NHL rookies you have to pick up in fantasy hockey for 2018-19

1. Casey Mittelstadt

Rasmus Dahlin is stealing all of the headlines, but there’s plenty of eyes on Buffalo’s top offensive prospect Casey Mittelstadt.

His fantasy value surged when the Sabres shipped Ryan O’Reilly out of town. A natural center, his only real competition for the 2-hole up the middle is Patrick Berglund. He stands to see power play time with Jack Eichel throughout the season — that fact alone will make him relevant to fantasy owners in all league types.

Buffalo’s offense is in need of a shot of life, so it’s a safe bet that he’ll be given every opportunity to provide goals to spark the team. His brief showing this year saw him pot five points in just six games, and he even finished as a plus-1 for good measure.

While it was a small sample size, one of the more intriguing lines from his stat line this year was that he started play in the offensive zone 74.4 percent of the time. If Housley continues to start him in the opponents’ end at a similar rate, he’ll have an incredibly ample opportunity to not only rack up points, but avoid getting hurt on the defensive side of things.

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Mittelstadt is one of a few rookies who deserves your consideration, even in the mid-stages of your draft. If you didn’t get the opportunity to draft high in the first round, you undoubtedly missed out on the chance to select the true superstars. In these cases, it’s often a necessity to take bigger risks and the Buffalo forward presents an intriguing selection after the typical first line stars are all off the board.