The Hockey PDOcast - Early Season Usage and The Players Who Are Benefiting From It To Start The Year

Episode Date: October 9, 2026

Dimitri Filipovic is joined by Chris Meaney to take a look at early season usage for players around the league, and identify who is benefiting from their current situation to start the year. There will be a couple of new episodes each week that will be Patreon-exclusive only for our subscribers, and won't be appearing on the free feed. To gain access to all of that content make sure you've subscribed to the PDOcast's Patreon. The subscription provides you with the ad-free version of every single episode we do this season, and they will be available for you to listen as soon as we're done recording.We've also finally got some merch available for our listeners! If you'd like to get your hands on a PDOcast shirt or hat to rep the show, you can do so here. We've recently added a really fun new option on there to celebrate the start of the season. If you've already subscribed to the Patreon, one of the perks that comes with it is that you get a discount on all of the show merch.I'd also recommend subscribing to our Youtube channel. We'll be posting full shows on there more regularly this season so that you can watch along with us. I'm hoping to grow the channel this year, so each subscription, like, and comment is greatly appreciated. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Progressing to the mean since 2015. It's the Hockey Pediocast with your host, Dmitri Filippovich. Welcome to the Hockey-Pedio-Cast. My name is Demetri Philipovich. And joining me is my good buddy, Chris Meene. Meany, what's going on, man? What's happening, man? Always a pleasure to chop it up with you every time I get that DM.

When you slide in the DMs, it's like Christmas morning, Dmit, so always a pleasure, man, looking forward to this. Well, I'm excited to have you on. Here's the plan for today. So most teams have played around four or five games. So far this season, I believe the Blue Jackets. as we're speaking, are the only team that hasn't played at least three. So we've got a little bit of data to work with.

Let's just put it out of the way right now. We don't need to do any more small sample size disclaimers. I think everyone understands there were only a couple games in, but we're going to work with what we have. And in particular, I wanted to take stock of some situations around the league with you, particularly from a player usage perspective, identify some players who are in interesting spots to produce and get the most out of their skill sets.

Maybe they've moved up the lineup. as the season's gone going, hopefully will help our listeners with their fantasy pools by identifying a couple under the radar names that they can maybe target or add. And we're going to just go back and forth for about an hour or so, see how many names we get through. You and I always have a great pace whenever we do these. So let's get it going. I'll give you the floor. What's the first situation you want to talk about? Yeah, you're nice to give me the floor because I'm sure you have this guy on your list. It's Cole Profetti. I know you and I have talked a lot about Cole Profetti over the past couple years. I think a lot of people are expecting a breakout campaign from him last season. Unfortunately,

this season didn't start great for him with an injury, but it has started amazing for him this season. And, you know, large and parties aren't on the top line, for one. Not great news for Gabriel Valardi, but fantastic news for Cole Profetti. He's got the goals in three straight games heading into the weekend, points in all four, six points total, four goals as well, four power play points. He had six last season, just to put that into perspective and 12 shots on goal and seven hits. So he's contributing in other categories as well, averaging 18 minutes per game this year, 15 last season, sub 15 for his career too. So it's a massive usage rate jump here over the first couple of weeks where he averaged two shots per game last year and three this year. So Kyle Connor is just off to an

amazing start as well. I know he's among the leaders and expected goals and scoring chances and shot attempts at five and five and you look at the edge stats profile for Perfetti. He's got the five high danger shots, which is 92nd percentile among forwards. He has five made of range shots as well, 94th percentile among forwards, two mid-arranged goals. He has a high-danger goal. The offensive zone-time percentage is just over 47%. That's in the 89th percentile at his position as well. So just an amazing start for Cole Profetti.

And the Jets, they've been kind of a top heavy line, one-line team for quite some time. And, you know, right now Perfetti's benefiting from that. Yeah, it's a nice fit for him. It's a shame it took this long to get it all the week. They'd get that magical season from him and Nikola Eilers two years ago. but one of his relative weaknesses is he's not going to ever be a burner, right? So he's never going to be a guy who just takes the puck from one end of the ice to the other, pushes the opposing defense back, puts that level of fear into the other team.

Fortunately, Kyle Connor certainly does that. Mark Sheifley has a good command in the middle of the ice. And that line, as we've talked about for years, maybe sometimes the team's detriment in some of the other players in the team, really defers to Sheifley and Connor. Like they give them all the premium usage, all the offensive zones, starts every time they're looking for a goal it's those guys out there and so perfetti is going to absorb a lot of that playing with them and i think he's certainly got the skill set to make the most of it

he's a great connective passer he's got a sneaky good shot he's living in the high danger area as you mentioned and the usage is all the way up so it's great to see him healthy they made a big commitment to him with a what was it a five or six year extension this off season as well and so he's a core piece for them they're using him as such i'm not really that worried it's a shame because Volardi had such a nice connection with those guys previously. But I imagine as the year goes along, assuming the lines stay the way they are, Figo Bjork is going to start ramping up as well. And he's already created some good opportunities to score over the past couple games. So once the puck starts going in there, Valardi's still going to get a lot of those power play opportunities as well. I think he'll be able to

produce similar to what he did last year. So yeah, the Jets have been a nice story. I kind of mentioned earlier this week how they got off to that good start winning a couple games on the road and then their schedule is about to get really difficult. The first one, an Amazon prime game here in Winnipeg, they beat the abs in regulation with a late goal from that top line. And so off to a good start and we'll see how they sort of navigate this upcoming stretch because they're pretty much going to play every good team in the league over the next 10, 15 games. Yeah, absolutely. And we all know that they were with O'Connor Hellebuck, but at the time being, they're getting good goal-tending, right? Stuart Skinner's been pretty solid for them so far to start the season as well. I know Josh Morrissey's banged up at the

moment, but their top guys are going to be their top guys all year long. And, you know, just there seems to be some quote-to-quote stink and this Jets organization to start the season. But I think they're off to a really good start. But you're right. They're going to get tested here over the next couple of weeks, given the schedule, but so far so good. Well, and especially if they're not going to have Morrissey for some of that. And he left that game against the abs early because he's got a similar, maybe less extreme, but still kind of collaborative relationship with that top line, where they play the two of them together. And he really helps push the pace, push the puck up the ice,

get the puck to them in interesting spots in the offensive zone. And without him, it's going to be a bit more difficult in uphill sledding. But we'll see how they manage that. I'll start with another Canadian winger or winger playing on a Canadian team. And I thought when you were teeing it up that you were going to go this route. So I'm glad that you didn't. saved it for me. And that's facility put goals in. He had 19 goals and 37 points last season, kind of his first breakout offensive season in the NHL. He started red hot this year. He's got

four goals, six points in his first four games, 16 shots on goal, 27 shot attempts. The usage is all the way up. Even in that breakout last year, he was averaging around 1522 per game, all the way up to 1844. And 37, five on five minutes, just loading up that top line, put goals in playing with both McDavid and Dreis Eidl, 31 of those 37 minutes, Evan Bouchard's on the ice with them. So it's really a power play unit. Essentially, goal 7-0, chances 12 to 3, 80 percent expected goal share. I noticed on NHL edge stats as well to steal one of your go-toes. He leads the league in percentage of his time.

