Ranking 2013-14 Fantasy Hockey Rookies – updated as of September 29th
Last year we saw an amazing rookie scoring race in the NHL that came down to the last day of the regular season. First to seventh was separated by only four points with Nail Yakupov and Jonathan Huberdeau leading the way with 31 points in 48 games. Huberdeau had his name engraved on the Calder Trophy, beating out Brendan Gallagher and Brandon Saad.
Cory Conacher, Alex Galchenyuk and Justin Schultz rounded out the top seven, all of whom made fantasy impacts last year. Fantasy Sports Locker Room will rank our sophomores later this week, but for now we’ll take a look at what rookies to have on your fantasy radar come draft time and where to draft them. Some of the rookies below made our preseason fantasy hockey rankings.
1. Tomas Hertl, LW, San Jose Sharks
The 17th pick in the 2012 draft is skating alongside Joe Thornton and Brent Burns to start training camp and has every opportunity to either play on the wing with those two, or with Joe Pavelski on the third line. If Martin Havlat goes down with an injury (let’s be serious here – when Havlat goes down), Hertl will see his ice time increase. Hertl looked great picking up five points in six games while playing for the Czech Republic at the 2013 IIHF World Junior Championship. He has three goals already during the preseason.
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2. Mark Scheifele, C, Winnipeg Jets
Mark Scheifele had 79 points in 45 games with the Barrie Colts and he’s ready to make the jump to the show. (Getty Images)
The third time is the charm for the 7th overall pick from the 2011 NHL draft… well at least the Jets hope so. Scheifele made the team as an 18-year-old and played only seven games and played in only four last year before being sent down to the Barrie Colts.
Winnipeg is hoping he can make the jump this year, and so far so good. I know it’s only one game, but he centered a line with Evander Kane and Devin Setoguchi and they combined for two goals and five points. Scheifele is a lock to suit up for the Jets this season and the potential for a top-six role is there, assuming he can beat out Olli Jokinen for the second line center spot.
3. Nathan MacKinnon, C, Colorado Avalanche
Yes, Nathan MacKinnon was the No. 1 selection in this year’s NHL draft, but he doesn’t find himself in as nice of a situation as his former teammate Jonathan Drouin, at least not from a fantasy perspective. Colorado already has Matt Duchene centering its first line and Paul Stastny down the middle on the second. With a full season of Gabriel Landeskog, Ryan O’Reilly, and the addition of Alex Tanguay, things are pretty tight on the wing. MacKinnon will start the season as Colorado’s third line center and he could see some powerplay time and even top-six minutes should someone get hurt (which sometimes happens to Tanguay).
There is no doubt the Avalanche made the right choice at the draft taking Mackinnon first overall. The Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia native had 32 goals and 75 points in 44 games last season with the Mooseheads. He only played five less games than Drouin and still finished 30 points behind him in the scoring race, but MacKinnon is a better all-around player. He was named the Memorial Cup MVP with 13 points in four games including a hat trick in the deciding game against the Portland Winterhawks. He spent the summer working out with fellow Nova Scotian Sidney Crosby. Crosby happens to be from Cole Harbour as well, and isn’t a bad guy to take notes from. Drouin will come off the board first, MacKinnon should follow soon after.
4. Aleksander Barkov, C, Florida Panthers
Most of the hockey world was shocked when the Florida Panthers picked Aleksander Barkov at the two spot passing up on Jonathan Drouin and Seth Jones, especially with Barkov coming off of shoulder surgery in the spring. That isn’t a knock on Barkov’s skill though, because he has a ton of it.
I expect the Finn to skate alongside last year’s rookie of the year Jonathan Huberdeau, leaving Kris Versteeg and Tomas Fleischmann together on the Panthers first line. At 6-3, 209 pounds, Barkov is a big boy and will be a force in the league for years to come. He should see plenty of ice time in Florida, even more so than MacKinnon in Colorado.
5. Valeri Nichushkin, RW, Dallas Stars
Although he is only 18 years old Nichuskin has already held his own in the KHL which is arguably the second best hockey league in the world. If he doesn’t make the team he’ll head back to Russia. The Stars took the 6-4, 202-pounder 10th overall in this year’s NHL draft and they have high hopes for him to start the season with Dallas. They have the room for him to step in and suit up on opening day.
Valeri Nichuskin scored two goals and fired nine shots on goal in his first preseason game against the St. Louis Blues. (Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports)
The Russian has been compared to Evgeni Malkin, that’s enough reason to keep an eye on his preseason. Nichushkin has speed, hands and puck skills to get powerplay time. He’s so skilled the Stars may just keep him on the team for shootout purposes alone. Keep an eye on him in camp to see if he sticks around in North America. The Stars would like to him to develop here rather than in Russia.
6. Seth Jones, D, Nashville Predators
Seth Jones has the opportunity to be paired up on the back end with All-Star Shea Webber. Even if they split up the two Jones should still see plenty of powerplay time and about 20 minutes per game. The 6-4 fourth overall pick fell in the laps of the Nashville Predators during the draft, and he won’t disappoint. The 18-year-old is a fantastic skater with great offensive upside. He should be drafted in your fantasy league as he makes for a great fourth defenseman.
7.Torey Krug , D , Boston Bruins.
Torey Krug played himself onto this year’s version of the Boston Bruins thanks to his play during last year’s playoffs. He had four goals and six points in 15 games during the Bruins run, and in the one regular season game he played last year he picked up an assist.
The undrafted Defenseman is small, but has a wicked shot and shows great patients with the puck. He was the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) player of the year in 2012 and the 22-year-old finished with 45 points playing with the Providence Bruins before his call up. He’ll play regularly on the back end for Boston this year. Krug makes for a nice fifth fantasy defensman.
Torey Krug took the Boston Bruins by storm in the playoffs scoring two goals in his first two games. (Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images)
8.Jean-Gabriel Pageau, C, Ottawa Senators
Pageau finished the season with four points in nine games and had a good playoff picking up six points in 10 games including a hat trick against the Montreal Canadiens in the opening round. He’s no stranger to the score sheet as he finished with 79 points in 67 games with the Gatineau Olympiques of QMJHL in 2010-11. At best he makes the third line making him only draftable in deep leagues.
9.Filip Forsberg, C, Nashville Predators
Forsberg was selected 11th overall in 2012 by the Washington Captials and then traded to Nashville at last year’s deadline for Martin Erat. In five games with the Preds, Forsberg had one point… but was a minus five. Not related to the great Peter Forsberg, he already has his fair share of Swedish accomplishments.
He was the youngest player on Team Sweden that won gold at the 2012 World Junior Championships. He recorded only one assist in six games, but notched six points in six games at the 2011 World Under-18 Championships where his team won the silver medal. I wouldn’t spend a draft pick on him, but I would keep an eye on him to start the season.
10. Ryan Murray, D, Columbus Blue Jackets
Murray would have suited up for the Blue Jackets last season if it wasn’t for a season-ending shoulder injury while playing for Everett Silvertips of the Western Hockey League. The number two selection in the 2012 draft could see some powerplay time on the second unit for Columbus, but don’t expect him to put up a lot of points.
Sean Monahan of the Flames and Mikhail Grigorenko of the Sabres are guys to keep an eye on.
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