The Hockey PDOcast - Young Players That Have Impressed Down The Stretch

Episode Date: April 10, 2026

Dimitri Filipovic is joined by Chris Meaney to highlight a bunch of young players around the league that have impressed us down the stretch. If you'd like to gain access to the two extra shows we're doing each week this season, you can subscribe to our Patreon page here: www.patreon.com/thehockeypdocast/membership If you'd like to participate in the conversation and join the community we're building over on Discord, you can do so by signing up for the Hockey PDOcast's server here: https://discord.gg/a2QGRpJc84 The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

Lessing to the Mean since 2015. It's the Hockey PEDEOCast with your host, Dmitri Filipovich. Welcome to the Hockey Pee-Ocast. My name is Demetri, and joining me is my good buddy, Chris Meeney. Meanie, what's going on, man? What's going on, Dimitri? Always a pleasure, man, to join you, talk some hockey,

and it's such an exciting time of the season. Playoff races, up, you know, there's playoff spots up for grabs, division titles up for grabs, and we're just a handful of days away from the puck dropping out in round one. So fired up, as always, man. Thanks for having me. Well, I'm excited about this. We've got a fun show ahead.

So we're at 20 to 25 games removed from the Olympic break for each team. And I thought it would be a good exercise for us to take a little bit of a closer look at some of the individual performances that have really stood out to us since then. And, you know, it could be, I'm keeping the floor open. It could be due to a change of circumstances, either via trade at the deadline in the meantime or just different usage and deployment teams coming out of the break with a bit of a different plan. giving guys, especially young guys, a bump up the lineup and more opportunity. Could just be as simple as a young player, just improving down the stretch, which we often see as well. But we're going to highlight some of the biggest improvements, optics and performance, just notable

developments that we've seen of late. I gave you some homework putting together a list of your own. We're going to go back and forth. I'm very confident that you're the perfect guest to do this with because, A, you keep as close tabs on a day-to-day basis for this stuff with your job as anyone in the game. You've got a Brandon Hagel-esque motor as well I've found when we do these shows where we just rip through so many names and had such a good time covering a ton of ground. I feel like that's one of my blind spots in my shows otherwise where I have all these ambitions of like all this stuff I want to cover. And then I just get bogged down on the minutia of two or three things and then wind up regretting not getting to the rest of it.

So we're going to get through a bunch here today and really just empty the clip. So I'll give you the floor here with all that preamble out of the way. where do you want to start today's conversation? First, I'll just say your deep dives are fantastic, by the way. I want to start with the Blues, and I know we're probably going to steal some players off of each other, but this line in particular, led by Robert Thomas, with Rookie Jemmy Snuggaroot and Dylan Holloway,

have really impressed me. And I know the Blues didn't do a whole lot of the deadline. In fact, they sold some pieces, right? I mean, they move veteran guys like Justin Falk, who's opened up a door for Philip Roberg as well, and that top power play, who's been productive. Logan May, who's getting a little bit more ice time. Braden Shand, who is playing in a top six role, first power play at times, now with the New York Islanders.

And this line in particular, you know, snug, they've all missed time this year. And Holloway's been hurt, and I thought it was fantastic his first season last year with the Blues. And Robert Thomas was among the leaders after the Four Nation faceoff. And the Blues were a really good team in the second half, made the playoffs. And they've been a really good team since the Olympic break as well. And it doesn't look like they're going to get in. But this line in particular, and Jimmy Snuggarood, since January 24th, leads all rookies and points. assists in 27 games got 28 points. He's tied with Matthew Schaefer with 10 goals.

Holloway shoots the puck, rips it, throws his body around, is great for fantasy. But also just a really good 5-and-5 player, 19 points in 21 games of 5-and-5 tied for fifth since the Olympic break, which you allude to earlier, 28 points overall is 11th in the NHL. And Thomas has just been essentially, again, a point-per-game guy dating back to 4-Nations face-off. He's been really strong since he's returned from injury. So it's a good 5-and-5 line. They're all, they're playing the correlations there. They're getting some time on the power play as well. Sometimes the blues power plays all mixed up, but they've done this in the past where certain guys play together are five and five, but they're not in the same unit. These guys are all together

and the chemistry is off the charts. It certainly is. I discussed them on Monday's Patreon show with Harmon, and I'm glad you brought them up here because we kind of just briefly touched on it. I wanted to get into a little bit more for a lot of the reasons you mentioned in part of that conversation I noted that it's sort of this perfect combination of skill sets as well, which I think speaks to the chemistry you've seen from them. It's almost like you're assembling a video game line in terms of complementary skills where you've got the power forward and Holloway who's so good at driving to the net

and using his frame to get his looks off. You've got Robert Thomas as one of the preeminent playmakers in the game and distributors. And then Jimmy Snuggaroo shot. Now, interestingly enough, like Snuggrood's scoring at about a 21 goal pace. If you pro rate for the time he missed over 82. And that's a totally fine number

for a first year NHL. only got those seven regular season games and then seven playoff games down to stretch last year after joining the team post NCAA season. But it feels like that's going to work its way up significantly as soon as next season, right? Like he's shooting 10.8%, which is fine. Yet in today's game with the release he has and where he's getting a lot of these looks from, I'd expect that to creep closer into the 30 to 35 goal range as soon as next season, especially if he stays on this line. And I've really liked the opportunities he's been able to create. And, you know, all three guys as well, not to diminish the other stuff they have in their bag,

because they've been executing a lot of these, like, exquisite passing plays with precision. Even I was watching against Winnipeg and their loss on Thursday, and they had this beautiful sequence off the rush where essentially Snuggrood enters his own, sends a backhand pass to Robert Thomas. He sends a backhand pass of his own, and Dylan Holloway has a surefire goal. And then Josh Morris, he makes one of the best defensive plays. You're ever going to see getting his stick down at the goal line and keeping it out. otherwise it would have been a highlight real goal. And it seems like those guys are doing it every night.