So far, this season spent in the offensive zone as well, about 55% of his opportunities are there. And even when Hyman and RNH come back, I imagine that's going to take away from, from his power play spot right now. And so that'll hurt a little bit. But at 5 on 5, we saw last year he had a great union with Leon Drey Cytle for a good chunk of the season, played some with McDavid as well. He's so versatile. It's such a perfect skill set to play with your top players, right?

He's a dog on the forecheck. He wins battles. He's good around the net. And in particular, something I've noticed this season is his timing is really on point as well in terms of darting towards the net and making himself available for a pass. And we know how much attention Drysitel and McDavid are in a command. how good they are as passers. So that's a pretty good skill set to have playing with those guys,

knowing where to go and when to get there. And he's flashed that so far, scored a beautiful breakaway goal against the ducks where dry-sidal lobbed basically like a three-zone, unbelievable bullet right on the tape. He settles it, though, and I think he deserves credit for the play he makes there as well to stay onside and kind of take it in stride and then buries it with a beautiful finish past Lucas

those style. So Percosen's playing awesome right now. This top, whatever, five-mad unit, for the Oilers is just red-hot to start the season, and I don't really see it slowing down with how good those guys are. And so anyone that's going to be on the ice with them, I think is going to be really productive. And I think Put Colson's holding up his end of the bargain in terms of chipping in unique ways to kind of maximize what those guys already do. Yeah, Pod Colson is on my list as well. We've gotten a lot of questions about him over the first

couple weeks of the season, like how sustainable is this? And should you sell high? And I know, you know one fantasy manager had said that gabin mckenna was offered to him straight up for vespalade podcoles and which is something you know if you if you talked to me about that two weeks ago I would have thought nah i don't i don't think that offer would have been there and and you know i told the pod goals an owner to to hold on especially given the settings that that fantasy manager was playing in leagues with hits and shots on goal and you know you mentioned that the 19 goals that he had last year averaging 15 minutes per game nearly 19 so far here he had 242 hits last season too so he's very productive in those bangers leagues.

But man, he doesn't look out a place. Like, this isn't a guy that's just like he's gotten a promotion because Ryan New Jersey Hopkins and Zach Hyman aren't there. Like you mentioned the power play. Maybe he doesn't stay on that first power play. But there was a connection I noticed as well with him and Leon Dreisota last year. We had him as a breakout player last year. Maybe we were a year too early on that.

But we are seeing it so far this year. You mentioned the offensive zone time as well. This Oilers team is going to play high event hockey all year. long. They really will. It's fun fantasy environments to be a part of as well. There's no surprise to see the great start really from Evan Bouchard, along with McDavid and Drysittal. So I would hold on to Vesley-Pudkoles and he may be even available in a shallow eight or 10 team league. His ownership now is starting to be respectable. But yeah, it's a, you know, Babcock kind of played that similar player with Hyman with Matthews

years ago, wanted a guy that can go win puck battles and retreat pucks for the star players. And so I'm not shocked that, you know, Babcock really wants to play him with Pudkuls and dry so it's a very good start. And I would, again, I would hang on to him. And who knows, man, maybe he even stays on that first power play. Like, it's possible. Yeah, I like what I've seen from. I mean, the motor is legit.

He's shooting the Pocotan and very decisively as well with some one-time opportunities. And he's still at 25 years old, I believe. So he's kind of entering his prime. Now it's been a slow burn after he was a high draft pick. And I did wonder times earlier in his career what the offensive ups and he's, side was, it seemed like he was going to be a good player, but maybe more so kind of like a middle six guy who wins battles and plays defensive assignments. But he's continued to add layers to his game and kind of refine his skills. And so it makes sense that he's taking his game to another level

after a strong season last year. Okay, let's keep it going. Who's next on your list? Luke Evangalisa, he's a player that I liked with Nashville when he was shipped to New Jersey. I thought there was going to be an opportunity for him to play with some really good players. And so far we're seeing that Nico Hesher and Tim O'Mire. I know that they split up. Anthony Manta with Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt in the devil's most recent game. But Luke Evangelista playing up on that top power play as well, a couple goals and three points in his first three games. He has nine shots on goal. I think it's a really good opportunity for him.

I know he sure hasn't had the best of a start, but those are two really good players in terms of real life when you watch them. The devil's pushed the pace so far. They're among leaders and shot attempts at five and five. But just that opportunity to play with all the skilled players on that first unit. And they've been whipping the puck around quite a bit going down in preseason and into the regular season as well where Evangelista has a power play goal. So even Matt then, a deeper league, I wouldn't, you know, shy away from him. I know he's had some high shooting percentages over the past couple of years, but you and I have talked before about his lethal shot. And we'll see if, you know, he gets back with Hughes and BRAP.

But right now it does seem like Luke Evangelista is sub 50% ownership heading into last night is a, as a player that certainly could help you out. Yeah, he's playing in the middle of the ice on that power play. got the one tip and then tipped home another or the booty directed off of them later in the game against the mammoth. I'm torn on the devils because I love the individual players. And I think if you just removed any baggage and you look at the situation of vacuum, you'd say after the three games they've played, it's a great bylaw opportunity because their shooting percentage is absolutely in the tank. They've scored six goals on 114 shots as a team so far. That's a league where shooting percentage 5-15 they're scoring at 4.8% of their opportunities only the flames are less

efficient it is despite some of the new personnel and i think an improved playing style a bit of a carryover from last year unfortunately where they were very snake-bidden and have been for a while and just the finishing is not where it needs to be and i'm not sure how much we should expect that to continue it's only been a couple games and they do look faster and you know more prolific off the rush again this season and Evangeloista, as we saw last year, I'd bet on his talent, no doubt. So I think that's a great shout from you. But I guess I'm curious to see as the sample size grows for them, whether they're able to start being more efficient because they're generating a lot of shots, but the puck's just are not going on. I think they're sixth in both high danger chances per hour and expected goals generated

per hour, but they're just not scoring goals right now. Yeah, and I think that will, I think that'll turn, right? I think those, at least that top six. And, you know, when you look at that power playing, Heeshire and Timo Meyer. I mean, Meyer really hasn't scored like he did in San Jose since the devil's acquired him. But the shot attempts and the shots are certainly there. And Jack Hughes and Jesper Brat, it's a good duo. I know that Avengers Lease is not playing five and five with those two players. But Jack Hughes was second in the league in points after the Olympic break, just won behind

Conner McDavid. We know what his ceiling looks like when he's healthy. But I'm encouraged at least that the attempts are there. You know, you bring up a good point that they're kind of snake bit at the moment. but at least those attempts are there in the high danger and the quality chances seem to be elite. I want to talk capitals with you because this was one of the situations

and I believe you and I talked kind of late July after a lot of the dust settled with all the transactions this off season and we talked at the time in terms of expectations for particularly some of the younger guys like Ryan Leonard what the opportunities would look like for them after they went out and acquired Jordan Cairo and Alex Tuck and they bring in even Boone Jenner

and just like a bunch of guys and not enough opportunities. there's only one puck and only a certain amount of ice time to go around between all those players. And so I just wanted to see what the forward lines would look like. In their three games, we've seen a pretty established top line. I think Pierre-Luc Dubois centering Alex Tuck and Tom Wilson, that line is up 3-0 with a 64% expected goals share. The three of them combined for five goals so far and have looked very good.

