Dynasty hockey leagues are my preferred type of league. I love the depth and complexity of the leagues, especially those with salary cap implications. These leagues offer insight into the more simple redraft set up. Having knowledge of prospects helps you when they do get an opportunity in the NHL. I’ve compiled a non-exhaustive list of rookies who are both getting an opportunity and have a fair amount of underlying skill that they should probably be owned in all but the most shallow redraft leagues.
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Rookies You Need to Pay Attention to
Alexander Romanov, D, MTL (54% Owned)
Romanov has been a highly touted Montreal Canadiens prospect since he was taken in the second round back in 2018. His performance at international tournaments has been impressive. One reason he’s never moved the needle much in fantasy is that he has never been a huge point producer. Most of the time in fantasy you want your defenders running the power play to rack up those sweet, sweet points.
Romanov is a different beast though. He is a physical, defensively sound rearguard with the tools to also run a power play. I must admit, I was skeptical he would play a big role this season and did not think he would get much if any power-play time.
Early returns are the opposite. He garnered over 21 minutes of time on ice in the opener and got almost three minutes of power-play time. Of course, it helps that Shea Weber and Jeff Petry both play on one power play, but the other thing Romanov has going for him that neither of those veterans has is that he shoots left.
Shooting from the left allows him to set up right-handed forwards better for the one-timers. Romanov has been on the power-play unit with Tomas Tatar, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Brenden Gallagher, and Josh Anderson. Gallagher and Anderson are both right shots that could benefit nicely from those lefty passes. It also helps that historically the Canadiens have rather evenly split their power plays, without relying too heavily on one unit.
Romanov is one of the rare skaters that will be valuable even if he is not scoring points as he dolled out three shots, four blocks, and had a hit. These counting statistics should continue to grow if his ice time stays over 20 minutes. He was fourth on the Habs in time on ice in his first game against the Maple Leafs. I didn’t see anything to suggest he didn’t deserve every minute. This is the kind of player who could win you your league as you could get him in almost half of all leagues for free.
According to Evolving Hockey, Romanov had the best individual expected goals per 60 minutes of any defender on the Habs. He was second in Corsi for per 60 minutes. This is incredible for a player’s first game in the NHL. The sky really is the limit here. Get him while you can.
K’Andre Miller, D, NYR (25% owned)
Miller somewhat surprisingly has forced his way onto this roster to begin the season. We all knew Jacob Trouba and Adam Fox would be there. Tony DeAngelo, for all his defensive worts, has undeniable offensive talent. But he has seemingly passed players with NHL experience like Anthony Bitetto, Brendan Smith, and Libor Hajek.
Miller is a little bit in the mold of Romanov. He doesn’t have the highest offensive upside, but he is a physical specimen. At 6-foot-5 and 210 lbs, he can be an absolute load to handle in physical battles. He is also adept at reading plays and being in the right position so he doesn’t have to use his physicality.
Miller’s impact wasn’t as immediate as that of Romanov, partly because the Rangers are not as good of a team and they were absolutely throttled by the New York Islanders in their opener. To his credit though, the rookie managed 13:40 of ice time, good for 5th amongst blue-liners, and ahead of Tony DeAngelo who was absolutely embarrassed by Mat Barzal. At least nothing like that happened to Miller.
While the one shot, one hit, and no blocks stat line may be disappointing for Miller, the best is yet to come. If he can stick on the roster and his minutes can grow, those stats will steadily climb. He has been paired with Jacob Trouba primarily, but also saw time with Adam Fox and Ryan Lindgren. If he can manage to stick with either Trouba or Fox, his ice time will certainly go up and up, as will the hits, blocks, and shots. Keep him on your watch list for now, but be ready to pounce.
Nils Hoglander LW VAN (48% owned)
Hoglander was another surprise to make the NHL this season. Though he has been regarded as a decent prospect since he was taken 40th overall in 2019, it seemed like he might need some more development time. On the other hand, he has been playing in the SHL, the top Swedish league for two seasons and had more time this fall when the NHL was on pause. His most recent SHL production clicked at 14 points in 23 games.
Hoglander has been skating on the second line with Bo Horvat and Tanner Pearson, a spot he may retain even when JT Miller returns. I doubt he remains on the top power play when Miller returns, but he has that assignment now. At any rate, as long as Hoglander has this deployment, he is worth an add and it may turn into a long term hold.
Hoglander doesn’t have any hits in two games, but that should change. He has been known as a physical player, even earning more than one suspension in the SHL for overly aggressive hits. He does have three blocks to go along with his five shots. If his ice time holds around 19 minutes a game, he could provide value above replacement. If that starts to dip or he is shuffled away from Horvat, it is probably time to drop him.
Vitek Vanecek, G, WSH (12% owned)
Vanecek is probably a name that some poolies, even those in somewhat deep leagues, may not know. He was drafted 39th overall, back in 2014 by the Washington Capitals. With Henrik Lundqvist unable to play this season due to a heart condition and Craig Anderson on the taxi squad, Vanecek made his NHL debut and looked good.
Ilya Samsonov is the number one goalie, but only has 27 NHL games of experience. With the compressed schedule and the Capitals having eight back-to-back games, we could see a fair amount of Vanecek this season. Samsonov wasn’t terribly impressive in his opening game this season, letting in four goals on 28 shots.
If you have the roster spot, it may be good to grab Vanecek now and see how it goes. At the very least, he makes for a good streaming option on the days he gets the start. If Samsonov gets injured or plays poorly, you want to make sure you grab him quickly.
LW John Leonard, SJS (9% owned)
Now for the deepest cut of all, at only 9% owned Leonard should be available in most redraft leagues. The San Jose Sharks 6th round pick from the 2018 draft has had a pretty impressive development. After two USHL seasons, Leonard was not drafted and instead went to the NCAA playing at UMass (Amherst). His draft season was good posting 28 points in 33 games as a freshman.
Leonard’s sophomore season was even better posting a point-per-game in 40 games. In 2019-20, his junior season, he had 37 points in 33 games, 27 of them goals. He knows how to find the back of the net. I figured that since he had yet to play in the AHL, Leonard would not make the Sharks right away, but his play in camp and the Sharks’ lack of depth has led to a different path.
In his first game, Leonard lined up next to Tomas Hertl and Evander Kane. He also got a look on the second power play unit. In his first game, he looked really good. You might think he lucked into those two assists, but I would argue he was the primary play drive and both assists were primary to boot.
Leonard finished 8th on the team in time on ice for forwards and probably would have been higher had Noah Gregor and Matt Nieto not been caught on the ice for two long penalty kill shifts. Of course anything can change, but early returns are positive and the Sharks absolutely need Leonard’s goal scoring. He is worth an add and as long as he’s with Hertl and Kane, he’s worth a spot on most fantasy rosters.
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