It can be risky drafting a player who just had a disappointing season in fantasy hockey. However, many players bounce back beautifully after a poor season and become valuable fantasy additions in the process. This is very likely to occur this upcoming season as well. Thus, there are four clear bounce-back candidates who you should seriously consider picking in your upcoming fantasy hockey drafts. Let’s discuss each of them now.
Top 4 Fantasy Bounce-Back Candidate to Draft
Taylor Hall
Taylor Hall is a clear bounce-back candidate heading into the 2023-24 season. With the Boston Bruins this past season, the 31-year-old posted 16 goals and 36 points in 61 games. Although these are not bad numbers, the former Hart Trophy winner is expected to produce at a higher pace. Yet, he also displayed signs of bouncing back in the postseason, posting five goals and eight points in seven games.
A notable reason for Hall’s decrease in production this past campaign is that he played third-line minutes. This should change with Chicago, however, as he is expected to play on their first line. He also will be a key part of their power-play unit, so his production is likely to increase. Due to this, he is one of the bounce-back candidates to select during the later rounds of your fantasy hockey draft.
Alex DeBrincat
Alex DeBrincat is another bounce-back candidate who managers should consider selecting in their fantasy hockey drafts. Although DeBrincat’s 2022-23 season was not bad, his production noticeably tailed off. After posting 41 goals and 78 points in 82 games with the Chicago Blackhawks the year before, DeBrincat had 27 goals and 66 points in 82 games with the Ottawa Senators. Now that he is set to play for his Detroit Red Wings, we should expect a major turnaround from the 25-year-old.
DeBrincat never seemed to find his footing with the Senators, and it makes sense why he forced his trade to the Red Wings. He will now not only have the chance to play for his hometown Red Wings but also join a solid roster with players like Dylan Larkin, Moritz Seider, Lucas Raymond, and David Perron. We should expect a big bounce-back season from the star sniper in 2023-24 because of this, and fantasy players should take advantage of it.
Thatcher Demko
There is not a bigger goalie bounce-back candidate than Vancouver Canucks netminder Thatcher Demko. The 27-year-old has been an elite NHL goalie before, but he was far from one this past season. In 32 appearances, he posted a 14-14-4 record, a 3.16 GAA, and a .901 SV%. These numbers are low for his standards, and he will be aiming to turn things around in 2023-24.
There are reasons to believe that Demko can be a successful bounce-back candidate, too. His play started to improve at the end of last season when his injury trouble subsided. Furthermore, the Canucks improved their defensive group this offseason, adding Carson Soucy and Ian Cole. Thus, Demko is exactly the kind of bounce-back candidate that you take a chance on in your fantasy draft.
Jonathan Huberdeau
Perhaps the biggest bounce-back candidate heading into 2023-24 is Calgary Flames forward Jonathan Huberdeau. After posting a spectacular 115-point campaign in 80 games with the Florida Panthers in 2021-22, Huberdeau struggled last season, recording just 15 goals and 55 points in 79 games. This was certainly not how he wanted to begin his tenure in Calgary. Yet, now he will get the chance to turn things back around.
When looking at Huberdeau’s past success, it is hard to believe that he can’t get his production back up this upcoming season. There is far too much talent there for him to struggle so much again, and it also does not hurt that he will be playing for a new head coach. Although some may feel hesitant to select him in their fantasy draft after his poor season, don’t be afraid to take a gamble on him during the later rounds.
All four of these bounce-back candidates are worth selecting for your fantasy teams. This is especially the case when you start to see most of the top players off the board. Alas. let’s see how this quartet ends up performing from here.