Young Guns

Remember in my first post when I mentioned that Max Domi was ready to take on the NHL this year? Well although it’s only been around 10 games in, 9 for Domi, and he already as 10 points leading all rookies including the “next great one” Connor McDavid. He won’t be able to keep up his 1.11 ppg (points per game) pace for the whole year, but if he even continues to produce at half the rate he is now you’re still looking at a 40-60 point year from a freshman. Other rookies to look out for on the waiver wire are Domi’s linemate Anthony Duclair, Oscar Lindberg – who has been getting good time with the Rangers, and Artemi Panarin who is bound to keep putting up points on a stacked Blackhawks team. Two rookie defensemen to keep an eye out for are Ben Hutton on the Canucks and Colton Parayko on the Blues. I played against Hutton for a couple years in Junior before he left for Maine on scholarship and he was as hockey smart a defenseman could be. So if you don’t already have these guys, give them a solid look.

Blueliners

It can be hard to pick up quality point-producing defenseman in the later rounds. There are only so many that consistently put up points. One guy that is off to an extremely bad start this year is Dougie Hamilton. 1 goal and minus 11 in his first 9 games as a Flame is not how he wanted to start off after that big contract. Look for him, and the Flames for that matter to bounce back after a horrible start. In a surprising position, John Carlson is leading all defensemen in points with 10 through 7 games so far! Should he keep his pace he is looking likely to set a new single season high over his 55-point campaign last year. Once again, as I previously mentioned, John Klingberg is producing quite consistently with Seguin and Benn both healthy and lighting it up. A.k.a pick up Klingberg because he’s just going to keep putting ’em up.

Goalies

Who would have expected Carey Price to be off to a relentless start with a save percentage of .961 and a lossless record?? Oh wait, pretty much everyone. If you have Price, you are a smart person and if you passed up on him you should probably pull yourself out of the corner and stop crying about it because here are some more goalies you can pick up to soothe the pain. Despite having not won a game yet, Frederik Andersen has a sparkling GAA of 1.71 and a S% of .940. The Ducks are too good of a team to keep losing so watch for them to rebound and for Freddy to get some wins under his belt. A big question mark coming into this season was how Martin Jones would fair being thrust into the starting role for the Sharks. So far he hasn’t let them down with a 5-2-0 record and 1.69 / .940 stats. If you’re really struggling to find a good keeper in a big league, try taking a gamble on Michael Hutchinson of the Jets. He holds a perfect record so far and boasts a .935 save percentage.

Everyday Heroes

These are the guys who aren’t seen as the stars of the league but continue to put up good point totals and should be getting a little more recognition. Three names will be mentioned here and three names only (for the sake of keeping it quick). Kyle Turris is a player many in Arizona, then Phoenix, thought would never be able to live up to his third overall pick hype. After a trade to Ottawa and quietly growing under the radar this playmaking centre is putting up points despite playing without a bonafide scoring winger. A point per game pace right now won’t hold but he’s sure to keep improving on his 64-point 2014-2015 season. After putting up back to back 43-point seasons with the struggling Devils, Adam Henrique is off to quite a decent start with 9 points in 8 games on a team known for lacking any sort of dynamic offence, or any offence at all for that matter. Martin Hanzal has never been a real scoring threat, relying more on a solid two-way game. But after his last season was cut short due to injury and playing on a line with Domi and Duclair it looks like his luck just turned around. He has 10 assists in 9 games so far and if those youngsters can keep blazing a trail for Arizona expect Hanzal to benefit.