Ross Colton has taken advantage of a banged-up Avalanche forwards corps and become of the fantasy's biggest risers over the past two weeks.
Week 3's schedule is, uh, not great. With only one game on Monday and Wednesday, it's going to be difficult to find options on off-nights. However, we do get a Tuesday where all 32 teams will be in action. That's going to force managers to make some tough decisions.
One decision that hasn't been tough to figure out: Rostering Ross Colton, who's on pace to far exceed the 17 goals and 40 points he scored for the Avs last season. He's scored five points in four games entering Sunday's contest against the Sharks and averaging 19:21 per game, nearly six minutes more than what he averaged last season. One of the easiest ways for any player to increase his fantasy value is to play more minutes, and arguably no player in the league has seen a bigger jump than Colton.
He's getting a big role because the Avs are missing three top-six forwards - Artturi Lehkonen, Valeri Nichushkin and Jonathan Drouin - but you have to give credit to Colton for taking advantage of the opportunity. He's a great multi-category contributor, too, with 18 hits.
When the Avs are healthy, Colton's minutes will get cut back, but at his current level of play, that's going to be difficult. Jared Bednar is not afraid to really lean on his most trusted players, and Colton's quickly become one of them.
Schedule
Pick players from teams at the top of the schedule matrix to maximize games and matchups. Green is good. Red is bad. All advanced stats courtesy naturalstatrick.com. All positions and rostered percentages are courtesy of Yahoo Fantasy. Points percentages are as of Saturday.
Weekly Bangers
(< 50% rostered on Yahoo, on teams with at least 4 games this week)
Total hits
Paul Cotter, C, NJ - 23
Brenden Dillon, D, NJ - 21
Curtis Lazar, C, NJ - 20
Stefan Noesen, LW/RW, NJ - 19
Scott Laughton, C/LW, PHI - 18
Total blocks
Brenden Dillon, D, NJ - 18
Chris Tanev, D, TOR - 15
Jonas Siegenthanler, D, NJ - 14
Jake McCabe, D, TOR - 12
Ryan McDonagh, D, TB - 10
Season-long adds
(< 50% rostered on Yahoo)
Ross Colton, C/LW, Avalanche (45% rostered)
Colton has been one of the biggest risers in fantasy and I'm not convinced he will slow down even when Drouin, Lehkonen and Nichushkin inevitably return. Colton was awarded LW eligibility on Oct. 17, giving managers extra flexibility, and he's excelled on the top line.
The big drawback for Colton is that he might be too good; when Drouin returns, the best spot for him will be on Nathan MacKinnon's line, which drops Colton back down to the second line because he's effective enough on his own to not have to rely on MacKinnon or Mikko Rantanen. However, I think Colton's earned enough trust from Bednar to be a reliable top-six producer for the rest of the season.
JJ Peterka, RW, Sabres (38% rostered)
The Sabres are not impressing anybody at the moment but note Peterka is on a three-game goal streak since returning from injury. He's arguably been their brightest spot during a tough start, and he's getting rewarded with plenty of minutes. If you're looking for goals and points, Peterka's a great bet and deserves to be rostered in all leagues.
Dylan Strome, C, Capitals (36% rostered)
I will likely repeat this ad nauseum but Strome deserves a spot on your fantasy roster. He's on a four-game points streak with seven points, and the Caps offense has been surprisingly effective. Strome doesn't face much threat from anybody on the Caps roster as the No. 1 center.
Josh Norris, C, Senators (18% rostered)
The two biggest knocks against Norris in fantasy is his health, which has not been a problem so far, and playing behind Tim Stutzle. Well, four points in three games and playing over 20 minutes in two of their first five games should dispel some of that notion. Norris should be rostered in most leagues and offers production comparable to lower-end No. 1 centers since Norris plays PP1 with Stutzle.
Mid-term holds
(< 50% rostered on Yahoo)
Sam Bennett, C, Panthers (48% rostered)
It's been an excellent start for Bennett, who has reaped plenty of rewards with Carter Verhaeghe on his left wing at even strength and playing PP1. That will change when Aleksander Barkov returns, but feel free to keep roster Bennett because he gets lots of good peripherals including faceoff wins, shots and hits.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson, D, Maple Leafs (39% rostered)
I'm positive Morgan Rielly will find his way back to PP1 at some point this season, but there's no denying OEL has looked really good in that spot. The veteran Swede now has four assists in his past four games and added a lot of offense from a back end that's been searching for help for a long time. For now, I think OEL is a great pickup for shots and points as long as he remains PP1.
