As we await the arrival of the 2017 NHL season, the lack of any significant news, or should I say, the sporadic news item here or there, does nothing to spark the interests of the fantasy hockey fan, for the most part. Okay, so we have the publication of some Canadian fantasy hockey mags hitting the newsstands and some websites touting their Draft Guides to be worthy of your patronage, but nothing really gets the fantasy hockey fan going, besides the draft, is the influx of critical news that can sway their decision on who to select and when. The meat and potatoes of managing yoru fantasy team is 'information'.
So, to combat the lack of crucial news items, PrimePucks brings you the beginning of our Rankings today with the posting of the PrimePucks Goalies, Defense and Prospect Rankings. Check the right margin to see where your favorite player is ranked. By next week we should be posting at least one more ranking list, not sure if it will be the Team or the Forward Ranking list, or perhaps both.
TRAVIS ZAJAC: With the New Jersey Center getting injured and about to miss a good chunk of the season, it opens up an opportunity for another to grab some critical ice time. We already thought that Pavel Zacha was ready to assume more responsibility and get a chance to really boost his numbers over last season to the 50-point level. With Zajac's injury now, that seems very reachable as he could slide into the 2nd line center position. We believe he has too much talent to be stuck down on the 3rd line for too long and that the Devils would have to increase his role even more once he proved himself worthy.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Travis Zajac for a speedy return to the lineup, but we are also excited for young Pavel Zacha to strut his stuff.
LEON DRAISAITL: There are always warning signs, at least to me, when it comes to players who have so much talent and fantasy players always thinking that the trend is always UP when it comes to young talented players. But more often than not, I see a regression when a young player, at an early point in his or her career, has a big increase in production one year, only to see those numbers slipped back the following year. It has happened to Patrick Kane when he went from 70 to 88 to 73 from 2008 to 2010 seasons. That's the first reason.
The second is when a player, regardless of how old they are, signs a big contract no matter the length of contract. The pressure weighs so heavily on said player that they think they have to be superman every night to earn that money when all they have to do is just be themselves. But it's human nature to put that kind of pressure on yourself.
Draisaitl bumped his production from 51 to 77 and everyone is expecting another incremental increase to follow. The only reason why I didn't lower my expectations for this season is that he has Connor McDavid on his team, and more importantly as his center on the 1st line and the 1st Power Play unit.
Most times I would say look for a safer option, but in this case, with him having McDavid around, the chances of him slipping are slimmer than most.