If Connor Bedard’s first few pre-season games are any indication, this season looks like it’s shaping up to be incredible for the rookie.
The Chicago Blackhawks forward has already dazzled on multiple occasions, with some highlight-reel goals in the prospects tournament and some ridiculous rushes during exhibition play. It’s not hard to see why so many people are even more excited about his debut.
So much in fact, that I’ve seen a number of folks ponder whether Bedard should be drafted even higher in fantasy than most people have him ranked. Not to put a damper on the Bedard parade, but I’d caution about getting overly excited about his play in the pre-season and changing your expectations for him.
He’s certainly going to have a strong campaign, but I wouldn’t alter your entire draft approach around him based on a handful of highlights against exhibition competition. Things are going to get tougher for Bedard when the real games begin and as good as he is, it’s going to be tough to dominate talented veterans right away.
Bedard’s value will obviously be much higher in keeper leagues and I’ve got him pencilled in for around 70 points this year and I’m sticking to it.
No matter how he performs in 2023-24, Bedard is certainly going to be appointment viewing every time he hits the ice.
1. Andrei Vasilevskiy’s injury certainly complicates things in the goalie pecking order for drafts, but it also presents an opportunity. You should be able to snag the Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender at a bargain price and you could place him on injured reserve as a stash option for when he’s healthy.
There’s a decent chance Vasilevskiy will be back by Christmas and the silver lining of his injury is that he’ll get more rest. Vasilevskiy has played a ton of hockey over the past three years with condensed seasons and short summers, so this should be the most refreshed he’s been in quite some time. If you can survive for a little while without him, your team is going to get a huge boost a couple of months into the campaign.
2. I’m still not convinced Jonas Johansson can take over the Lightning goal for two months, but he’s certainly making a case for it. Johansson started exhibition play by posting back-to-back shutouts, stopping the first 67 shots he faced this preseason
3. Quinn Hughes looks like he’s taking his game to another level this season and it’s most noticeable when it comes to shots on goal. Hughes had 12 shots in his three preseason outings, including an eight-shot performance that was a career high for Hughes in either exhibition or the regular season.
One of the few knocks on Hughes in fantasy was his lack of shot volume, but if this is the pace he’s going to demonstrate all season, his value will be through the roof.
4. The Montreal Canadiens gave Alex Newhook and a few others some looks this preseason with Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki. I had assumed that spot would go to Kirby Dach, but the Canadiens appear to be experimenting with different options.
You always have to take training camp lines with a grain of salt, though it would probably be a prudent move to keep whoever ends up with Suzuki and Caufield on your radar.
5. The Philadelphia Flyers are welcoming back some familiar faces this year, if you can remember them. Both Cam Atkinson and Sean Couturier missed all of last season due to injuries but appear healthy to start the 2023-24 campaign.
Couturier has scored over 75 points twice and Atkinson is a seven-time 20-goal scorer who has a 41-goal season to his credit. He’s also great for shot volume. Couturier and Atkinson should both eventually be on the first power play unit and be logging decent minutes when they get up to speed.
6. Even with Torey Krug’s return from a foot injury, I wouldn’t shy away from Justin Faulk. Krug has been given far more power play time than Faulk in his three seasons with the St. Louis Blues, yet Faulk has still been the much more productive player.
7. If you’re thinking of taking a chance on Jakub Vrana this year, you have to be encouraged by what you’ve seen so far. Vrana has three goals in exhibition play, picking up right where he left off last season.
There’s never been an issue with Vrana’s production, but it’s been about three years since he’s played anywhere close to a full season.
8. Don’t look now, but Matt Coronato sure is looking strong this pre-season. He had four goals and three assists in five contests and is making a real case to be used in the Calgary Flames top six.
With Darryl Sutter gone, there might be more opportunities for young players in Calgary in 2023-24. Coronato really isn’t being drafted at all right now, so he could be a good late-round steal or perhaps an early pickup off waivers.
9. It’s important to pay attention to the NHL waiver wire at this time of year. Many teams are forced to put players on waivers they normally wouldn’t and the Ottawa Senators turned some heads by adding Egor Sokolov, Jacob Bernard-Docker and Lassi Thomson to the wire.