Ryan Leonard has scored twice. He's taken 17 shots in three games, and it's exciting to see, I mean, the goal he scores. I think towards the end of a power play coming in off an entry, ripping it past the penguin's goalie, you see what that shooting talent is like and why we keep kind of talking it up and what his upside is ultimately going to be as he enters his prime. I think that's really exciting. The Ovechkin's Strom combo is, as you'd expect, getting all the offensive zone starts and being sheltered and kind of carefully putting together their minutes.

You think it's notable that we've seen Ovechkin only play 28, 5-on-5 minutes in three games. far. He is 12 on the team amongst forwards out of the 12 that have played in 5-on-5 usage. And so they're really managing his minutes to start this season, sort of in Jenner, are eating up the defensive responsibilities. And the one getting the short end of the stick, at least for the time being, seems to be Jordan Kairu. And part of it is he's playing with Ilya Proto's and they're sort of easing him in into being an NHL center. But Kyru's played under 13 minutes per game. So far this season, he's only gotten three total shots on goal and it's a bit strange to me.

I get that there's a lot of players involved and they're off to a good start the season's a team, but they invested pretty heavily in him, taking on his contract and sending Connor McMichael and other assets back the other way when they traded for him. And they just haven't really, I guess, put together a viable opportunity for him in terms of ice time and usage and who he's playing with. And so not everyone is going to get to eat because there's only so much to go around. But I'm curious to see if that changes and if they find ways to get Kyra going because it's been a really slow start for him in Washington.

Yeah, you know, the capitals are extremely interesting. And they're going to be an amazing team to monitor all year along. And, you know, the big winner for me is Pierre-Luc Dubois. You touched on them. But Wilson leads all four. It's a nice time at 18 per game. He's got the four points in three games. Pierluq de Bois is the four points in three games.

And Pyr-Lucs the four is the nice time playing in all situations. He has seven high-danger shots already, which is tied for ninth in the NHL. And he has the three points in four games as well, 11 shots total. So, you know, actually, it's tough. who's second among Ford's and Ice Time is Wilson's first. But nonetheless, like, that's the trio that have, you know, they've been the line to start the season. I am concerned about Cairo, 12, 14, and 11 minutes. You know, he did pick up a helper the other night, but the ice time is not there at all.

So it's going to be a massive drop in terms of usage rate. What we saw from St. Louis, a guy that scored what 30 goals in three straight seasons. And Strom as well is not a big volume shooter. 13 minutes twice, 13, 18, and 13. He does have the three points in three games, but you're really just getting, you know, assist from him. And you mentioned Ovecgen, sub 15 minutes in all three games and the one helper. And I've noticed all three of those guys, the ownership has dropped considerably over, you know, the last four to five days. So we've had

a little bit of a sample size. Jenner and Ryan Leonard playing on the fourth line. And these guys, the usage rate is high for Jenner. And you mentioned the shot attempts for Leonard. He heading into that third game, he was, I think he was second on the Capitol squad. Overall, it was Cole Hudson and it was Chickren, who was leading the team in shot attempts. So I think there's value in Ryan Leder to hold on to him. You know, there may be in a moment again where he's getting top power play time and the capital's second power play unit with Cole Hudson on the back end. He's got seven power play points already in his career.

You know, it's better than most teams first unit. So this is, again, an interesting team to follow. But if you're looking for somebody right now on the waiver wire, you know, there's been, you know, a few injuries. Maybe you had Barkoff down the middle of the ice. You need something. Pure Luke Dubois is a guy that I think should be owned. You know, I feel like it's a really good fit. It's a heavy line with Wilson and Tuck.

And I really like where the capitals are at overall. But you're right. There's one puck and all these guys are not going to score every single night. And it does seem like the capitals are going to roll four lines, right? They're going to lean maybe on that first one. But this is a team that's going to roll four lines. And why wouldn't you? They're one of the deepest teams in the NHL.

Yeah, it's a bunch of players that I like. But if you're playing fantasy, it might not be the most lucrative position just because the ice time at certain points is going to be low for at least one or two of these guys. And it seems like Kyru's the audience. the odd man out right now. Let's keep it going. Go to Pittsburgh. And that second line of Novak and Chinikov and Malkin, they were really good last year. I don't think they got enough attention

and how good they were. Novak's been a player that I've always always really liked. I thought, you know, some moments in Nashville where he had some really nice highlights and, you know, some injuries have kind of caught up to him. But this season, the trio has kind of picked up where they left off last year and Novak's got the five points in the four games and Malcon still doing his thing. And Chinnikov the other night, I think he led the team with 10 shot

attempts against the capitals. and he wasn't rewarded really for those attempts, but he's a really good player, and the usage rate has jumped up considerably from the time when he was with Columbus to Pittsburgh, and maybe he couldn't keep that pace of what he did last year with the Penguins, but this line, when I watched them,

they had a great game against the Canadians of their night. You know, they lived in Montreal's zone. There was a lengthy shift where Chinikov ended up scoring a really nice goal was called back to an offside, but the play extended for quite a bit, and they were cycling the puck. is the chemistry was off the charts between those two guys. So I think, you know, Chinikoff is probably more of a volume shooter than the other two guys,

you know, certainly at Malcon's point of his career. But Novak, I think, is another guy as well. Like the Penguins are, it's probably unfair to say they remind me the Oilers, but they're going to play a lot of high event hockey as well. They're going to score some goals. They did last year. And I wondered if it was going to be sustainable in the off season. They had a lot of high shooting rates.

You know, they're a little bit older. But Russ returns in the lineup. He scores. He gets back on the top line with first. Krell and Krosby, it took maybe a period in half for that to happen. And so the top six is pretty loaded offensively. Eric Carlson's still productive on the back end. So Novak, I don't know if he's immediate pickup in fantasy hockey leagues,

but certainly in the prop market, he's somebody we've been talking a lot about. And we've been diving into some of his numbers over the past couple weeks here. Penguins are doing it again. They've played some really fun, high-end games, as you mentioned. I believe they are fifth in both shots and expected goals generated. a team and they lead the league in high danger chances again they're going to give up a lot the other way we've already seen some high scoring back and forth affairs from them and that's going to continue i you know russ comes back scores a goal pretty much immediately i think on his first shift of the season

and then gets that promotion to the top line and we've seen him play with crosbie and rickle in the past i i'd like what i've seen from nick robertson in that spot and he scores with the uh starts with the season with the two-gold game in Philly, scores again against the capitals, gets bumped down. The lineup, they have similar to Washington, just a lot of depth. And I think it's a changeability. But it does seem like Crosby and Rakel is going to be a staple. And then that second line with Chinikov playing with Malkin and Novak, based on the chemistry they have, and Chinikov flying again this season is going to be a staple for them.