Even the past two games they played against Colorado, they really stuck out to me as a line that looked apart of sharing the ice with Nathan McGinnon and Marty Natchez and all the stars the Avalanche have. And so I think for the Blues perspective, they've got a ton of assets with the extra first round picks they got in those trades you mentioned earlier. They've got a bunch of caps base. And they sort of turn this over now,

especially with the forward group, this youth movement of guys who are, you know, Robert Thomas and Jordan Kairu are on the older side of things and their 26 and 27, respectively. Everyone else is in their early 20s on the way up. And so I know it's been a disappointing season. They snuck back into the race post-Olympics before losing these last two games and now they're out. But I'm pretty bullish on them heading into next season, especially with the play of Joel Hofer. I feel like there's a lot to build on despite the fact that they're going to miss the playoffs. Yeah, yeah, missing the playoffs for sure. And, you know, we just did our 25 and under,

keeper rankings over at NHL.com slash fantasy and seven blues in there. I think the most we had eight Canadians, the ducks are up there, the sharks, of course, but the blue sneaky good. I mean, Holfer's had a really good season as well and I think Bennington's got what one year left on his deal and he's kind of taking, I know Bennington's had some

decent games lately, but Hofer's certainly the goalie of the future, Dvorisky as well as kind of in and out of the lineup, but you know, had a good Olympic showing, I thought, a nice young player for them. And yeah, you know, you mentioned building a line. I couldn't help but think about the Nintendo game, I think ice hockey where you have a bigger guy with like Holloway, throws his body around.

You have the speedster playmaker in Thomas and then the guy who can rip the puck and it's Nuggerrood. So they got a good thing going on right now and disappointing season for sure, but the future is bright for that trio for definitely. Well, let's stick with that theme then of of these video game lines and complimentary skill sets because I had that blues line on my list, but number one on mine that I wanted to talk about was the Montreal Canadiens top line. And they had a huge divisional game.

Thursday night against the lightning. The two of them are engaged in this, you know, three-way battle atop the Atlantic for seating with the Buffalo Sabres. And it's a very consequential one. All three teams are going to be in the playoffs. But the winner of that gets home ice in the first two rounds. And I think just as importantly stays away from the other two in round one. And it's going to be tight.

The Sabres are up two points now in the haves after that game. The halves have a game in hand. The Sabers have a tiebreaker. pretty easy schedule down the stretch in those final two. So I would, if I was projecting it, put the Sabres. Number one, and we might get another rematch of Habs Lightning. They played a couple times recently and seems like they're going to play in round one. And in that game on Thursday, that top line, I thought really delivered. They created both goals in the 2-1 win. That includes the game winner in the final minute

after Tampa Bay had tied it up with the net empty. Slavkovsky, Suzuki and Kofiolkviel combined for 27 shot attempts. They won their 5-1-5 minutes, 2-9. nothing, 82% of the expected goals. And they've been doing this for a while now. Like, they started the year together. They split them up. They put Slavkovsky with Kappan and Demidov, allowed him to kind of stretch his wings a little bit as an on-puck creator and really kind of round out the edges of the rest of his game. And then they put him back there since March 6. And they've been absolutely crushing it. They're up 21 to 6. And they're 5-1-5 minutes together. All three guys are kind of chasing down milestones, right? Like Caulfield got his 50th goal. He's only two goals behind Nathan

McKinnon for the rocket. Suzuki's two points away from 100 for the year. And Slavkovsky's not necessarily chasing one of those round numbers, but he's up to 71 points this year has already easily set a career high in both assists and primary assists. And I kind of wanted to focus on him in particular of those three because I think everyone appreciates what a lethal goal score Caulfield's been and what a remarkable achievement it is for him to get that high of a total without even banking a couple easy empty netters along the way, and then the two-way season Suzuki's had. But I think Slavkowski's improvement as a playmaker,

a guy who, you know, whether it's confidence or feel or just being in the league longer and kind of reaching his prime now, is leveraging his physical tools in such a functional way every single night. And you saw it in that game against Tampa in the first period. He totally just knocks McDonough off the puck behind the net, sets up a play out front where Suzuki rings it off the bar. then that Caulfield goal, he gets a secondary assist on it, but it was a beautiful little touch

in the neutral zone on the backhand that springs them for that on-man rush opportunity. And he's just doing that with such increasing frequency. And it gets he's so excited about how well-rounded his games become and then what this trio is capable of in a postseason setting where they feel like they probably should win their minutes regardless of who they're going up against. Yeah, just a true power forward in Slavkoski. And in our first episode together at the start of the season, I'd label him as a breakout candidate and I could see it at the start of or at the end of last season when when those three were

together again after the four nations face off Suzuki's game was elevated. We always knew that Caulfield could score goals dating back to his you know his young days with Wisconsin and whatnot. But Slavkowski's development has been off. It's been unbelievable to watch. And I think the most surprising thing for me is what you talk about with the playmaking ability. He's he's holding on to the puck a little bit more using his frame, using, his size, protecting the puck, holding guys off. You could see it at the Olympics. And I thought a lot of people were talking about, oh, well, you know, Slovkoski should wear a Slovakian jersey when, you know, he gets back to the NHL. He had been doing that for a few weeks leading up to the

Olympics, playing that way, taking over games. You alluded to it. Driving offense with Demadoff and Kappan. And ever since St. Louis put him back with Suzuki and Coffield, I think it's been the best line in the NHL. And since the trade deadline, I think they have 21 goals at 5 and 5, which does lead all lines. They've been extremely productive. in the offensive zone. And yeah, I mean, Suzuki looks like he's going to get 100 points. I think he could win the Selke. And I believe only two guys have ever won the Selke

with hitting 100 points in Federoff and Gilmore. So he's right there as two-way game has been really, really strong. His playmaking ability has always been there. And, you know, we're seeing guys like coffee. He'll take another step forward. The 5-and-5 goals, 59 since the start of last season. Only H. Thompson has more at 62. So he's doing it in all situations.

