Carolina's Andrei Svechnikov appears to be one of the league's most underrated players heading into next season

Carolina's Andrei Svechnikov is being rated criminally low across the board when it comes to his projections next season. Most Fantasy hockey leagues have him being drafted outside of the top 60 skaters and most sportsbooks have his over/under for points next season listed at a surprising 66.5 points (-110 on Bet365). 

 People must be forgetting how talented the 24-year-old Russian forward really is. Since his rookie season in 2018, Svechnikov has found his way into being a fringe point-per-game player. Injuries have limited him to just 324 games over the past five seasons but have still seen him average 0.86 points per game. When missing just four games in the 2021-22 season, he scored 30 goals and dished for 39 assists to hit 69 points. 

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkDRBD6LrJ0[/embed]

It was the second time in his career he has hit the 60-point mark and he should again this season. The former Barrie Colt will have a full off-season to recover from his torn ACL that he suffered in early March and be able to hit the ground running next season. Hockey fans have started to notice his regular linemate, Sebastian Aho bursting into an NHL superstar as he finished his 2024 postseason with a team-leading 12 points in 11 games. 

Right behind Aho was Svechnikov, Aho finished with 11 points in as many games and looked stellar alongside his Finnish teammate. The two should continue to complement each other next season and have one of their best seasons yet if they can both stay healthy. Current projections from the Hockey News's lineups site has the duo playing alongside another breakout star in Seth Jarvis, who lead the Hurricanes with five goals this past postseason. 

 The trio should help Svechnikov maintain a very high floor that should result in over 60 points if he plays in at least 50-55 games with a ceiling that could see him reach as high as 80-90 points if he can stay healthy for a majority of the season. The over on his points should be a solid bet and one of our most confident picks available.

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