So I like that call from you. Let's get into the lightning next, sticking in the east. So they once again look like a dominant 5-15 team, 57% shot share, 59% chance share, 58% expected goal share. And I imagine a lot of their top players, the ones you'd expect, the names everyone's heard of, are already owned and valued in whatever leagues you're playing in. The one way I think you can get in on that, and he has no points so far. So it's not like he's necessarily been a priority, but I think that'll turn around if this usage continues is Gage Gonzalez. He added 33 points last year, scores that big overtime winner in their round one series against the HABs.

Hasn't scored yet at all, but he's second among lightning forwards in 515 usage. He's playing a regular role next to Kutrov and Point. I do think Point, despite similarly not scoring that much yet, looks healthier than he did for a lot of last year. He's flying around. I was watching that game against the Wild on Thursday and had some beautiful, like, full length of the ice back checks. and kind of that typical motor that we knew and loved from Brayden Point a couple years ago that wasn't really as evident last year. And so I want to buy in on that line because anyone, as we talked about,

that's on the ice with Gucharov is going to get shooting opportunities and high danger chances. And I think Gonzalez is enough skill to take advantage of that as the year goes along. And I love the fact that he's getting those regular minutes. And I think the points are going to eventually start coming for him if he sticks in that spot. Yeah, there's no question. You know, he's a guy that really impressed me last year. in that opening round against the Canadians. He moved up and down the lineup a little bit.

A lot of the attention, of course, is always going to be on Kuterov, and then you have Hagel who's just turned into like a massive volume shooter, you know, really. He has 37 shot attempts in the first four games. It's insane, yeah. And, you know, he's been plus money for an example. You look at it shot props for three shots over the first couple of games, so that'll change in a hurry. But, yeah, he's ripping the puck, and Gensel does the same thing.

And Braden Point, I'm not concerned about. Like, if anybody was concerned as an owner, you just hang on to him. him or you could potentially buy low. I think the one lightning maybe that has been dropped a lot is Victor headman and I know he's had a rough start but he could turn it around in any moment. So I do like that call by you. Staying inside the division over to Buffalo, I'll let you, I'm sure you've talked a lot about home power if you wanted to go on power again by all means, but Jack Quinn and really some of these other guys and the Sabres and Oculee, nearly eight minutes of five and five with Tage Thompson and Peyton Krebs the other night. But Jack,

Quinn, Zach Benson and Josh Don't. I know Benson and Don't have no goals, but they're also sub-50% ownership. Quinn is second in shots behind Tage. He's got the couple goals playing with Osslin and Benson. But I know Tage is first and expected goals, but Quinn is 14th. He's tied for 14th in shot attempts. He's another guy that's been ripping the puck a lot. I want to look at the Sabres, like this is a team that can score.

But when I look at their ownership, it's just like Tage Thompson and Rasmus Dahlene. Nobody else is really owned on this team. And they do some different things with their. lines, but I've really liked what I've seen from Quinn so far this season and getting some power play time there as well. So not sure on your thoughts on the Sabres and outside of Tage Thompson, but there's a lot of guys here that can, their ownership just should be higher in fantasy. And for power, you know, what I'll just say, I mean, the 25 plus minutes in all four games, the overtime goal that he scored, that game in particular where he almost played 30 minutes per night.

Every time he's on the ice, the puck just seems to be in the other end. And it's taken some time. I think people over the past couple years, like, what does power ceiling look like? Without Bowen Byron there, I think maybe we're, we might just see that breakout campaign from him this year. Undoubtedly, he is right behind Dali in terms

of I signed this season. He's averaging 2660 now through their first four games. As I talked about on a recent show, I love that particularly when they're trailing and they've been trailing a lot this season so far, they just load up him and Daliing together out there in the offensive zone and try to push for goals.

and the two of them have great chemistry. I think the world of power's ability to drive offense and get the puck to where it needs to go. He's flying around this season. So that's a great call by you. That line in general with Benson, O'Slin, and Quinn has unbelievable numbers. So far this season, 48, 5-1-5 minutes together.

Shots are 22 to 8, nearly 70% expected goals and chances Quinn's hit three posts so far, which leads the league as well. And so he's getting a lot of looks. I think he actually leads the Sabres forwards in ice time. all situations as well. So they just have such command in the offensive zone. They win so many battles,

particularly anyone playing with Benson and Osland is going to be in a good spot. And he's going to be the clear trigger man on that line. So I like that call for you from a fantasy perspective. Yuri Kulik is interesting to me because he's coming off of that blood clot issue that limited him to just 12 games. Last season, he starts on the fourth line, kind of easing him in on the fourth line wing spot at that and plays just 845 in the opener since then starts getting more and more on his plate. He scores the game winner against

the Blackhawks in their second game. He sets up that power overtime winner in overtime in the third game and then gets a promotion to number one center with Tage Thompson on his wing in the most recent game. Now, they got shut out by the stars. They didn't necessarily convert on it, but I like to see that progression from him. He was an incredibly gifted and productive player early in his career prior to that blood clot issue. And so I think there's a great opportunity for him. Something we talked about a lot this offseason is just the lack of, like, a little solidified centers for them because they have a lot of guys who can play center,

but not necessarily anyone that you're like, all right, this is the picking order, no matter what we've seen Ryan McLeod struggle and get bumped down the lineup. They have not been using Josh Norris down the middle. Tage Thompson's initial look with Done and Norris didn't really work. And so they bumped up Kulik and Krebs there. And so they're trying to figure it out, but I think there's going to be a lot of opportunity for these guys. I guess one limiting factor for any of these Sabres players is their power play just

stinks once again. And it was very mediocre to downright bad at times last year. And they're the only team in the league the season without a single power play goal yet. Until that turns around, it's going to cap it a little bit. But the 5-1-5 environment is so good that there's going to be a lot of opportunity for these guys to cash in and be very productive. Yeah. And last year, when they played the Canadians in the second round, I think it took maybe five or

six games to get Benson up on that first unit with with Dane and and tage and I thought it was a little bit predictable uh at first and you know you got tage there and we know what tage and dahlene can do but those other guys really need to step up and have more of a net front presence there but yeah they had eight different line combinations at five and five Thursday against the minnesota wild so they're still try to lindy rough still try to figure out what to do with some of those players but they should all be on on notice anyways and i'm going to go with the leaps next who are very final watch Again, after being miserable to watch last year, they made a lot of offseason changes right before the season they acquired Carol Marchenko. And this week, they come back from a 3-0 deficit early against the Predators to win in overtime.

Then they go into Vegas. They build an immediate 3-0 lead and blow that and lose in a shootout. And yet, despite the fact they're producing and scoring as a team, it feels like there's more to come here, particularly atop the lineup for me. because a lot like that line when they've used it with marchenko playing with rossovich and matthews has dominated shots are 2717 a nice 69% expected goal share and yet they've created just a one five on five five goal so far as a unit marchenko himself has only one goal on 34 a tenses hit the post a number of times had some rough giveaways in that loss in Vegas but i think is still due for a massive offensive season in the role he's in and i guess i'm just curious to see what they

ultimately settle on because I've noticed the past couple games in game. There's a lot of mixing and matching against Vegas. We saw Willie D. Lander jump up on that Matthews line. We've seen them manufacture opportunities to get Gavin McKenna in the top six, but then Easton Cowan as well. And Cowan has been one of my favorite stories so far. This season, I feel like every time is on the ice, something good happens. He scores a breakaway goal on Thursday night in Vegas nearly sets up another couple goals.