Of course, he's set the flash. goals, game winning goals, overtime goals, things like that. But go ahead goals. It's just a random stat as well, second most in the season with 29 last night to open up that game. It does look like, you're right. They're going to play the lightning. It should be a very intense matchup. But I've just noticed that trio has dominated most matchups they've had their way. And that's, you know, top defenders and top assignments offensively going up against a team's opposing best players. So it's, yeah, it's been a great line. And Svkovsky's only 22. Like he just turned He's still going to build, get stronger, and again, more confidence with the puck down low, winning a lot of battles.

And I was really surprised with his playmaking ability, especially when I saw him away from Suzuki and Kofel this year. Yeah, the dynamical change a little bit, Brandon Hagle's been out for a while, and he makes such a difference for this lightning team. And so all of a sudden, if you're putting him together with either point or Sirelli and then Kuturov, that's going to be one heck of a head to head atop a top of the lineup between those two teams. but what this Habs line's been doing has been so fun. And I could just go on about Slavkovsky all day. I'm going to try to put together between now and the end of the regular season, just the mix of some of the looks he's set up with his passing, which, you know, previously he was such a spot-up guy, essentially,

within the context of that line, where he would just kind of use his frame around the net and just wait for Suzuki or call field to pass it to him and then try to convert that. And now all of a sudden he's experimenting with all these different passing plays and getting involved in those sequences, And then the way he uses his reach as well to either knock puck's away or win it back to himself to extend offensive zone possession. He's been doing it all.

And I think probably up there is one of the most improved players that I've seen this season. Okay. What's next on your list? Yeah, just one more note. I noticed he's first and expected goals at all strength, too, since the Olympic break. And he does, he has a career season in terms of power play goals too. And you're right, he just wins these battles and extends plays. And I think he's holding on to the puck more as well.

before in the past he would just rush to give it up now he's holding on to it starting rushes and i remember just one final note suzuki was miced up one time this this year at practice and they were catching pucks off the boards and you know suffolkoski was just taking it and and kind of just slapping away where Suzuki's like listen like nobody wants to get a pass like that you have the big frame you have the size hold on to that you know practicing the rim around the boards and that's what i'm seeing you know down low and and extending plays that way um Yeah, next guy on my list is a rookie who kind of reminds me a little bit of Slifkosky in terms of just this build.

It's Porter Martone. And, you know, I really liked his play at Michigan State. And I know that he led all players, world juniors, and goals. But six games since the call-up, he leads the flyers, 18 shots, 27 attempts at 5 and 5. At all strengths, he has 25 shots and 39 attempts and 17 scoring chances, which leads Philly as well. And it's pretty impressive as a rookie to be among the leaders in ice time right away. Rick Tocke, it knows.

issues. You know, there's always frumlings about Mitch Koff and his ice time, but right away, Tocke was given Martone that opportunity on the first power play in the first line and 10 scoring chances at 5 and 5 tied for second of the team, Tyson Forrester and sort of back in the lineup, all of a sudden this Flyers teams is the, they're maybe a little thin down the middle of the ice, but the top six looks decent. Even Mitchcoff has been solid there on that third line producing lately and Zyrgus is having a career season. So the power play needs help. I know Martone's got power play points in three straight games, so certainly going to help them there. But from, you know, a real life standpoint, he's got all the tools from a fantasy standpoint. He throws his body around 10

hits. And we, I just love to see a young player like that in the league who's willing to shoot the puck and has no issues, you know, playing to his strengths. Sometimes these younger kids will, you know, pass it off or defer. But I'm not seeing that. And man, he's not afraid to mix it up to a lot of penalty minutes at Michigan State University and OHL as well. So, yeah, It's a really nice player. And I don't know where he'll go in redraft leagues next year, but we had a little fun debate in our Keeper episode, him and Anton Frundel and Michael Misa,

James Hagen to sign his contract, kind of in around that range, Seneca, Will Smith, young players, sophomore for Smith and rookie Seneca. So it's a lot of nice young players. Our tone checks a lot of boxes for me. Yeah, the shot volume has been very impressive

the way they've been winning those five-on-five minutes with him out there with Kinechnie and Dvorak. And I think, you know, both guys are pass first players and looking to distribute and especially a guy like Kineke and really push

the defense back with some of his speed and the threat that provides. And I think that's created some of these pockets from our tone to not have to do a lot of a heavy lifting in transition. So it's been a bit of a seamless introduction into the lineup for him. But the power play stuff in the middle of the ice is very useful for them. And the six

primary points in six games is certainly going to play as well. So I had him on my list. I'm glad you included Forster. and, you know, Forster Zegris, and then the third guy on that line, one of my personal favorites. Owen Tippett, he's been on a heck of a run over the past like 15, 20 games or so, had that explosion in Detroit a week or so ago. The 5-1-5 minutes with him and Zegris all year have been phenomenal. They've been dominating those shifts. You're going to like this.

I was dipping into the NHL-EG stats to prepare for today's show. And I noticed that he's second in the league in 22-plus mile per hour break. Now, McDavid's first with 145 of them. Owen Tippett is at 59, so quite a gap between those two. But then it's Tippett and then Nathan McKinnon right behind him. And I always joke about how like Tippett kind of plays like McKinnon. He only does it 10 to 12 times a season essentially. And the other times he's going to look like a replacement middle six player.

