Yahoo Fantasy Hockey: Finding gems on the waiver wire
Dobber launched his fantasy hockey website DobberHockey back in 2005 and has been Puck Daddy’s resident fantasy hockey ‘expert’ since 2009.
Usually when I do this column I run through some of the hot and cold streaks from around the league. But of course we’re just one day in, so I’m going to do what I did here last year at this time. I’ll dig up some players who are have a absurdly low draft percentage. Last year I offered up Nikita Kucherov (who at the time was a ridiculous 6% owned) , and we all know how that turned out.
But first, another thing I liked from the column a year ago. I posted a list of the players with the most “hits” for the preseason. It was insightful so I’ll do it again (data via Frozen Pool – run any preseason report you want right here):
And now we get a little bit of insight as to why Josh Manson, Connor Brickley, Oscar Lindberg, Kyle Baun, Jake Virtanen and Joel Edmundson landed roster spots. Burmistrov and Jaskin make solid late-round picks in roto leagues that count hits.
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Waiver Wire
As the season kicks off, let’s take a look at some of the best players available on your waiver wire. These guys are (mostly) 7% owned or less in Yahoo! leagues. If you’re looking to replace an injury, or you’re already changing your mind about one of your Marko Dano picks, here are some suggestions.
Forwards
Alex Burmistrov (2%), Winnipeg Jets – I’m not big on Burmistrov offensively. I think he’ll be in that 30-point range. But as you see in the chart above, he’s got a lot of potential in leagues that count hits. He also helps your roster flexibility because he’s eligible for all three forward positions.
Lars Eller (2%), Montreal Canadiens – Poolies are sick of waiting on this guy. In fact, most stopped waiting two years ago. And while he’ll probably never reach his full potential, this year Eller should get off to a great start thanks to his chemistry with Alex Galchenyuk and Alexander Semin. Not only does he stand to feed off the production of the other two, but if Game 1 is any indication he’ll see more PP time as well.
Robby Fabbri (1%), St. Louis Blues – The rookie would quite possibly be part of Calder discussions this year were it not for the existence of McEichel. He certainly boasts the talent. Fabbri played the preseason games primarily on the David Backes line (with Troy Brouwer).
Mikkel Boedker (6%), Arizona Coyotes – Pointless in five preseason games and just 28 points last season, there clearly wasn’t a lot of confidence in him by poolies this draft season. And he’s on Arizona, a team destined to fall short of 200 goals. But 50-point players should be drafted in most leagues, so while the (likely) horrible plus/minus might scare some fantasy owners off – should it scare 94% of leagues away? And make no mistake, he’s a 50-point player. The three years prior to 2014-15 he missed zero games and in 2013-14 he had 51 points. Last year his pace (28 points in 45 games) was also 51 points. So why on earth won’t he get that now? Because it’s an offense-starved Arizona team? Last I checked, he played for the same team last year.
Benoit Pouliot (4%), Edmonton Oilers – Pouliot finished strong in 2014-15 after returning from injury thanks to how well he gelled with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle. So it was nice to see him back on that line again – likely a permanent spot for him (as far as that goes in this day and age). The Eberle injury changes things for the first couple of weeks, but he ended the preseason with five points in five games. For now, Teddy Purcell is subbing in on that line for Eberle.
Kyle Palmieri (4%), New Jersey Devils – Prior to his injury (day-to-day), Palmieri was logging the bulk of the PP time and had two points in two-plus preseason games. As a depth guy for Anaheim he managed a point every two games. Now he’s “the” guy for New Jersey, a team that will lean on him heavily. As long as your league has IR spots to bail you out, you’ll do alright with him.
Jason Zucker (2%), Minnesota Wild – A 22-year-old coming off of a 21-goal season getting drafted in just 2% of fantasy leagues. Go figure. Again, he’s lower on most rankings because of his fragility, but if you have an IR spot then that shouldn’t matter.
Brett Connolly (1%), Boston Bruins – After a whopping 12 minutes per game with Tampa Bay last season, Connolly stands to see a nice increase on that. He’ll also get a bump in PP time now that there’s no Stamkos – Johnson – Kucherov – Palat ahead of him. He already saw 14-17 minutes per preseason game.
Defensemen
Radko Gudas (4%), Philadelphia Flyers – Remember when he was the darling of fantasy hockey with all the categories he was tapping? Well, why should a season missed by injury change that? Seems a crime that he’s being ignored. Granted, he may not match the 22 points from 2013-14, but he also had 152 PIM, 273 hits and 138 BLKS. If you count those categories, drop a player to make room for him and grab him immediately.
Adam Larsson (6%), New Jersey Devils – Devils are being avoided like the plague and rightfully so. But the young defensemen are not so bad. However Larsson, Damon Severson (2%) and Eric Gelinas (2%) are underrated and underused. Larsson especially, he should be used in most leagues as someone’s No. 5 or No. 6 defenseman.
Ben Hutton (0%), Vancouver Canucks – Hutton has become the surprise PP QB for the Canucks, logging the bulk of the time in Game 1. He picked up an assist Wednesday, and tallied five points in six preseason contests (two on the power play).
Michael Del Zotto (15%), Philadelphia Flyers – I broke the rules a little bit by listing a guy over 7% drafted, but I wanted to highlight MDZ because he has the security of a two-year contract and is a likely producer in both the points and hits categories. I think he gets back up to 40 points this year (which also impacts his PPPts) and his 150+ hits are virtually guaranteed.
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Goalies
Alex Stalock (8%), San Jose Sharks – The Sharks look like a team that, under Peter DeBoer, will be giving up 20 shots per game. That’s gold for the San Jose goaltender. And while Martin Jones got the start in Game 1, Alex Stalock will see his share of net time over the first couple of months. He’ll have every opportunity to seize the No.1 job, too. I don’t think the discrepancy here between the two should be 73% owned versus 8% owned. I’d be more into 55%-45%.
Anders Nilsson (1%), Edmonton Oilers – Nilsson was lights out in the preseason after a year in which he was lights out in the KHL. His training camp was the reason that Ben Scrivens was put on waivers. It should also ensure that Cam Talbot is on a short leash.
Eddie Lack (22%), Carolina Hurricanes – This is weird one because Lack just signed on for two more years. What did Ward sign for again? Right. Ward is without a contract after this season so unlike previous campaigns, the franchise has little vested interest in Ward’s development. And the team has plenty of motivation to boost Lack’s performance. Yet Ward has been drafted in 29% of leagues to Lack’s 22%.
Follow Dobber on Twitter @DobberHockey for more fantasy hockey tidbits. Get free and updated starting goalie information at Goalie Post.
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