Fantasy Hockey Week 2: Short Season Surprises

Now that we are a weekend in the hockey season and you, dear owner, have gotten a taste of who should start and who should cool their heels on your bench for the time being, let’s review the guys who are likely still out there on the wire.

Conacher: The Latest in a Line of Greatness?

Cory Conacher (C/ LW, Lightning)  Excellent family hockey lineage aside (his distant cousins, Charlie, Roy and Lionel Conacher are all hockey hall-of-famers, this undrafted rookie might be the Vlad Tarasenko (i.e, a scalding hot add) of this week.  In Tuesday’s win over Carolina, he scored his second goal of the season and has points in all three games this year.  This Tampa Bay outfit is going to score a ton of goals this year, already netting 13—good for second in the NHL—and Conacher figures to be in the thick of it all year.  He’s shown palpable chemistry with Teddy Prucell and Vinny Lecavalier and has dual C/ LW eligibility at least in Yahoo.  Don’t miss out on him- he’s going to gone off the wire “Lightning” quick.

Kovalev the Greybeard Fitting in Well in Florida

Alex Kovalev (RW, Panthers) Perfect time to grab the veteran off the waiver wire as he is unowned in the majority of standard leagues.  So far this season Kovalev has shown good chemistry with super rookie Jonathan Huberdeau, leading the team in assists (2).  He’s owned in about 25% of ESPN leagues and less than half that in Yahoo.

The St. Louis Blues look like they are going to give a lot of teams the blues this season, especially on defense where the Blues look to continue their offensive arsenal from last year.  So far in this young season they are tied for third in the league with Anaheim in goals (12).  Chris Stewart and Vlad Tarasenko were recommendations last week and this week its Andy McDonald (C/LW, Blues) who has scored in all three games this season and has dual eligibility in some leagues.  He’s owned plenty in ESPN leagues, but in less than a third in Yahoo.  Check the waivers for this guy.  He'll be in involved in a bunch of goal-scoring in this short year.

Bobrosvky: Beast In The Crease?

When trudging the wire for would-be fantasy stoppers in the crease, you may still be able to grab under-the-radar goalie Sergei Bobrovsky ( G, Blue Jackets).  On Monday against Detroit he saved 39 of 42 shots, but still loss in the shootout.  He has stopped 71 out of 76 in his first two. The former Flyers goalie is looking to improve over a poor season last year (.899 SV%, 3.02 GAA for Philadelphia) and was certainly an unheralded acquisition.  He appears to be an upgrade over Steve Mason for the Jackets; this means if he continues his .934 and 2.31 GAA he could be a valuable fantasy asset.  He may be still on waivers in your league.

Daniel Winnik ( LW, Ducks) -  Winnik has already scored four goals this year and his career high is only eleven so it may be prudent to ride the wave with realistic expectations, i.e. short-term ones.  If youngsters in Anaheim aren’t ready to shoulder the offensive load on the scoring line, Winnik is the default choice for that line.  He would be playing with Teemu Selanne on the second line which is manna for fantasy usefulness.  He’s getting grabbed quickly but is still unowned in three-fourths of ESPN and Yahoo leagues.

Fantasy Hockey Week 1 - Desire the Wire With Vlad Tarasenko

The fantasy hockey season is finally back! Granted you’ve already likely drafted your fantasy hockey squad for 2013; the season opened on Saturday.  There are a few guys who made have made themselves surprisingly fantasy relevant based on just the first one or two games that made make a Week 1 waiver wire add necessary.  We’ll explore them here:

Tasasenko: Russian For "Scoring Goals Easily"

Vladimir Tarasenko (RW, Blues)  The former first-round pick had a dazzling debut in his first game for the Blues.  Owners tend to take notice when you score twice in your first NHL start and that’s exactly what Tasasenko did helping St. Louis defeat the Detroit Red Wings on the season opener.  The young Russian has plenty of upside and word on the street is he could lead the Blues in scoring.  He dominated the KHL at the tender age of 19; his defense is the only that could affect his playing time.   A special player and he’s the hottest add right now in fantasy hockey.  Get him.

Also scoring two goals (one on power play) in the Blues dominant shutout of the Red Wings was Chris Stewart (RW, Blues) on five shots Saturday night.  Stewart reportedly dedicated his offseason to reconditioning thus increasing his speed on his skates, but time will tell.  Of course, being on of the most prolific offense in the NHL means that being on the Blues third line is probably equivalent to most second lines in the NHL.  He’s owned in 10% of standard leagues.

Zajac Attack

A good bet for scoring could come in the form of talented but oft-injured Travis Zajac (C, Devils). Limited to a handful of games the last couple of years, he reminded us all of his talent and fantasy usefulness during the Devils Stanley Cup run in 2012.  New Jersey seems to believe in him and you should too, even if he is only currently owned in 40% of standard leagues.  Reason number one: he signed an 8-year, $46 million dollar contract with New Jersey in the offseason not to be on the second line.   Reason number two: Although he’s without star Zach Parise (signed with Minnesota) he still lines up with marksman Ilya Kovalchuk.  Fellow center Adam Henrique is still there so it bears monitoring early on.

Jagr the Facilitator?

Jaromir Jagr (RW, Stars) Probably owned in most leagues) but add rate is jumping after yesterday’s opener. The grizzly veteran (aged 40) can still get it done and be fantasy relevant this year.  He scored 4 points against Phoenix in Dallas’s opener; he scored only 19 goals and only 54 points as a Flyer all of last year.  He has potential this season with center Jamie Benn and Loui Eriksson to get pack to a point average a game—something savvy fantasy owners will capitalize on.  He will likely excel more as a facilitator then a pure goal scorer this year.

There may be some goaltender help for  accidental auto-pick hockey victims, or real deep leagues in the form of Toronto’s Ben Scrivens (G, Maple Leafs)  Owned in less than 5% of fantasy hockey standard leagues, Scrivens saved 21 shots in a scrappy 2-1 win against the Habs.  He’ll face competition from struggling incumbent James Reimer but it’s a situation to monitor. Reimer isn’t too far removed from promising fantasy goalie himself and there are the trade rumors swirling with Roberto Luongo.  It’s a deep situation to monitor but keep in mind Scrivens looked right at home in the crease, albeit against the offensively-challenged Canadiens.