But man, when you catch him on the right night, he's unbelievable. Now, the Flyers had a tough loss in Detroit on Thursday. they were just never really in it. Detroit's top players really came to play Lark and had the hat trick. Mosider at five points. Blodara gets pulled early, but HockeySats.com is still giving them 51% playoff probability. And all of a sudden,

a huge game on Saturday night in Winnipeg between them and the Jets in terms of two teams who are live in the playoff race. And I think we're going to talk more about the Jets later because I've got a couple of their guys on my list as well. So I'm looking forward to that one. All right, I'm going to do Igor Chinnokovnikov next. and I'm obsessed with him recently because I just love watching him play so much

really could apply that to the Penguins in general who clinched their return to the playoffs on Thursday with a win over the Devils but I discussed him on Thursday's Patreon show with Jesse Marshall I put out a mixtape of his time in Pittsburgh for you to watch for yourself on the PDOCS YouTube channel

if that's your thing another monster performance in that game against the Devils three points you really saw it all on full display the rush goal where it's a lob pass and he just beats a defender down the ice and then tucks it past the goalie. Nice little play behind the net where he kicks it out to Crosby and then Malkins is able to bury it and then sets up a Brian Rusco by freezing the defense and then sending

it over for essentially a tap-in for him. He's got so many crazy stats since he came to the Penguins and it's very neat because he's played 41 games now essentially so you could just double everything in terms of 82 game paces, and you don't need to be a numbers whiz to figure all that out. But on pace for 36 goals, 72 points in that time. 16 5-on-5 goals, which is behind the upper mentioned Caulfield and Dylan Gunther. 13 of his 18 goals by my account are off the rush. And Mike Kelly tweeted out from Spore Logic recently that McDavid has 19, no one else in the league is more than 15, and he's essentially right there with the other

league leaders in half a season's time in Pittsburgh. the NHL Edge Data Forum, 98th percentile in skating bursts of 22 plus miles per hour, ninth most shots between 80 and 90 miles per hour as well amongst forwards. He's playing with Crosby and Rust now and has looked great there. Previously he was playing with Novak and Malkin and look great as well. So everything is kind of humming for him and the Penguins right now. I'm aware of the percentages. He's on a 5-15 heater, right?

Like he's scoring on nearly 20% of his own shots. He's got a 14% on ice shooting percent. you go for the full season. There's six skaters who have enjoyed such good fortune. Three of them are either Nikita Kutrov or guys that play with Nikita Kutrov. And so I wouldn't bank on it to necessarily continue moving forward. But I'm deeply enjoying this run so far. It's must watch television. And I'm going to enjoy it as long as it lasts right now because he's just pure adrenaline. He does everything with such force and velocity and has been such a rock star in these 41 games. And so I think he certainly deserves to be on this list. Yeah, he's on my list too. And the Penguins

are fun. They're a blast, right? Third in the league and goals, I think, four per, you know, over this run that they're on scoring goals and they play high octane offense. They give up some as well, but they can score and we know that Crosby is still doing his thing. Malkin's over a point per game player when he's healthy. He's been great. Eric Carlson's vintage Carlson at the moment. It's on a mixtape, I think, from him as well. It's just watched it, I think, a thousand times. It's like, yeah, man, this guy is still legit. Ricard Raquel also, you know, down the middle of the ice. I know, you know, in terms of expected goals, he's right there among the leaders and goals at 5 and 5 since the Olympic break, a tie for third. But, yeah, Chinikoff, I'm glad you brought

up the edge stats because he can rip it, man. And, you know, he's playing with Crosby, the past couple of games, which is very telling. Dubus has done a really good job with this roster. Bringing in Anthony Mantha who leads a team in goals, Justin Brazzow, Kingle, Novak, these guys have had some nice moments. And Chinikoff was just a really good by-low candidate. And the blue, with the blue jacket, see, average 10 minutes per game. I know he had some decent moments with them before, but just the six points. And you mentioned the five and five production. It's been extremely, I mean, that's what you want to see, right? I mean, he could definitely play on the power play. They're just kind of loaded with that power play with some of their players

and not going to get top power play minutes in Pittsburgh, but he's good enough to get them. And, yeah, this Penguins team, we just talked about Philly. And what a first round that would be, a battle of Pennsylvania. It kind of reminds me the old days there with, with Jeru and Richards and against Crosby and Malkin and the company, that should be a very intense series. Yeah, their offense has been legit all season, and he's only helped infuse even more electricity within that. And, you know, they play such under Dan Mews, such like a crisp style in terms of like, I was talking about the support they provide where like on the breakouts, there's always a guy available. They know what the next pass is going to be. And so

they've been a very smooth transition team. And Chinikov just fits so seamlessly within that where there's just this runway for him to gallop up the ice. And if he has even a little bit of daylight, he's off. But oftentimes, even if a defender is in his way, he's going to just win position on him and still get to the net. And so this is like the absolute catnip player for me in terms of how fun he is to watch and everything he does off the rush. And so he's been incredibly exciting.

We got time for one more before we do a break. So I think it's your turn to nominate someone. Yeah, we'll go to Anaheim. I mean, no surprise little Carlson does. I mean, I love watching Leo Carlson play. He's among the leaders in high danger chances and shot attempts, and shot attempts percentage and just a beautiful goal last night. The addition of John Carlson helping out the power play a touch for Skrhaerick there for him last time as well.

Beckett Seneca is the guy I really want to highlight. Another rookie here, and a lot of the attention goes to Matthew Schaefer, and it should. Demadoff, and we talked about Snuggiero, but for Seneca, since the Olympic break, 30 high danger chances is tied for 12th in the NHL. he's fifth and expected goals at five and five. He's 10th in scoring chances, all strengths. He's 11th in high danger chances.

And on the season, you know, the 23 goals is tie with Schaefer and the 60 points is second among rookies. And I just look at the future. I mean, Troy Terry's been great since he's been back. And I see him with Leo Carlson and there's some chemistry there. But I look at the future ahead and I just feel like Carlson, maybe he has cutter goche on his wing, which is great. They've shown some chemistry as well.

But I feel like Seneca just fits in so nicely with what. Leo Carlson brings to the table. And I think that's a duo that's going to be so strong for years to come. And love the shot volume from him. The 5 and 5 plays, I think it's been getting better. And he's been productive, of course, when given opportunities on that first unit, which we've seen at times, I know McKell Graham has kind of been the guy there with Leo Carlson. They're distributing the puck a little bit there on the power play.

