5 NHL Fantasy Gems of the Season

Year after year, most teams in a fantasy league get that random 12th round pick or waiver wire pickup that just explodes and becomes one of their top players. With the NHL season winding down and most fantasy leagues in their playoffs, I thought I’d look back and pick some players who went from sleeper pick to fantasy stud. Every fantasy league is different in its own way, so I’ve chosen some of the more popular categories from which to make my selections, in addition to using draft positions from Fantrax. When we consider the statistics chosen in comparison to the player’s average draft position(ADP), it gives us a good idea as to why these players went from a shot in the dark to a late round gem.

D, Justin Schultz, Pittsburgh Penguins

12 g, 36 a, 48 p, +27, 144 sog, 19 ppp, 20:16 TOI. ADP: 453.92

After signing with the Edmonton Oilers as a free agent out of college, Schultz never really found his game in Edmonton, possibly due to the hype around his acquisition and being thrust into a top 4 role with high expectations. When the Oilers re-signed him in the summer of 2014, GM at the time Craig MacTavish claimed that Schultz had “Norris Trophy potential,” which also probably didn’t help take any pressure off the kid. Since coming to the Penguins at the trade deadline last season, however, Schultz has blossomed into the top 3-4 defenseman that the Oilers thought they were getting. With injuries to Kris Letang, Trevor Daley, and Olli Maatta, Schultz has stepped up admirably and is now playing the 5th most minutes per night on the team, more than captain Sidney Crosby, and is seeing first powerplay unit time. Being that his average draft position doesn’t even register in most leagues’ drafts (the one I’m in ends at pick No. 420), owners are getting great value.

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LW/RW, Victor Arvidsson, Nashville Predators

29g, 27a, 56p, +17, 226 sog, 8 ppp, 7 shp, 17:04 toi, ADP: 506.15

Last season, Arvidsson was relatively unknown, scoring 8 goals and 8 assists in 56 games, skating just over 12 minutes a game. This year, however, he exploded for 27 goals and has seen his ice time increase by nearly 5 minutes and skating on Nashville’s first line with Ryan Johansen and Filip Forsberg. In most fantasy leagues, this player wasn’t even drafted, and now he’s pushing 30 goals and sits 21st overall in shots on goal while leading the NHL with 5 shorthanded goals. Arvidsson ranks just over 506 on Fantrax, putting his average draft round well after 30, meaning this was a player most people wouldn’t have drafted and picked up on the waiver wire sometime after the start of the regular season. If you, for some reason also drafted Arvidsson, kudos to you and congratulations.

C/LW/RW, Mikael Granlund, Minnesota Wild

25g, 41a, 66p, +21, 167 sog, 19ppp, 4  shp, 18:57 toi ADP: 357.36

While Granlund had a fairly productive season last year, notching 13 goals and 44 points, fantasy managers still didn’t seem convinced that he would be worthy of a high pick. However, a shift from center to wing this season has catapulted Granlund’s overall stat line. He doesn’t shoot as much as other top players, but besides that, his overall stat line compares to players who were drafted significantly higher like Jamie Benn (ADP 6.65), Phil Kessel (ADP 51.78) and Artemi Panarin (ADP 37.08). That’s elite production for a player who dropped to an average 26th round in Fantrax leagues.

D, Zach Werenski, Columbus Blue Jackets

11g, 36a, 47p, +20, 183 sog, 21 ppp, 20:58 toi ADP: 350.01

When the Blue Jackets selected Werenski 8th overall in 2015, fans knew he was special and would be an important part of their blue line for years to come. Nobody expected the type of production he has been providing this soon, though. His 47 points rank 10th among all NHL defensemen, ahead of the likes of Roman Josi (ADP 41.47), Shea Weber (ADP 48.1)  and Drew Doughty (ADP 51.4) and he sits 5th overall in rookie scoring, behind only Mitch Marner, William Nylander, Patrik Laine and Auston Matthews. While it seems to be a two-horse race between Laine and Matthews for the Calder Trophy, it would be shameful if Werenski were left out of the conversation.

G, Peter Budaj, Tampa Bay Lightning

29 wins, .916 SV%, 2.16 GAA, 7 SO ADP: N/A

[the_ad id=”693″]Raise your hand if you expected Peter Budaj to be sitting tied for 2nd in shutouts and 13th overall in wins. *Crickets*. Me too. Coming into this season, Budaj’s career-high in games played was 57 in 2006-07 when he was the starting goaltender for the Colorado Avalanche. This season, between LA and Tampa, he has surpassed that total by starting 59 games, which is more than he has played in the last 4 seasons combined. Budaj’s .916 SV% is average at best, but his 29 wins rank better than Matt Murray (ADP 94.12), John Gibson (ADP 42.43) and Cory Schneider (ADP 42.5), while his 2.17 GAA ranks 3rd out of all NHL goaltenders who have played at least 24 games, trailing Vezina favorites Sergei Bobrovksy and Braden Holtby. If you were smart enough to grab Budaj when he was called up, you made one of the most underrated moves of the season.

Other players who were considered, in no particular:

• RW, Cam Atkinson: 33 g, 27 a, 60 p, +14, 222 sog, 21 ppp, 18:09 TOI. ADP: 162.65
• RW, David Pastrnak: 32 g, 32 a, 64 p, +8, 243 sog, 22 ppp, 18:04 TOI. ADP: 182.36
• G, Cam Talbot: 37 wins, .920 SV%, 2.40 GAA, 7 SO. ADP: 96.66
• C, Mikael Backlund: 21 g, 29 a, 50 p, +11, 187 sog, 15 ppp, 668 fow, 17:33 TOI. ADP: 384.78
• D, Ryan Ellis: 15 g, 21 a, 36 p, +15, 123 sog, 11 ppp, 127 blk, 24:03 TOI. ADP: 169.48

If you picked a player you think deserves to be on this list, which is entirely possible since there have been many pleasant surprises this year, leave a comment with why you think so! As always, thanks for reading!