the radar because he plays for Utah, but Keller posted his first 90-point season in 2024-25. That shouldn't be an anomaly either, as Keller reached 86 points two seasons before that. Fantrax drafters (ADP 35.63) seem to be a bit more in tune with that than Yahoo drafters (ADP 40.9). Just beware of the assist total, as 35 of Keller's 60 assists last season were of the secondary variety. A few assists could drop off from that total, although Keller has produced at a 75+ point pace for four consecutive seasons. Utah being a team that is potentially on the rise could help his cause, too.                   

Josh Morrissey, D, WPG

Having rostered Morrissey for a few seasons, I would describe him as one of those "set and forget" players. Morrissey has reached at least 10 goals and 60 points in each of the last three seasons. Set and forget also refers to players that don't miss many games, and Morrissey certainly fits that description. Over the past five seasons, Morrissey has missed only 10 total games. His peripherals are also consistent, as he has taken between 170 and 200 shots and blocked between 100 and 120 shots per season. Alex is a bit more cynical with a closer look at the analytics in his Notes on Top 50 Players by ADP, but I'll still justify Morrissey's 41.38 ADP on Fantrax and 43 ADP on Yahoo.

Kevin Fiala, LW/RW, LA

Fiala just missed the cut on Alex's Top 100 series (check out the next 50 here) with a 101.8 ADP at Yahoo, but Fantrax has him at a 76.5 ADP. Over the past four seasons, Fiala's overall point total has fallen from 85 points (his last season in Minnesota) to 72 and 73 points down to 60 points last season. However, Fiala scored a career-high 35 goals in 2024-25. Fiala is also notorious for starting slow and turning it up in the second half, which was no different in 2024-25 (22 PTS in 40 GP followed by 38 PTS in 41 GP). Fiala was moved onto a line with Quinton Byfield during the second half, which may have explained some of his success then. With Fiala's scoring being feast or famine, he's a tougher player to get a read on.

Dylan Strome, C, WSH

I'm not that big on Strome this season, given that he just came off a career-high 82-point season with the Capitals experiencing more success than expected. Career highs in both shooting percentage and secondary assist percentage (among full seasons) as well as a potential drop in goal scoring from Alex Ovechkin (now that he has the goal record) are also reasons. Yet I was able to draft Strome at what I thought was a very reasonable auction price. Wait until after pick 100 to do that, though. Strome's ADP is 137.8 at Yahoo and 122.46 at Fantrax.

Jared McCann, C, SEA

Fun fact: McCann has led the Seattle Kraken in scoring in all four of the team's seasons. This speaks to the Kraken's lack of high-end scoring more than anything, as McCann has averaged 61 points per season over those four seasons. The Kraken employ many moderate-floor, moderate-ceiling-type players like McCann, so it shouldn't be too difficult to make a projection for him. That would be something in the neighborhood of 25-30 goals, 60-65 points, and 200-220 shots on goal. Unless younger players Matty Beniers and Shane Wright start to break out or Berkly Catton takes the league by storm, which could bump McCann off the top scoring line, expect more of the same from McCann. McCann's ADP is 165.9 at Yahoo and 137.02 at Fantrax.

Joey Daccord, G, SEA

I won a championship in this league going full Zero G, so why not do it again? (As I write this, other goalie bids are pending.) Daccord was a waiver-wire pickup for me that season, and I used my ability to match any bids to retain him. Now armed with a five-year contract with a $5 million cap hit, Daccord will attempt to reach 50 games for the third consecutive season. Philipp Grubauer's struggles opened the door for Daccord, which is why I'm surprised that the Kraken didn't buy out Grubauer and his $5.9 million cap hit, which has two years remaining. Seattle may not win a ton of games this season, but Daccord's 16.81 GSAx was in the top 10 last season. Daccord can be had for the bargain basement price of a 132.6 ADP in Yahoo and a 157.77 ADP in Fantrax.

Frederik Andersen, G, CAR

I won Andersen on an extremely low bid. I'd assume that managers out there aren't overly confident that he can stay healthy for a full season, which makes sense. Andersen has appeared in an average of 19 games per season over the past two seasons. However, his numbers have been as good or better than Pyotr Kochetkov's, which is why the two should split starts if both are healthy. Given the price, I figure this will be a good gamble, but I know that I will need at least one more goalie with only Daccord and Andersen on the roster at the moment. I'm not that worried, though, since I don't need to win goaltending categories in this league – just total points. Andersen has an ADP of 158.2 in Yahoo and 188.83 in Fantrax. Just make sure you have ample IR slots if you draft him.

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