But the ducks, of course, can score some goals. And this young core is just a lot to love about them. Oh, undoubtedly. And that's a clear sort of nucleus with Seneca Carlson and Gochet moving forward up front. And I've been talking about how I think a huge step for Carlson this season has been increasing his own shot volume because he came into the league. And when he would shoot it, you'd be very impressed with the release and his ability to pick his spot and score goals. But he was kind of deferring a little bit too much. And the ducks were so bad under Greg Conan for those two years that they didn't really have the puck much either and weren't really. trying to do stuff offensively all of a sudden now they're certainly giving back as much as they're taking themselves but it's just a higher event style they have the puck more and more opportunities

and he's been able to get his shot off more and so the sky's the limit for him offensively and it's so fun to watch him you know he had that brief blip in the middle of the season when the team struggled and he was banged up and then he missed time around the Olympics but since he's come back just some of the net drives and how powerful a skater

he is moving through the middle of the ice pushing the defense back getting to the net the way he did against the sharks there on that highlight real goal. Really fun stuff to watch. Let's take our break here, Meany, and then we'll come back. We're going to jump right back into it and close out today's show with the rest of our list of guys who have impressed us and taken big steps post-Olympics. You're listening to the Hockey-PedioCast streaming on the Sportsnet Radio Network.

All right, we're back in the Hockeypediaogast, joined back Chris Meanie. Meany, let's keep it going. Before we went to the break, you threw out the Ducks and Leo Carlson and Beckett Seneca in particular. I believe it's my turn now. I'm going to go with Matt Savoy. And, you know, the Lumpin, Vasili Porcosen as well, but just on the theme of rookies,

which we've seemingly been focusing on today. I've been very impressed with the emergence of Savoy. The production has come along. Certainly the opportunity has been there, a particular post-injory to Leandro Seidel, where they really used him pretty much full-time on that top line, along with McDavid, and then he's gotten power play reps as well.

not necessarily huge for if you're playing in fantasy leagues or kind of projecting that moving forward, but I've been keeping an eye on him on the penalty kill as well. He's led all Oilers forwards in shorthanded usage this season and looks great doing so. Like pretty much every time he'll create some sort of a counter opportunity off of it. He's got a great feel and kind of jump in the lanes, creating turnovers, getting out in transition. I think it needs to be a bit more efficient as a shooter. and that should come from moving forward, especially if he keeps getting a lot of these opportunities.

But the numbers have been great for him on that top line with Pocolzin and McDavid. And I think both guys have undoubtedly provided a huge sort of shot in the arm for this team because I think there's a lot of questions after the tricycle injury in terms of the recurring issues of lack of depth and reliance on those two guys for this organization. And they've been able to patch it together since and are in a good position to finish first in the Pacific after all of the concern about where they'd land and what it would look like. And they've been a big reason why McDavid certainly going nuclear and, you know, being more assertive as a shooter and goal scorer is huge.

And he had that a hat trick and a big win in San Jose earlier this week. But I think Savoy's role within that line makes a lot of sense. And I think even at full health should be there moving forward. Like I've been very impressed with his ability to play with McDavid and keep up with that speed and then sort of connect the dots and keep the puck, moving and get it to him in space and then be where he needs to be. And so I think it's been a huge find for oilers. It looked rough there for a while because Ryan McLeod really took off after that trade in Buffalo and has been huge for the Sabres. It's been a bit of a slower build for Savoy,

which makes sense given his relative age and inexperience. But it feels like he's arrived now and I think very exciting for him heading into this postseason. Yeah, I couldn't agree more. And I do a show in Edmonton 1440 every week. And they've been asking me, but Savoy, I think, consistently and why not, right? And, and, you know, it's tough when Dry Settle goes down, but I think that when you, listening to you talk about it, I think it was just such a good thing for Savoy. And, you know, usually see Ryan Nugent Hopkins and Hyman together with McDavid,

but it's just nice to experiment and see what other players could play with him. And I thought right away, he just looked great with him. You talk about the speed keeping up with him, the playmaking ability, shooting the puck, three plus shots in six of eight, time on the power play. you know, I'm sure when Heimans gets back and he's healthy, he goes back up there and they can, you know, of course, put Ryan Eugene Hopkins up there. But man, I think Savoy has really earned himself an opportunity to play with McDavid right away here in the Stanley Cup playoffs. You know, on the first power play when they're at full health. But I have five and five. So it's a really nice shot. I like that. Well, I do think, you know, assuming Dreis Edo comes back for the playoffs and we still don't have a lot of clarity in terms of if you'll be out back for round one and what it will look like. But if all the pieces are there and Hyman's been banged up recently as well. I do think the most logical solution for them is just playing Savoy full-time, probably with McDavid and Hyman, and then having Drysito playing with Prokolzin, they've had success together,

as good as Book-Kolzons looked with McDavid as well, and then getting either Roslovich or Capitin up there with them, and then having Ryan Nugent Hopkins center a third line and try to provide a little bit of secondary tertiary scoring there because the bottom six scoring issues have been real for them for a while now. And I think logically, that's probably the way all the pieces fit and make them the most formidable team in any playoff series. Yeah, absolutely. That's what they want to have, especially going up against a team like the Dallas stars who are so deep down the middle if you eventually see them.

I'll go to L.A., and, you know, there's a couple guys in particular. I know that for us, we've got a lot of pushback about Bifield where he ranks for us and, you know, in our rankings and our Keeper League rankings and, you know, Copatars near the end of his career. And I just feel like the addition of Panarin, certainly helping out the power play at times, Benerrin Kempay's Byfield the center for those two guys next year. He's also had some chemistry with Alex Laferrier, who's the guy really wanted to kind of discuss. And again, since the Olympic break, he's top 10 in high danger chances and scoring chances. He's 13th and expected goals.

He's, he does, you know, he's not, again, another guy who's not afraid to shoot the puck. More on the line with Byfield is another guy who shoots it, but there's more of a skill set, I think here with Laferrier and getting some opportunity on the power play. So I know the Kings have been a little bit underwhelming. It's still a chance, of course, to get into the playoffs, maybe play the Oilers again at some point. But ultimately, I think the Panarin edition has really kind of helped this offense a little bit. And I know at times, I think of the first couple of games, it was Panarin and Lafairier playing together. And LaFeyerre was down the middle of the ice. And they've kind of done some other things lately. But I like his game. I think he's a guy that has

developed this year. And I think he can, I think he's got another level. I really like Alex Laferrier's game. I'm unfortunately going to have to abstain from further commentary because I've put a personal embargo on talking about the Kings on this program until further notice. And so I'm only going to talk about them in passing here or there, but no devoted segments. So I think it's a point well taken. I like LaFarrier, but I'm going to keep the conversation moving. The Winnipeg Jets.

