THN.com/podcast. From The Hockey News Podcast: Where Did All the Second-Round Drama Go? Mikko Rantanen [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MTk3OTIwMzIyNDI1NDYzOTgw/usatsi_20582213.jpg] Mikko Rantanen When it comes to wingers in fantasy hockey, it can be an absolute wasteland. Of course, there are always the few elite guys at the top, and there are more of them than ever, but good wingers pop out of nowhere every season. Who knew Andrei Kuzmenko would have such an outsized impact in his first season? What about Clayton Keller coming off a broken leg or Zach Hyman becoming a point-per-game player? The elite wingers can score enough on their own, but the rest remain far more dependent on usage. How many minutes and who their linemates will be are all important factors to consider, and that may also be the case with certain wingers, such as Mats Zuccarello, who scores at a higher rate when he’s playing with Kirill Kaprizov (obviously). Grabbing an elite winger in the early rounds is still a great strategy. No one will blink if Mikko Rantanen, Nikita Kucherov or Kirill Kaprizov are taken in the first round. And, even if they’re not, they’re great value picks after the first round. Good centers are abundant, and Cale Makar is arguably the lone defenseman worth taking in the first few rounds. Entering the 2023-24 season, the depth at right wing seems to be far better than left wings. In past years, left wing tends to be the easier position to fill. Of the top 50 scorers this season, only 18 were right-hand shots. Coaches tend to prefer players play on their strong side, which means more left wingers than right wingers, but that’s also been somewhat negated by fantasy leagues becoming more proactive in providing multiple position eligibility. Players with LW/RW eligibility are now fairly common, except for those who may play on one side exclusively, and you could make the argument that being eligible for one position only is actually a detriment for fantasy managers looking for flexibility. Here’s an early look at the top 10 NHL fantasy hockey right wingers going into next season, with points and offensive categories as the main focus. In case you missed it, here’s the list of top 10 goalies [https://thehockeynews.com/news/nhl-fantasy-hockey-early-look-at-top-10-goalies-for-next-season], defensemen [https://thehockeynews.com/news/nhl-fantasy-hockey-early-glimpse-at-top-10-defensemen-for-next-season], centers [https://thehockeynews.com/news/nhl-fantasy-hockey-early-peek-at-top-10-centers-for-next-season] and left wingers [https://thehockeynews.com/news/nhl-fantasy-hockey-early-glance-at-top-10-left-wingers-for-next-season]. 1. MIKKO RANTANEN, AVALANCHE 82 GP, 55-50-105, 306 S, 37 PPP, 22:13 TOI/GP Rantanen held the ship steady even though the Avs were plagued with injuries, and the result was a career-best 55 goals, good enough for third in the league. In what has turned out to be a loaded 2015 draft class, he is one of four players to average more than a point per game. He’s proven to be an elite finisher with a career 16.3 shooting percentage, 11th-best in the NHL (min. 50 goals) since his first full season in 2016-17. 2. DAVID PASTRNAK, BRUINS 82 GP, 61-52-113, 407 S, 37 PPP, 19:34 TOI/GP There’s no denying that Pastrnak is the best goal-scorer on this list. However, we have to take into account that the Bruins will likely look very different next season. Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci’s statuses are up in the air, not to mention they face a cap crunch. Pastrnak’s extreme high-volume shooting – he was the only one to eclipse 400 shots this season, the only player not named Alex Ovechkin to do it in the cap era – will ensure he remains a top-tier option no matter what happens. 3. NIKITA KUCHEROV, LIGHTNING 82 GP, 30-83-113, 271 S, 50 PPP, 20:08 TOI/GP You just can’t deny Kucherov’s incredible consistency. Since his 85-point breakout season in 2016-17, Kucherov’s 1.34 points per game rank second only to Connor McDavid, and he also ranks seventh in assists and third in power-play points. Entering his age-30 season, there are no signs that Kucherov is slowing down. 4. MATTHEW TKACHUK, PANTHERS 79 GP, 40-69-109, 322 S, 36 PPP, 20:26 TOI/GP Back-to-back 40-goal, 100-point seasons and 300-plus shots firmly put Tkachuk at the top of the list despite the fact that he’s not known for either his shooting or playmaking ability. His career-best numbers came on the heels of a dip in shooting percentage from 2021-22's career high, showing that he simply gets things done. Free from Darryl Sutter’s insistence on rolling four lines, Tkachuk’s ice time went up significantly under Paul Maurice, and that will certainly continue. 