Every puck touch of his is a productive one, and it's not stuff necessarily that is going to immediately translate to fantasy production because a lot of it is like taking a check to make a play near the defensive zone blue line and getting it to a teammate. But if he's playing the top six with a Willie Nealander, for example, oftentimes that could lead to an immediate assist because if you're getting that guy at the puck

with space to operate in transition, good things are going to happen for you. And so I think Cowan has played well enough, great underlying numbers, awesome tape so far to justify more opportunities there. And he's been productive. He's got four points in five games, a couple goals. And if he keeps getting more of that, I do want to buy it on Easton Cowan.

Right now we've seen McKenna finally get a couple points, create some opportunities for his linemates as well, kind of as advertised, a lot of quick puck movement and trying to get the puck into the slot. And so it's going to come for him as well. And yeah, I'm not sure ultimately how good this leaves team is at this point because they're giving up a lot the other way. I think there's some defensive issues, but clear upgrade in terms of offensive environment, just team speed in general. And I think a lot of these top players are going to benefit from it. Yeah, no question they're going to score some goals, right?

The defense, I have a lot of questions about it's, I think the bottom six is improved, so they probably won't live in their own end as much as they did last year. Nobody lived in their own out of five and five more than the Leafs last season. But, you know, they were certainly banged up and they had some issues on the blue line. Gavin McKenna, we just updated a piece on him over at NHL.com slash fantasy about, you know, he set the fastest max skating speed by an 18-year-old last night, 23.34 miles per hour during the puck and player tracking era since 21-22 passing shafer shaffer who passed macklin the year before that but it's the fourth fastest mark

this season behind three oilers make david cap and howard uh lead the way but there's no question i think when i watch mckenna he skills is going to overtake and you know last night playing at five and five with colton cissons and nick paul rosselvic at the moment four points in five games there seems to be a little chemistry there with matthews and murchenko but i'm looking forward i feel like there's certainly a good fit with cowan next to tveras and the We saw a little bit of that last year. So I'm not surprised that that's working at the moment. But I do feel like McKenna is a guy that will move up the lineup.

I think he's only played three minutes at 5 and 5 with Austin Matthews. So far, majority of his minutes have come with Tavares and Elander. But I think Matthews needs a guy like McKenna. And you look at Marchenko, you talk about maybe a little bit unlucky with the puck luck. He's tied with Tage Thompson in terms of shot attempts at 5 and 5. We both love this guy and he's going to be a great fit in Toronto. But having Gavin McKenna, I think on that long, line is more of a pass-first guy and the vision that he has, I think will be good for those two

players. But certainly Easton Cowan, and when I talked earlier about Pod Colson, it wasn't a slight on McKenna about that trade. McKenna is probably a good by-low candidate in redraft leagues. Remember, he's just an 18-year-old kid, so I think maybe they're sheltering him just a touch. But I think over time, this is a guy that's going to move up the lineup. So good call on Easton Cowan, but I think McKenna as well is probably one of the better by-low candidates. I know his ownership's dropped 10% over the past week or so, given the slow start. But as you alluded to, you know, three points here in the past couple games. All right. Who's next in your list?

I can go to St. Louis. I know a slow start for Robert Thomas and Dylan Holloway and Jimmy Snuggard. I still like that trio quite a bit. I would hang on to those three guys, especially Snuggarrood. I know he's hit the score sheet early, but great start the season for Mason McTavage and even Connor McMichael, two new blues playing together, seven points combined. Each have two goals. I noticed McTavish playing on that first power play for St. Louis as well, points in 304, 13 shots, and you know, you're playing in a league with hits and face off wins. He can help you in those categories as well. He's 10th and expected goals at 5 and 5.

I think just maybe a bit of a fresh start for him. I know things didn't go well for him in Anaheim. There was times where, you know, he was glued to the bench or not in the lineup and behind most of those star players in Anaheim. So I don't think he's a point per game player by all means, but he's, you know, he's going to get an opportunity in St. Louis to play a big role as the second line center. And I think it's very telling early on like, hey, we're going to give this guy an opportunity to play on the power play. I think the ceiling is a little bit higher than McMichael.

But ultimately, Mason McTavish has shown us before in the past that, you know, he can be productive, you know, not just in fantasy hockey, but in the NHL as well. There's some defensive things to his game that we probably don't need to dive into. But ultimately, offensively, he does have a little bit of a skill set that I, admire that's well said i'm sure mason attached as well as like let's not focus on that stuff let's let's focus on the positives yeah i know the connection between him and mcichael was very evident the past couple games particularly off the rush they've they've strung together some nice passing plays that resulted in goals i'm i'm not worried about that top line i know it's been a very slow start as you mentioned jimmy snuckerood leads the team in shot at empty's got 25 and his score just the

one time that line in general i was watching that game against the sharks and by the way i don't know what was going on with that ESPN broadcast. I don't know if you saw it, but the exposure in terms of the light on it was insane. I felt like I was just like looking directly into the sun. And at times, I was having a tough time figuring out who actually had the puck. But I did enjoy that contest. And I've got a couple notes on the sharks as well from it. Yeah. That line came really close near the end of the third during a tie game. Like Robert Thomas walks in and the rings one off the bar. And I still don't know how that puck didn't go in or how Jeezy Nagaroo didn't bat it in into an empty net off of the rebound, but Holloway had a nice tip that nearly went in.

Snuggerwood set up a couple opportunities for that line as well. And so it'll come for them. We saw in that final 25 game sample down the stretch last year, just how productive they were. And so I would keep riding with them. And that second line is looking nice as well so far. So I like that shout out from you. What do you think about the sharks while we're on that game?

Because it's tough to evaluate them without Macklin Celebrating the past couple games. You could pretty much draw a lot. between the first few while he was available and how fun this environment can be. And then the previous two now, the game in Dallas was a nightmare for them. They came from behind and wound up winning in overtime in St. Louis. But similar to what we said about the caps, I'm just curious to see what the distribution of ice time and the lines particularly are upfront for this team because there's a lot of moving parts.

Chernishaw got off to a great start. I'm curious to see if he can stick on that unit or if there will be Mason-Barchment the way they started the year. driver Stenberg, I know he hasn't necessarily been that productive offensively. He sets up that overtime winner with a beautiful pass where he kind of delays and cuts back and then hits Nurse coming off the bench. And I thought in general really popped to me. He had a number of great opportunities and setups in that game. So I love Stemberg, but if he's going to be playing in more of this middle six kind of defensive role, maybe the offensive county stats won't be there

in the early going, but I still just want to bet on the talent. And I think he's shown enough so far that he can clearly play in the NHL right away. Yeah, that's just said. I mean, as an 18-year-old in the Swedish Elite League, I mean, he's set in records. He's right there with Siddines and Marcus Naslin in terms of just how potent he was as an 18-year-old kid in that league. And I'm seeing the same thing, you know, playing with Alexander Renberg is more of a responsible two-way center. But I feel like he could move. It's just like what I said about Gavin McKenna. Like, the skill is certainly there. Like, it may just take a little bit of time for him to to move up the line. up by, you know, right now, Mason Marchman.

