Johansson, 25, has settled in nicely with the Capitals since they drafted him 24th overall in 2009. He had 46 points (17G / 29A) in 74 games last year, continuing his consistent mid-40’s point production. At just 25, there is room for him to grow into a mid-50’s player, especially in an explosive Capitals’ offence. Draft him as the player he has been with room for upside.
Nieto, 23, is a former second-round pick, who already has 205 career NHL games under his belt. He was a great scorer during his time with the U.S. development team and at Boston University, but hasn’t been given the high-end minutes in San Jose that he needs to produce fantasy relevant numbers. Nieto has just 68 career points (28G / 40A).
Killorn, 26, had 40 points (14G / 26A) in 81 games last season. He has been a very consistent point producer in the lat three years, finishing with 41, 38 and 40 points each season. Those number are certainly serviceable for the Lightning, but aren’t quite good enough to land him firmly on the fantasy radar.
Puempel, 23, was the 24th overall pick in 2011, but has yet to have a big impact at the NHL level. The 6-foot, 190 lbs. forward has been limited to bottom-6 minutes in his first 39 career NHL games—he has six points (4G / 2A). However, during the time he was with Binghamton (AHL) last year, he had an impressive 30 points (17G / 13A) in just 34 games. He should be a key member of the Senators bottom-6 to start 2016-17.
Grenier, 24, picked up 48 points (16G / 32A) in 69 games with Utica (AHL) last year, marking two years in a row he has eclipsed 40-points in the AHL. In six contests with the Canucks, the 6-foot-5 winger failed to get on the scoresheet.
Pedan, 23, appeared in his first 13 career NHL games last year, failing to record a point. Despite being held pointless with the Canucks, Pedan enjoyed solid offensive numbers with Utica (AHL), where he had 21 points (7G / 14A) in 42 contests. The former third round pick will battle for a spot on the Vancouver blueline in training camp.
Gaudet, 23, spent the majority of last year in Springfield (AHL), where he had just 13 points (4G / 9A) in 44 games. In 14 contests with the Coyotes he had three points and could crack their roster as a bottom-6 forward this fall.
Benn, 27, had his first 40-goal season (41) and a career-high 89 points in 2015-16. Over the last three years, Benn has only missed one game while recording 255 points (110G / 145A) which is second in the NHL, behind only Sidney Crosby. Benn’s new deal doesn’t kick in until next season, which means his deal runs through the 2024-25 season.
Schwartz, 24, missed 49 games in 2015-16 after fracturing his ankle in October, but still finished with 22 points (8G / 14A) in 33 games. The injury was frustrating for his fantasy investors, who were expecting another 25-goal, 60-point season out of him. Schwartz comes into 2016-17 with that kind of potential and should be drafted as a 60-point player with the potential for 30 goals.
Sparks, 23, played at three levels last year—21 AHL games, 17 NHL games and one ECHL game. During his time with the Maple Leafs he was 6-9-0 with a 3.02 GAA and .893 SV%, versus a strong 14-4-3 record, 2.33 GAA and .928 SV% in his time with the Marlies. With Jonathan Bernier in Anaheim and James Reimer in Florida, the door is wide-open for Sparks to be Frederik Andersen’s backup to start the 2016-17 season.
Jooris, 26, spent the first two years of his NHL career with the Flames, scoring 16 goals with 21 assists (37 points) in a combined 119 games. He heads to New York where he will likely land a bottom-6 role in training camp.
McIlrath, 24, had two goals and two assists in 34 regular season games and appeared in one playoff game last year. With Dan Boyle moving on from New York, McIlrath will likely have a full-time spot on the Rangers’ blueline this season.
Since breaking into the NHL in 2011-12, Foligno has seen his point-production rise a little bit in each season, reaching 23 points (10G / 13A) in 75 games last year. Still not great production from the 24-year-old, but another one-year deal should motivate him for more in 2016-17.
After a solid 2014-15 season, the Jets were expecting Lowry to take a step forward, but instead he took a step in the other direction. Lowry had just 17 points (7G / 10A) in 74 games with Winnipeg and four assists in four games with Manitoba (AHL). Lowry will try and bounce-back with the Jets this year.
Armia, 23, split his 2015-16 season between the AHL and NHL. He appeared in 43 games with the Jets, collecting 10 points (4G / 6A). In his time with Manitoba, Armia picked up eight points (3G / 5A) in 18 games. He will likely play his first full NHL season in 2016-17.
Glendening, 27, is coming off of the best offensive year of his brief career, having picked up 21 points (8G / 13A) in 81 games. He has only missed one game over the last two years and led Red Wings forwards in face-off percentage and shorthanded time on ice last season. It appears Glendening will be the Red Wings’ fourth line centre for the next five seasons.
Rattie, 23, was the 32nd overall pick in 2011 and has posted great numbers in three seasons with Chicago (AHL), but has yet to have a big impact at the NHL level. He hasn’t been given a great chance yet, but should finally get that opportunity in 2016-17. Rattie has eight points (4G / 4A) in 26 career NHL games.
After playing 192 games over three seasons with Bridgeport (AHL), Quine finally made it the NHL at the end of the 2015-16 season. Quine appeared in two regular season games and 10 playoff games, collecting a combined two goals and four assists. He will try to hold onto that spot in training camp this Fall.
Miller, 23, was the 15th overall pick in 2011 and his breakout season was long awaited. Miller finally broke through in 2015-16 after posting just 33 points (15G / 18A) in 114 games over his first three seasons. Miller scored 22 goals with 21 assists (43 points) last season and figures to take steps forward as a member of the Rangers’ top-6 in 2016-17.
Pulkkinen, 24, shredded the AHL with 61 points (34G / 27A) in 46 games with Grand Rapids (AHL) in 2014-15 but has yet to land a full-time spot with the Red Wings since. Once he was called up, he has picked up 11 goals and nine assists (20 points) in a combined 67 games and will once again have to fight for playing time after the Red Wings added a number of veteran forwards this offseason.