5. MITCH MARNER, MAPLE LEAFS 80 GP, 30-69-99, 196 S, 36 PPP, 21:17 TOI/GP Marner represents the last of the elite right wingers, and he falls a little short of the rest because he’s a playmaker first and doesn’t score a lot of goals or shoot the puck. He’ll make it for it with assists and shorthanded goals, but there’s a clear drop-off even playing with a very talented top six. 6. WILLIAM NYLANDER, MAPLE LEAFS 82 GP, 40-47-87, 293 S, 28 PPP, 18:33 TOI/GP Nylander has scored at least 80 points in back-to-back seasons, and you wonder if he could push his totals higher into the 90s if he got a little more playing time. His point production trailed off late in the season but still ranks 36th over the past two seasons at 1.02 points per game. Depending on the league settings, Nylander could be more valuable than Marner. 7. TIMO MEIER, DEVILS 78 GP, 40-26-66, 327 S, 23 PPP, 19:23 TOI/GP Meier will be an interesting boom-or-bust case next season. He’s an arbitration-eligible RFA next season, and his stint with the Devils so far has been underwhelming. What makes Meier an excellent fantasy player is his high-volume shooting and goal-scoring, with huge value added in banger leagues for his hits. Only four players registered at least 30 goals and 150 hits last season: Meier, Alex Ovechkin, J.T. Miller and Brady Tkachuk. 8. MARTIN NECAS, HURRICANES 82 GP, 28-43-71, 240 S, 26 PPP, 18:25 TOI/GP After a down year that saw his shooting percentage dip to an unsustainably low 8.8 percent in 2021-22, Necas doubled his goal total and set carer highs across the board. Entering his fifth full NHL season, we can expect his numbers to keep going up. The drawback with Necas is the Canes’ balanced lineup; with many mouths to feed and their unselfish style, Necas will not get the ice time to put up really gaudy numbers. 9. ZACH HYMAN, OILERS 79 GP, 36-47-83, 276 S, 26 PPP, 20:09 TOI/GP Hyman was the perfect complementary piece for the Oilers’ two megastars, and his game reached new heights thanks to a historically good power play. His ice time on the man advantage jumped from 2:24 per game last season to 3:30 this season, the biggest jump among their regulars. As long as Hyman stays in that role – and it looks like he will – he has a chance to put up numbers better than his individual talent may dictate. 10. COLE CAUFIELD, CANADIENS 46 GP, 26-10-36, 158 S, 10 PPP, 18:03 TOI/GP Pro-rated, Caufield would’ve finished the season with 46 goals and 281 shots, both of which would’ve easily ranked in the top 20. The lack of assists is a downer, but as the main trigger man, Caufield’s assist totals will probably never be very high. There’s some optimism in Montreal as they continue to rebuild, and if they land a high-end center at this year’s draft, there will be more players to feed Caufield pucks beyond just Nick Suzuki. HONORABLE MENTIONS TRAVIS KONECNY, FLYERS Konecny had a wonderful season, averaging a point per game but saw his numbers dip in the second half due to injury and, presumably, over-usage. His ice time was through the roof at 20:07 per game even though he had never averaged more than 17:37 in any season, and John Tortorella’s style is demanding and draining. Konecny’s numbers were buoyed by a career-best 16.2 shooting percentage, which seems unsustainable for a player of Konecny’s caliber, but it may also represent a major inflection point in his young career. ALEX TUCH, SABRES Tuch had a wonderful season playing for his childhood team. It’s been a little strange watching his career because while the talent was always evident, his shooting percentage has alternated between extreme highs and lows for six straight seasons. Is a regression coming? It’s very possible, considering he shot 16.5 percent compared to his career average of 11.4 percent, but that’s offset by a really talented Sabres team and excellent chemistry with Tage Thompson, who made the top 10 centers list, and the crafty Jeff Skinner. JORDAN KYROU, BLUES It shouldn’t take long for the Blues to be competitive again. For the second straight season, Kyrou scored at least 0.92 points per game. His shot count also jumped to 272 this year from 188 last season. Kyrou can be a good source of points, but he wasn’t ready to lead the franchise with Robert Thomas, and the Blues’ defense was a disaster. In points-only leagues, Kyrou can be valuable, but when other categories such as plus-minus or hits are considered, Kyrou falls way down the list. DRAKE BATHERSON AND ALEX DEBRINCAT, SENATORS It was a down season for both DeBrincat and Batherson even though some of their teammates set new highs. Batherson went from nearly a point-per-game player to just 22 goals and 62 points and a minus-35 rating. DeBrincat went from 41 goals to 27 and a minus-31 rating, even though they both played all 82 games. Batherson’s shooting percentage was a career-low 8.8 percent and DeBrincat’s also dipped, which is a sign that perhaps both will have bounce-back seasons in 2023-24. There’s plenty of upside on a very talented young team, and even if their offensive numbers don’t improve, Batherson and DeBrincat’s 100-plus hits give them added value in banger leagues.