And Celebrini is close to returning, but we did see Mason Marchman play with Smith and Macklin, Celebrating. That's a really good spot for, for what is a veteran player really on that squad when you look at how young they are. But I could see Stenberg playing with those two guys and getting an opportunity to play on the power play over time. I do feel like maybe he's behind, turn to shove in the pecking order at the moment. You know, he did have a three-point game, which I think, you know, his ceiling is really

high and intriguing. Like, that's the player that I expect to kind of take that leap forward. you know of course you have senberg as just a rookie but michael misa a lot of people looking for a little bit more from him as well but i think like churnashov's that guy that you know i have um like the watch you know and he's a guy that maybe you can pick up in a in a deeper league or hang on to for the time being and i want to give a shout out to luka kenyon nioni as well i know like the first game is great everybody you know he's his overtime goal two points on the power play and then you mentioned the the past couple games though macklin celebrini the power play obviously is not going to look anywhere what it will look like when celebrity gets back in the line and the power play and then you mentioned the last couple of games like when celebrity gets back in the line and the power play and lineup. I think, you know, he was picked up on mass. Like, his ownership went from 2% to 34% now I'm seeing today. He's one of the most draw players. I think you just be patient with him. They don't really have that guy to put on the power play. Like Nurse has done it before, but he's not going to be on PP1 and Trubon, you know, Orloff and Klingberg last year at time. So I think,

you know, Kenyoni, if you're just looking for a defenseman play with upside, he's a guy that I think will, will, there's going to be, you know, highs and lows with his game, certainly, but the usage rate, I think will be there for him and just having a spot in that first power play to me, is very valuable. So I would like to see Stenberg playing with somebody else. No disrespect to Enberg, but I think it just may take a little bit of time. I think you just have to be patient with him. Yeah. Do you think that people are high enough yet on that line in general of Stank, Gove and Blake and Hall? No. No. Had a wildly productive playoffs were clearly the best line for not only the hurricanes, but really anyone in the playoffs last year and or once again,

Off to a good start, Jackson Blake's got 25 shot attempts in five games, five points, all assists so far, but Stankovin gets the hat trick against the Canucks on Thursday is getting some PK opportunity as well, which totally makes sense given his skill set, something he didn't do that much previously. Now, I do wonder, like, he was out there for that short-ended goal with Sebastian Ajo and when Seth Jarvis comes back and it sounds like it'll be soon, he probably steps back into that, but that line just has such unbelievable chemistry. they've carried over what they were doing in the playoffs last year.

And still, I feel like because people just don't think of the hurricanes as this prolific offense and generally think of dice time as being so evenly distributed that the usage just isn't going to be there for anyone to really blow you away yet. All three of those guys are kind of hovering around a point of game. And I'd expect that to continue because they're just really, really good at hockey and play very well off of each other. Yeah, I'm not really sure why. St. Coven is the highest ownership of the three at 64% on Yahoo.

and Blake is sub-50% Taylor Hall's not even owned. And the 13 points combined in the five games and Blake getting PP one time. I know Seth Jarvis skated this week, he'll be back soon. But even still, like, that's just a trio that we expect to be together at 5 and 5 all year long. We know what the hurricanes have to offer. It's the same thing in the prop market as well. You're getting plus money on these guys to pick up a point is crazy to me. And even throughout the playoffs, when Stan Kovin was scoring left, right and center,

it was still, he was still a very valuable player in the prop market. So it's a, it's a line that I think is probably one of the most underrated, I suppose. I don't know what the reason is for, you know, fantasy managers not gravitating to these guys. Like Stankovin and Blake are top 100 players in our rankings and they're completely available in fantasy hockey league. So, yeah, I don't, I really just have no, I have no, there's no rhyme or reason for it at all. St. St. Coven's just, you and I feel like we kind of touch on him almost every time we get together and what he has to offer. And just he's still so fairly young.

Like that was his first full season with the hurricanes last year. And not to mention the contract that him and Blake have, but they're two really good players. I think we'll see. We haven't even, they haven't even sniffed what they'll, what they're going to do in the NHL. Well,

and one difference from even last year when they were both productive is the usage where, right, they both jumped up quite a bit. Now, set charges hasn't been available, but last year, Blake was around 16-ish minutes, stank open at 15 and a half.

They're all both up into 18 plus range so far this season. being used in all situations and are just so dynamic together and have such a fantasy-friendly skill set as well in terms of their activity and how they create their looks. It's just basically Blake just chasing the other team around, forcing a turnover, stank over and hanging out at the circle and getting one-time opportunities off of it. And that's going to be very productive for you and they just keep doing it time and time again with no stop in sight. So I want to buy in on that. Yeah, absolutely. Any thoughts on the Blackhawks? I know it's a team. team that's certainly going to struggle this season without Connor Bredard. Frank Nizarre,

Anton Ferdell have had some nice moments here so far to start the season. I know that Roman cancer off doesn't have any points, but 20 plus minutes and back-to-back games is certainly telling with the KHLM goals last year. And for Frundelli, at the two straight multi-point games, Nizarre scored. I wonder what the lines are going to look like when Bader is there. I actually wouldn't be shocked if Bader played a little bit on the wing. You know, maybe Frundel's in the middle. And, you know, you have Patrick Cain, of course. Maybe we do see a little bit of Showtime and Badar and Five and five and five together. But I'm really intrigued with what the lineup is going to look like when everybody is healthy. Bertuzi is probably a guy that plays

inside the top six, but is, is Frondell in the middle of the ice in the third line or is he, you know, does he get an opportunity to play in the top six as a center? Again, I wonder if Badard is the guy that maybe potentially moves to the wing. But the usage rate for all these guys, I think will be high all year long. You know, Bowen Byram hasn't had the best start yet, but he's you know he had a breakout season last year and um you know power play should be good when when everybody is you know healthy and playing and i think he'll certainly improve that power play is they didn't really have a on the back end that that could we've seen some okay moments from like left shinoff and and whatnot but ultimately like that's bohem byram's job to lose and i don't

think he'll lose it this year but just wanted to get your thoughts on the blackcocks because obviously they're not going to be a team that scores a lot of goals but they do have some nice young pieces that I have my eye on. Yeah, I think the power play should be efficient. It was bizarrely bad last year, given some of the skill they have. And, you know, when they get Bardard back and Patrick Kane being there now as another facilitator, like, I think that should be effective. They will be in good game scripts as well for scoring because the defense is going to be

a major issue and they're probably going to lose a lot and be trailing. And so there's going to be opportunities to push for offense for them. I think ultimately I'm going to need to see a little bit from what it actually should. shakes out as when Medard comes back because whoever is on the ice with him, I hope want to be buying on that. And then otherwise, I'm going to be skeptical that the team's just going to have the puck enough because of the state of the defense and some of the issues for some of their young defenders. They just don't have possession nearly often enough. And so you're spending a lot of the game kind of just either in your zone or chasing the puck. And it's really

difficult for a lot of these young forwards to get a proper evaluation of them and see what their actual upside is because when they have the puck, I think there's been some promising opportunities for a lot of these players and some, you know, highly creative and skilled setups and transition, but then you just go for another 10 straight minutes where they just don't get into the offensive zone. And so it's going to be painful in that regard. You got any other names on your list that you want to rattle through? Just could rapid fire through a couple, like Matthew Nyes. I think, you know, a lot of people thought maybe the, you know, his stock would go down, leaving Toronto and the skill players that he played with in Columbus.