Sometimes all a young player needs is a change of scenery or a better opportunity to become fantasy relevant, so keep your eyes peeled to who’s switching teams if you’re in a keeper or dynasty league.
10. The hype is growing around Boston Bruins prospect Matthew Poitras. He’s been impressive in the preseason and it’s no secret the Bruins are desperate for centres, with Pavel Zacha and Charlie Coyle currently at the top of the depth chart. It probably makes the most sense to send Poitras back to junior, but stranger things have happened. He’s worth a look if he makes the team and takes over the second-line centre role.
11. There’s been lots of chatter around Zach Benson sticking with the Buffalo Sabres after an impressive preseason. The 13th overall pick from this past summer might get a handful of NHL games this season, but I think he ultimately goes back to junior for more development.
The Sabres have a plethora of young talent up front and don’t need to rush Benson. He’s a good one to target in dynasty and keeper leagues, though
12. Daniel Sprong is at it again. The Detroit Red Wings forward has a goal in every game this preseason after finding the net with regularity last year, despite only receiving minimal minutes.
He scored 21 times in 2022-23 while barely averaging over 11 minutes of ice time. Sprong is one of the few players that can be productive for your squad playing lower down the lineup.
13. Connor Brown scored twice on Wednesday night, both assisted by Connor McDavid. I think you’ll be hearing that a lot this season. Brown should be a bargain in drafts if he can stay healthy.
14. It sounds like Jack Campbell could be the opening night starter for the Edmonton Oilers. Campbell has outperformed Stuart Skinner in the preseason and I warned about this in my bargain goalie piece.
Skinner’s sample size is still really small and he struggled mightily in the playoffs, so assuming he was going to be the undisputed starter this season was risky. Also, as bad as Campbell was last season, he has proven that he can play at a high level for months at a time. Skinner has an ADP of 99 right now and Campbell is sitting at 166, so Campbell is much better value in drafts, especially if he takes over the net
15. With Jared Spurgeon sidelined for a couple of weeks with an injury, Calen Addison deserves some consideration for a spot on your roster. He had 18 assists with the man advantage a season ago and he really doesn’t have any competition to quarterback the Minnesota Wild’s top power play.
Addison is barely being drafted at the moment and is probably sitting on your waiver wire if your squad needs some power play help.
16. The Columbus Blue Jackets continue to experiment with Patrik Laine at centre and he’s been playing in the middle of Johnny Gaudreau and Kirill Marchenko. This would make Laine very versatile if it sticks because he could have triple position eligibility and he would add faceoff wins to his arsenal.
17. It appears Josh Norris won’t be ready to start the season, as he’s still working his way back from a shoulder issue. There is a lot of uncertainty about how much time he’ll miss, but plan accordingly for the early part of the year if you were counting on Norris to be in your lineup.
18. Joonas Korpisalo is getting all the attention in the Ottawa Senators crease, but don’t sleep on Anton Forsberg. He’s been stellar this preseason, posting a .957 save percentage in three outings. Forsberg will probably be a better value pick than Korpisalo in drafts and he’ll likely play almost as much if he stays healthy.
19. The schedule for the first week of the season is really tricky to navigate. Most teams play twice, but a handful play three teams and a few just once. Most notably, the Dallas Stars and the Washington Capitals, meaning the likes of Jake Oettinger, Jason Roberston, and Alex Ovechkin will only give you one game if you’re in a head-to-head league.
I always like combining that first and second week together for scoring purposes in your league to distribute the games more evenly. Nobody wants to get off to a bad start simply because an important part of their roster barely played.
20. As if you needed another reason to draft Auston Matthews, it looks like the Toronto Maple Leafs forward is going to be penalty killing this season. That’s an important factor if you’re in a league that counts shorthanded points.
He’ll also likely be playing on the penalty kill with Mitch Marner, making both of them even more dangerous when shorthanded. Typically, you only need a couple of points to win the shorthanded points category, so having Matthews or Marner this season can give you a real advantage in that area.
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