Now, they've got four games left. They are just three points back of a playoff spot. What's interesting is, you know, the issue for them is the strength of schedule where they've still got that aforementioned game against the Flyers on Saturday. I seem that it's a big one for as well and will be very hungry to get back in the wind column. And then they go to this back to back at Vegas, at Utah and then close out with a home game against the sharks, whereas the team they're chasing the Kings closes against the Crackin, the Canucks and the four. flames after a game against the Oilers on Saturday and have had an absolute cream buff schedule for the final month or so here. So it's an uphill climb. I think that's why they only have about an 11% playoff probability according to HockeyStats.com. But this Jets team has gone 13, 5, and 4 post-Olympics,

which is the fifth best point percentage. They had another big win in St. Louis on Thursday. And I wanted to highlight Cole Perfetti because he had a really slow start to the year. He had that preseason high ankle injury, had to work his way. back after missing an extended period of time. And you know this as well as I do from especially our like obsession with fantasy football. That is a devastating injury in that sport where it's pretty much a write off for the rest of the season whenever it happens. It's a rare one in hockey and I think it's easier to come back from because of the

physical requirements of the sport essentially. But it makes sense that he didn't look quite right even upon return, especially in terms of some of the agility and getting to his spots and being as effective offensively. started off incredibly splo. First 24 games, just two goals, seven points, has been around a 50 plus point pace since then, which isn't necessarily any of the right home about, but I think given the situation much more in line with what you'd expect and has looked great, in my opinion, post-New year essentially, and it's a big spot for him individually because he's going to be an RFA this summer and looking to get paid and had a contentious negotiation with them previously, but they

finally put him together with Gabe Valardi and split up that top line after a bizarre reluctance to do so for the first 50 plus games essentially and the two of them have provided a much needed secondary threat on that second line playing with Adam Lowry. They've got a 55 plus percent goal and expected goal share 5-1-5 together and it's been huge for them and so unsurprising I think that they look much more like the Jets team that we saw last year not quite as lethal because they don't have Nikola Eilers and have gotten slower in the process, but much more in line with what we would expect and probably a playoff team. And I think the shame of it is that it took them this long to get there, right?

Like they were so committed to a lot of the veterans they had and were getting such inefficient minutes out of them. They trade away Stanley and Shen. They finally bring in Brad Lambert from the H.L. They bring up Salamanson for a while. Perfetti's looking health here. Dylan Sandberg as well was injured to start the year and he's looked much more like himself. And all of a sudden now they look like a good team that's winning its fair share of games. And so I think inspires optimism moving forward that the start of this year was a one-off a little bit,

and they'll bounce back as a playoff team next year, despite how strong the Central is. But I don't know if you have any thoughts on either Profetti or the Jets in general, because they've been getting back into this race and have been one of the better teams post-Olympics. They have, and that's kind of what I expected. I mean, we probably all thought there was going to be a little regression in their game last year. a lot of guys had career seasons, and, you know, Helibuck was basically fantastic, but it hasn't just been all him this season. And I agree with you. I thought that was the biggest thing because Verlardi on that top line in Schifling Connor is so great. It was really

a good line, but I just felt like the secondary scoring, it needed to come from somewhere. And mixing it up a little bit has certainly helped out this team and you're spot on about the injury as well. A bi-low candidate for us in Keeper Leagues, again, a guy 25 and under who cracks our top 75 and has an upside to be a top 50 guys. So yeah, he was great last year, too, towards the end and in the playoffs when he was inserted on that first power play score, some big goals for them. So I do feel like the jets are in a really good spot right now, a couple big wins lately and an opportunity to get into the playoffs. So I do like that call. I feel like we always talk about Stancovin. I know kind of we have like a little bit of a back and forth sometimes about Stankoven.

The goals are going to come and they're just coming right now. And he played 20 minutes the other night, which was a career high for him. And Ajo and Jarvis played in that game. I know recently they sat some players, but he had the three-point night there. But he's ninth and expected goals at five and five per 60 since the break and seven goals during the six-game point streak. And certainly that second line is kind of taken shape now with Jackson Blake and Taylor Hall. And I always wonder about the hurricanes, the goaltending in the playoffs and secondary scoring, something down the middle of the ice. I know they try with Cochinemi, who hasn't been able to crack the lineup. But right now, I mean, Stancovin looks like a decent second line center.

And I looked at shot attempts differential of five and five. Of course, all these Carolina players are always going to be near the top. And Natchez and McKinnon are one and two and shot attempts differential. But Stankovins three, halls four, Blake's five, followed by a lot of other Carolina players there, all of a sudden now, you know, for Stancovid in terms of high danger shots and mid-range shots and high danger goals, mid-range goals over at NHL.com. And the edge stats, He's, you know, in the 84th, 85th, 87th percentile kind of getting to those, it's not just all outside shots. He's getting to those middle of the ice areas. And I remember, it's just in his third year in the league and first full one here with the hurricane.

So it's just been really impressed with that trio lately, very valuable in the prop market. And certainly these three guys have been widely available in fantasy all year long. Yeah, you're right. We've been talking up both Stankov and his linemate Jackson Blake pretty much every time we have you on. and the two of them with Taylor Hall have been really dynamic for this hurricane team and I think very exciting

and so I think a well-deserved shout-out you know next guy on my list is another Logan and that's Logan Cooley and last six games, six goals, five assists, he missed so much time earlier this year with that freak injury where he went in to the net really hard

and honestly I remember at the time I was like oh man he's not going to get up like that looked like when Sam Cose went into the net and somehow I was able to shake it off finish that game but then missed an extended period of time. And the usage has been kind of funky for the mammoth. I think they've been prioritizing, balancing the lines in depth.