And we just saw like the first couple games, like what he brings to the table. He's been among the leaders in high nature shots and high nature goals over the past couple of years. And he had two goals and three points in his first game automatically playing on the first power play, which is something that he just wouldn't do in Toronto this season. So they've only played a couple games, but the three points in two games is solid. Looks like, you know, him and Fantalee could be a duo to keep an eye on. You know, Bobby McMahon is a guy as well, like in a deeper format.

I know the Crack and don't have a whole lot to offer. they have they have scored some goals to start this season. Don't get me started on their power play units, but, you know, the three plus shots in all four games, 15 total for Bobby and, you know, 15 minutes per game in Toronto where he had 19 goals and 60 games and 20 the year before that. He can score. His edge stats are decent too.

Like, he can rip the puck and he can skate. Like, he's been among the leaders in 20 plus and max skating speed over the past couple of seasons. Looks like a top six role for him at the moment with Chandler Stevenson and Jordan Everleigh and Mackie some of Skevitt. which is playing with McCann and Maddie Binear. So those are two wingers that I kind of have my eye on in deeper formats. And then just some love for Utah, right?

I mean, Utah is just, they're going to be so fun to watch. And Vincent Trochev and Anders Lee, you know, not really super productive, but the other guys in the connection that Gunther and Cooley have and Keller and Schmaltz and Sircichab's been amazing. I know that they got the doors blown off them in Boston the other night, but they didn't give up a whole lot at 5 and 5. And they are a stingy team. The power play has been amazing.

And the P.K has been, you know, for the most part, pretty solid. So they're just going to be a fun team to watch. And I think you can get some sort of any kind of share of Utah or if you have a couple mammoth on your team and you're wondering, like, can Schmaltz do this again? The answer is probably, yeah, it looks like he will do it again. Yeah, the power play coming alive is nice. They had a bit of a stinker in Boston on Thursday, but I think in general, very promising that that's come alive for them.

How about Thomas Hurtle? Yeah. High Danger King. Has 20 high danger chances. so far this season. 17 shots on goal, but pretty much just living in the paint and receiving those kind of like quick one-touch passes

from Mark Stone on the power play and that power play is devastating. Once again, and we'll be moving forward. And he had such a miserable second half last year, really kind of just lost his mojo around the Olympics and then went like 25, 30 games or whatever without scoring, especially at 5-1-5,

finally starting to find his game a little bit as the playoffs went along. But he looks better. to my eye and is going to be in a very advantageous spot, despite the fact that if I-1-5, he's kind of playing lower in the lineup. Like anyone that's on that top unit power play is going to be very productive for Vegas. Yeah, and I think he leads over NHL edge stats, high danger shots, and he's been among the leaders over the last couple of years.

But a shout out to Trevor Connolly, you know, I had the shootout winner the other night against the Leafs and a goal and assist in five games, just 15 minutes in last night's game. and that was higher than what we had seen from them. But they're rolling five forwards again on that first power play with the Wolfson sideline. They put Connolly on that line in Portiae-theater, but, you know, play with Eichael and Stone and Myrner and Hurtle. That's great.

And Brett Howden, I notice, is, you know, pretty high in terms of expected goals and scoring chances and high to Andrew chances. And I hit the back of the net. You're playing with Martin Carlson. It's a pretty good spot for him as well. And finally, for me, like, I'd love to get your thoughts on the Minnesota Wild. And, you know, Blake Coleman is a deep league sleeper that we had. heading into this season as well, two goals, three points, three points all in the power play in the four games.

He has eight high dangerous shots, which is tied for fourth. And early on, it looks like as you straight won't be as high as what it was in Calgary, but certainly some better players. But I noticed last night they did, you know, kind of load up on Boldie and Yule Erickson Neck and Caprisoff trying to get Boldie going. Man, they're pretty thin down the middle of the ice. Did see a little Hartman and Coleman last night. Thoughts on the Minnesota Wild. I think Boldie's a nice buy low, but man, when they really load up Boldie and, you know, Eric's Neck and Caprisoff, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot else going on.

Yeah. If anyone's panicking on that, Boldie, I would certainly be all over that and scooping that up. He's had some opportunities and it'll come for him, especially when they load it up like that, but just in general, he's too talented to not get going. I love Blake Coleman as a player. I did have some concerns in terms of like what his opportunities would look like, but to your point about the team being thin down the middle, argue they're thin on the wing as well like we've seen a lot of max shabanov playing with caprisov

and coleman when he's out there with erics neck and boldie especially if boldie gets it going offensively is going to benefit from that also just such a good player and so reliable that you know crunch time and stuff like they're going to get him out there even in scoring situations scores a beautiful goal and his return to tampa as well and so i would um i would scoop that up as well you got any notes on the predators because they're off to a pretty interesting start so far. A nice comeback win in Montreal last night after blowing that game in Toronto earlier this week. As we mentioned, in general, I think Matthew Woods the name that I'm keeping an eye on, even though his usage is very low so far. There's been some times

where he's on PP1 and their power play has been very productive so far. We've seen him playing with Philip Forsberg at 5-on-5. I think his shooting talent is very legit. He's only got the five shots on goal so far despite the 15 shot attempts has a couple points but I'm curious to see if especially as the year it goes along and maybe this is a team that winds up selling some of these veteran players and a lot of the kind of depth pieces that they acquire this offseason it feels like we'll have an opportunity or runway to kind of ramp him up and I think the talent is legit for him and so that'd be the name I'd be kind of keeping an eye on most closely I think yeah he's on my list here as like a deep league pick I thought last night he had some nice moments but that's what I have in my notes as well as

usage rate. I'm kind of surprised it's as low as it is. Uh, he did score last night. Um, but yeah, the power play. The power play that opportunity is really encouraging. And to play with Philip Foresberg at five and five is also encouraging. That's kind of who you want to play with. And seeing, you know, um, Stamcoast and Ryan O'Reilly, like the foot speed not really there from those guys. Stamcoast is still going to score goals. Marcia still playing a little bit with Stamcoast as well. He's, he's been underwhelming since he's been a predator. But I, I agree with you. I feel like I was a little surprised at the Luke of Angelica trade.

I don't really know where the predators are at as an organization. Do they want to be competitive? Are they looking to move some of their veteran pieces away to get some picks? I'm not saying that they didn't do a good job in that return, but I just thought it was kind of surprising that they moved on a kid that was under 25. They're one of the oldest rosters in the league. But I think that Ryan O'Reilly is a player. It doesn't go well for them this season.

