NHL rookies you have to pick up in fantasy hockey for 2018-19
With NHL development camps in full swing, we take a look at 10 rookies who could provide valuable additions to your fantasy hockey team in the 2018-19 season.
It’s never too early to begin discussing fantasy hockey in preparation for next season. My notes app is already filled with a list of names I need to keep an eye on as my September drafts progress.
If you’re in highly competitive leagues with friends (or strangers) who are constantly checking the waiver wire and heading to Rotowire for player updates, swinging for the fences in the later rounds of your draft may be absolutely necessary.
Fantasy league apps generally don’t project rookies to do much of anything, so they can be found at the bottom of list rankings. While your competition struggles over which of the next 10 highest projected players to choose from in the 10th round, consider going off-board on one or a few of these first-year players. Some of them even deserve mid-round consideration. One newsworthy game is often enough for fantasy owners to jump all over them — so beat your friends to the punch.
For the record, to be considered a rookie by NHL standards…
"…a player must not have played in more than 25 NHL games in any preceding seasons, nor in six or more NHL games in each of any two preceding seasons. Any player at least 26 years of age (by September 15th of that season) is not considered a rookie. (via NHL)"
10. F Elias Pettersson
Elias Pettersson is the type of prospect who gets fans giddy about the future. And why wouldn’t he?
Pettersson tore up the SHL this year, breaking records and taking home a boatload of trophies. He added those to his World Junior silver medal — a tournament in which he finished as a point-per-game player.
He’s a natural center, though he’s played the wing with no issues and that’s more than likely where he’ll begin his NHL career this fall, especially after the Jay Beagle signing.
That may impede his value as a fantasy asset this year by cutting in to his playing time, though he could end up being a fixture on the powerplay. That would elevate his status as a rookie, as Vancouver rolled a very effective man-advantage last year.
He may be diminutive as it stands right now, but the NHL is built for speedy, creative forwards who don’t need to be giants on the ice as long as they can elude defenders. This is something he does in spades and he will have more freedom to acclimate his game to the NHL level without the pressure of playing down the middle right away.
So what does this say for his fantasy value next year? In your standard 10-friend hockey pool, he’s probably not worth a draft pick consideration. He’s unlikely to see much 5-on-5 time with Brock Boeser though if your league counts power play points, you may want to add him in deeper pools. Plus/minus will hurt his value as it usually does on weaker teams.
Pettersson has all the tools to be an elite NHLer, though you’re probably not going to get much value from him this year. That’s not a knock on what he will be, but simply an observation of the development ahead. Still, he makes this list because of the tremendous raw talent and the potential to surprise us all this year.