And we've seen J.J. Petrka, as a result, be stuck on the third line. And they've been experimenting with a power play that's really struggled for most of the year and been pretty inefficient. And Cooley's been on the outside looking in for a good chunk of that because they generally funnel all that stuff through the Schmaltz Keller combo and then the shots from the left flank from Gunther. But we've seen a mix in there recently. He's looked incredibly dynamic flying around the ice again.

And I wanted to bring him up just because I think if you just look by raw goals or raw points, he's not necessarily anywhere near the top of the leaderboard. But he's had these stretches this season before the injury and now more recently where he's really just absolutely gone off. And I'm going to be keeping a close eye on him and as an X factor heading into the postseason because we'll still see who the mammoth are going to wind up playing. It's going to be the winner of the Pacific. I'm going to think they have a pretty fair shot against pretty much anyone they wind up playing because of their defensive profile and their 5-15 play. And then the fact that they have a guy like this who this whole season of the aggregate isn't necessarily reflective, I think, of what a difference maker you could be now that he's playing this well again, heading into a playoff series and could very reasonably take over and just make a huge difference for this team.

So I wanted to include him here because I love watching him play. It's nice to see him back on track. and him and Gunther, I've been so good at 5-15 in particular season, and Gunther's, you know, sprinkled across the leaderboard by pretty much every 5-15 metric you look at. And I think if the power play had been better this season, he probably would have been in that conversation with McKinnon and Caulfield for the Rocket is still going to score with 40-plus goals this year. And I'm excited to see what he winds up at next year because I think 50-plus approaching 60s probably in play for him, honestly. Absolutely. I've been calling this guy a 50-goal score for a couple years. Right away, since he entered the league, he's been an absolute. sniper. And I love this duo. I know that Schmaltz and Keller, and they should get their love,

but a lot of the attention goes to those two guys when you talk about Utah. Sirken Chavez had a really nice season on the back end as well offensively. But Cooley and Gunther have really good chemistry. You mentioned the 11 points over the six game point streak. And Gunther is just always among leaders and shot attempts and scoring chances. He loves to rip the puck, 12 points over the six game streak. You mentioned the 39 goals. So I think he is a future 50 goal score. And Cooley has a very impressive edge stats. He's fourth among forwards and max skating speed at 24.3.8. Malenstein is one at 24.9 for McKenand-McDavid.

And then earlier you were talking about Owen Tippett and the 22 plus mile and hour speed burst 59 for Tippett at second. And you mentioned Cooley missing time. He's got 32, which is inside the top 10. If he played a full season, I think he'd be right there with Tippett or just below him. So he's got a lot of speed. The playmaking ability is great. Power play production is great as well.

In the draft with Slavkowski and Cutter Goce, those three guys have been just really good players since they entered the NHL. So again, another really nice call. I'll switch over to San Jose. And I just kind of wanted to get your thoughts on guys that play with Celebrini and Will Smith. I know we talked about Chernoshev before in the past and given opportunities there. He had a freak injury in Montreal a few weeks back when he was placed back up on that top line and recalled. Colin Graff, I noticed leads the NHL and high danger chances since the break.

and he's 11th in expected goals and seen some nice things from Alex Venberg. Recently, Michael Mesa checked up the other day in a 22 plus mile hour speed burst. Another production hasn't been there for him this season and lately, but a little bit more ice time. And he's certainly a player that I like moving forward. He's got a lot of speed. And San Jose's got three decent lines. And Sherwood Edition, right, gives him a little bit more.

To Foley is a veteran presence there. Eklund can move up and down the lineup. Defense like the Ducks, you know, kind of their issue, they give up a lot of high quality chances and shots and goals. But this team is right there. You know, if I had a vote, Salabrini would be probably my heart winner. He's done a lot. Of course, this year as a teenager and bringing the sharks to where they're at right now.

But Colin Graff, man, when I see these three together, I know like Smith and Salibrii looks like they've been playing hockey together forever as kids. No look passes to everything. But Graff kind of fits in there nicely. I think Chernoshev is probably the guy of the future there. but right now Graf is looking pretty good there. Yeah, remarkable progression from him because he went from, oh, check out what this guy does on the penalty kill.

And I think he's going to be a great utility bottom six player for a long time to getting this opportunity and making the most of it. And fitting within some of these offensive passing plays as well. Like he had this pass recently, I think it was to Will Smith, where Celebrini sends it to him down low and he sends this no-look backhand pass through to the defender's skates for ever to tap and for Smith and some very high-level offensive touch from him. which is really nice to see and really makes him that much more valuable a player.

I'm with you, though. I do think Chernoshov is the right fit moving forward there. And we saw that brief glimpse of it earlier in the year. It was remarkable. Then he got sent down because of the numbers game with the waiver status. And then he got banged up upon return. But I'm really excited about him. I think he fits in so well.

And it's encouraging that, you know, Celebrini, the scoring's been there all season. But the 5-on-5 uptick in terms of driving play and a lot of the underlying metrics has gone up pretty significantly post-Olympics and checking all the boxes now. And I think a very exciting group. I do wish we just got more ice time for Michael Misa because every time I watch, he's doing something productive. He's despite being a young player already kind of living in that high danger area, has the skating pop as well. And oftentimes I really like his game in watching the sharks. And then I look at the box score and he's played 10, 11 minutes that night. And

I get the idea of for a teenager in his first year, kind of easing him in and building it up, and I'm sure it's going to move up heading his next season. But I think we're already there where he probably needs to be playing 15, 16 minutes a night and seeing what he's capable of producing offensively. So that's what I'd like to see from them. I've got one more, and then I think we have time for you to do one as well to close us out. I wanted to include Zach Benson here because he's been doing it all year in terms of driving play, making stuff happen, just being impactful in terms of winning battles and a lot of

the defensive stuff that's made to Sabres so good post-December 9th. But now we've seen the production come along as well where I think he's been nearly a point of game over the past 15 games or so. And it's really fun watching him and Josh Stone out there together. They've been playing with Josh Norris recently. I still think heading into playoffs, he's probably the guy that should be playing with Tage Thompson because the numbers for Thompson are significantly better 5-15 when he's playing with him, just because I think he does a lot of the dirty work that Thompson and Tocan need at this point. So we'll see how that shakes out, but it's tough to argue with the results of this line right now. And I think he's exactly a type of player where we're going to watch the playoffs.