Ryan O'Reilly is a player that, you know, could certainly get traded and that would open up a bigger opportunity for a guy like wood. But last night, they got dominated against a Canadian team that hasn't played all that well at 5 and 5. They were living in their own end quite a bit. And I know they won that game, but if it wasn't for Saros, they probably would have led in 5 or 6 goals last night. But he certainly is a guy to monitor.

I'm also monitoring T.J. Hughes, who only has the one assist. So far, he's actually third on the abs in shot attempts behind just McKinnon and H's. He's getting some power play of one reps as well on the middle of the ice. And so I'll keep an eye on that. because even if F5-1-5 he's playing on that third line, that combo with Svetchkov and Schwartz has been very productive, and Schwartz has scored a bunch of goals here recently, and we just know the playing style and the environment for the aves.

Everyone is going to get there, as we saw last year, when Parker Kelly scores 20 goals and goes off. Like, in general, if you're on that team, you're probably going to be pretty productive regardless of what your role is. And so if he sticks in that spot, I'm keeping an eye on him as well because I feel like better days are ahead offensively. Yeah, absolutely. We have him as a top 10 rookie, and we've been telling people to be patient as well. Like getting an opportunity to play with the big boys and the power play is very telling.

I watched a lot of Michigan games last year with him and Michael Hage. They were amazing together. So he used as a player, certainly to keep an eye on. And then moving forward here in Florida, like what happens, you know, with their lines with Barkoff out, Marchand, I think it was just announced today at least six weeks. He's going to be sidelined. I think that's encouraging for both of those guys that look like potentially season ending for both players. But I noticed against the Kings, they had large.

Zeller with Brady Kachuk who is not off to a great start. And Sam Reinhart, that's something that I don't expect to continue to see. We've been down this road before with a guy like Anton Lindell, but I can only imagine Lindel is going to move up the lineup. Maybe Paul Maurice tries him with Reinhardt and Brady. We did see Sam Reinhardt play center to start that game against the Kings. And I think the game before as well against the ducks, he was between Brady and Marshan, but Carter Verheagie's a guy as well.

kind of gets overlooked in fantasy circles and just interested to see what happens in Florida. I know that they could make a trade at any moment, but Lindell, again, is a player that could see a spike with some of those top guys out for Florida at the moment. Yeah, I'm skeptical of trades coming just because of the timeline for those injuries, and it seems like it will be relatively short-term

compared to what it could have been. We'll be monitoring, though, for sure, because I do think Reinhardt can, especially for this period of time, be totally fine down the middle. That one game we saw when Bradmerchine was healthy and available, they had really nice numbers with him. And Brady Kachuk,

probably not optimal to be using him there because they rely on him offensively. But I think they're going to be reluctant to move Lundell up for the time being just because that line with him, Luster Renan and Vilmanus is so productive for them in the role that they play and dominating a 5-1-5.

And so I'm curious to see how they piece it together because the answer probably isn't Lars Eller, the way it's put together right now on daily faceoff, but certainly something to monitor. All right, I mean, well, this was a blast. It was nice, even though we're only a week or so, a week and a half into the season and it's early days yet. I do think there's an advantage for people paying attention to this stuff because biases hold

strong, right? Like whatever you expect in the off season, I think it takes people a while to kind of shake that. And you certainly want to give room for a lot of these players to find. their legs and settle in and there's going to be obvious regression candidates, but I do think paying attention to this stuff in the early going and seeing some of these usage trends and what it's looking like can give you a leg up on the competition if you're if you're active and proactive, I guess. And so hopefully we help people here today. Yeah, absolutely. I think we hit on just about every single team and a lot of players in those lists as well. So it's yeah, things change pretty quickly in the

NHL, but it's it's nice to chop it up with you and kind of dive deep into what we've seen so far. And, yeah, and it's always a pleasure. All right, buddy. Well, what do you want to promote here? On the way out, as you're rocking, people watching us on YouTube can see you're decked out fully head to toe in your NHL gear. Rob Lowe style, just rep in the league. So I will let you promote whatever you want on the way out.

Yeah, rep in the league for sure. You know, we have daily picks every single day over at NHL.com slash fantasy, whether it's props or just players to watch in fantasy, buy low, goal scores, and whatnot. Like today, we got back at Seneca, give him a little bit of love. You know, he's jumped up four minutes per game. so far this season compared to last year, played 25 minutes the other night, points in all three looking at him tonight as well, playing alongside McHale-Grainland up on that first power play.

So we're always covering the league, of course, and NHL Edge stats articles. We try to pump out at least two per week, you know, late in the week and early in the week, highlighting on not just like shot velocity and max speed and guys who were checking those kind of boxes, but just kind of what we just talked about, hey, you know, a player is like Vasily Podkols

and is, you know, in for a breakout campaign, why the usage rate and whatnot. But yeah, any fantasy hockey questions, you guys can always hit me up at Chris Meaney. We're constantly updating the rankings. We have the NHL Fantasy and Ice podcast on Mondays and Thursdays, which we got to find a day to get you on. But again, man, really appreciate the invite.

This is a favorite time of the year, always to chop it up with you and break it down. Actually, one of the teams I feel like we didn't get to today was the Ducks, and I feel part of it is a bit self-explanatory. I've talked about a lot about Tristan. already this season, but they're top players. I think everyone understands that, yeah, maybe it hasn't really even reached the level it should because it seems like Beck and Seneca got better once again and already has

the three goals, four points, a ton of shots. Cutter-Goche has 32 shot attempts in three games and is an absolute lunatic firing the puck. And so I'm curious to see what his final goal total is. But in general, with how that power play moves it around and those three forwards, like there's times where they just put Seneca up there. with Cutter Goce and Leo Carlson, and they just look unstoppable or terrifying, even if they aren't actually scoring on that shift. So I think the sky's a limit for those guys,

and they're going to be in a lot of good game scripts, because defensively it's going to be trial and error for sure. Yeah, and Greer up on that first line. I mean, they got Klep off. They got McQueen who eventually will, you know, play for the ducks. I think at some point this season. But Luno and Lacombelecombe, my goodness, they didn't come off the ice the other night.

Like, I was just like, these guys are just playing half the game, 26 minutes back to back to start the season for Tristan. So it's, yeah, the ducks are one of those teams as well. The fantasy environment is going to be pretty friendly. Jackson Lachomes played 87 and a half minutes in three games. So he's going to be out there for half of it, hooker by crook. All right, I mean, well, this is a blast. We'll have you back on later on in the season to revisit some of this stuff

and take stock of where we're at. Then, if you enjoyed today's show, please give us a five-star review on whichever podcast platform you're listening to. Check us out on YouTube. We're posting shows like this one on there this season so you can watch along with us. Subscribe to the PDOCass Patreon as well. It'll give you immediate access to every single show we do this year in ad free forum. We're doing about two or three Patreon exclusive episodes.

So if you don't want to miss out on that, join us there. And that is all for today. We'll be back here on Monday morning with plenty more breaking down what we saw this weekend in the NHL. Thank you for subscribing and for listening to the HockeyPedio cast.