And regardless of how far the Sabres go, everyone is just going to gain a whole new appreciation for him. Because we haven't gone to see a lot of these guys in that playoff setting. I think only the true sickos have really been watching every single Sabres game despite their success over the past couple months. And so now with all the eyes on them in the playoffs, everyone just going to be like, man, this guy is a big game playoff player. He's just irritating the living daylights out of everyone. He's winning so many battles, make something happen every time out there. Just a pure hard and soul player. And I think has legitimate offensive touch to be a scoring threat as well. The finishing rate and some of his stuff in terms of converting on opportunities still not been good enough. And he's, needs to work on that moving forward. But given how hard O'Rourke he is everywhere else and how he has legitimate touch on passes, I'd expect him to at least be a league average finisher at some point in his prime. And if that happens, I think he could legitimately be a 60 to 70 point guy, if not more, considering he should be playing higher in the lineup and should be one of their most frequently used

players considering how good he is. Yeah, I mean, we could finish here with Buffalo, right? They've been so good this year in the depth, the scoring. And, you know, you look at the last 30 days. You see the 12 points from Benson's tied with Dahlene. And then you look up and down their lineup. I mean, Tage Thompson always, you know, his shot is just ridiculous. And he's always going to be the face of the offense. But other guys as well, like Jack Quinn, Krebs, Don, you mentioned. Josh Norris, when he's been healthy, has been a productive player over the last couple of years in the NHL. So this Sabres team can kind of, they can come at you in waves. And I I love the playmaking ability from Benson.

I do wonder about the goal scoring, but I agree with you. I think above average is certainly something that we can expect from him. And he is at, they just roll their lines. And we were talking about, I think Benson a couple weeks ago and got some pushback about him being on the fourth line. It's like, man, he's, you know, he's, he's productive at five and five. And he's going to be a good player moving forward. And that's what we're projecting. So, yeah, I don't have too many other guys in my list.

I know there were some guys like Mason Marchman in Columbus who had a bit of a boost. I saw last night they had 11 different combinations at Ford against the Sabres. They've cooled off quite a bit. I know he was up on the top line with Fantalia Marchenko for a little bit. You know, there saw some nice moments, you know, in Seattle from Bobby McMahon. He's a UFA. Cracken are not going to make the playoffs. But right away I saw him.

I know he was shooting at like a 20% clip, but he was shooting quite a bit. And the first couple of games he was leading Seattle forward. It's a nice time right away. Top line. and first power play is, you know, it's a disappointing season for the crack and two guys there. And then just another rookie, I guess, on the way out, we're not going to see him in the playoffs. But Anton Frundel is a guy as well who's been pretty impressive in the handful of games that he's played eight points and nine games. A couple goals last night, 51 shot attempts, three behind Baderd.

And I noticed they've been going Baderd and Frundel and Azar, one, two, three down the middle of the ice. Future that looks great. But I'm sure at times we'll see, you know, all three of those guys, you know, obviously Baderd's going to be center one. but Zarin Frundel in a top six role and another guy that is just 18 years old. And to be that productive right away in the NHL, this has a lot about his outlook. I want to include the caps as well because we finally got to see the two pro die together in Toronto earlier this week.

And they have so many fun guys to track moving forward between those two, of course. And then, you know, Cole Hudson and what we've seen from him early in his career, Ryan Leonard in his progression, Justin sort of. I think the future is very bright despite them taking a step back and most likely missing the playoffs this season. I mean, this was a lot of fun. I think we delivered on the promise at the start of the show that we'd cover a lot of ground. We'd have some fun doing so and we'd have a very productive show. I'll let you plug some stuff on the way out what the listeners know where they can check you out and what you're going to be cooking up here down the stretch as we had towards the playoffs.

Yeah, I mentioned the keeper rankings. We just did an episode breaking down the top 125 and under. players to target in Keeper leagues, fantasy leagues, and just like an overall general, fun conversation about some of these young players in the NHL. NHL fantasy on ice two days a week. Listen anywhere, you listen to your podcast on Mondays and Thursdays. Of course, we'll have a Stanley Cup preview.

We'll be doing some sleeper articles for the playoffs, edge stats. You know, we'll highlight one player, X factors with some edge stats for every team in the Stanley Cup playoffs. We'll have rankings and we'll have you covered throughout with some props and some NHL gold chase picks as well over at NHL.com slash fantasy. But yeah, always a pleasure man. Love

joining you. Keep up the great work and should be a really fun playoff and I'm really looking forward to it. All right. Well, this was fun as always. Looking forward to having you on again soon. I also wanted a shout out our shared pal, Pete Jensen, who we were talking before we went on the air. He was in Denver for the analytics conference while we were in town and got the chat with him a little bit. And so missed you there, but it's nice to see you.

here over Zoom and catch up. Here are my plugs. Subscribe to a video cast Patreon. Huge week for us there. For our subscribers, we had a great chat with Harmon about a bunch of different topics. We did a duck deep dive with Felix Thakar. We had Jesse Marshall on to talk penguins and Chinikov. And then a couple newsletter pieces on Chinikov and Zach Benson, two players.

We highlighted today. So a lot of fun stuff there. A lot of fun stuff. Coming ahead entering the final week of the regular season. So we're going to put a bow on things. and then start looking ahead to the playoffs next week with our playoff previews and it's going to be a great time.

A lot of fun stuff ahead for us. I hope everyone is a great weekend and thank you for listening to the Hockey Ocast Streaming on the Sportsnet Radio Network.