Anton Lundell, C/RW, Panthers (33% rostered)
Barkov is not expected to remain out for much longer, but in the meantime, Lundell remains a player who must be rostered. He's on a four-game points streak with four goals and seven points, and - who knows - the Panthers might continue to use him in an offensive role upon Barkov's return rather than primarily as a matchup, third-line center. The RW eligibility is nice even if Lundell doesn't score points because you can get faceoff wins from the RW slot.
Mikael Granlund, C/RW, Sharks (28% rostered)
Another season, another time we talk ourselves into rostering Granlund. With Macklin Celebrini out, Granlund has been the Sharks' top pivot. Even when Ryan Warsofsky changed up the lines, the one constant has been Granlund, who's scored two assists in consecutive games while averaging over 20 minutes per game.
Yegor Chinakhov, RW, Blue Jackets (20% rostered)
Kirill Marchenko, RW, Blue Jackets (9% rostered)
Chinakhov doesn't get the attention he deserves because he plays for the Jackets, but he's quickly become one of the league's most fearsome shooters. He's scored three goals in his past four games and don't underestimate the Jackets' top line with Chinakhov, Marchenko and Sean Monahan, who's been crowned an honorary Russian by his wingers.
Even if the Jackets offense slows down, Chinakhov and Marchenko are sure to be two of their main go-to scorers. In deeper leagues, Chinakhov has sneaky value for his goals and shot volume. Going into the season, I thought Marchenko had more fantasy value, but it's been the opposite so far this season, and that statement may hold true the rest of the way.
Nick Foligno, LW, Blackhawks (6% rostered)
Ilya Mikheyev playing on the top line lasted basically all of one game. He simply doesn't have the offensive ability to be good in that role. So in steps Foligno, who returns to Connor Bedard's left wing at both even strength and on the power play. Foligno offers multi-category coverage because he takes a lot of draws, and since the season opener has averaged 19 minutes per game. His offense may be sporadic, but his deployment is very good and he should be rostered in deeper leagues.
Dustin Wolf, G, Flames (42% rostered)
Fantastic start to the season for Wolf, who had a so-so pre-season but has now won two straight games and allowed four goals. His .944 SP won't last, but it's been an especially encouraging start. Factor in that Wolf's their goalie of the future, he's in line to get a lot more starts going forward and likely split 50-50 with Dan Vladar.
Kevin Lankinen, G, Canucks (26% rostered)
If you think Thatcher Demko is unlikely to make a significant impact this season, or if you think he'll provide minimal fantasy value, target Lankinen. He's coming off a shutout win against the Flyers in their home opener and he's outplayed Arturs Silovs by a significant margin. His 1.28 GAA and .953 SP currently rank third and fourth in the league, respectively. Though Lankinen doesn't have the pedigree, he should be able to win a fair amount of games on a good team.
Short-term streamers
(< 50% rostered on Yahoo)
Tom Wilson, RW, Capitals (42% rostered)
What a resurgence from the once-prized multi-category right winger. Wilson was always a promising fantasy asset due to his ability to score 20 goals and generate 200-plus hits, but various injuries have plagued him and prevented him from being a consistent threat.
After playing 74 games last season, Wilson is back on track with five goals through his first four games as the Caps have looked surprisingly good in the early going. It's worth noting Wilson has gotten a little more ice time this season, and despite what you may think about Pierre-Luc Dubois' contract, he's an upgrade as the Caps' No. 2 center from last season, and Connor McMichael provides playmaking ability from the opposite wing. Wilson won't be able to sustain this pace, but it's really looking like he will be a very good fantasy player for the rest of the season. I'm curious to see what he can provide in regards to shots and hits when the goals stop coming in, so consider it cautious optimism.
Vladimir Tarasenko, LW/RW, Red Wings (25% rostered)
Tarasenko is worth a look here after being promoted to L1 with Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond. His ice time remains limited but Tarasenko responded to the promotion with his second goal of the season in a 5-2 win against the Preds. He's worth streaming if he remains on that line but he has minimal rest-of-season value because there are much better and more reliable L1 forwards out there. The Red Wings play four games in Week 3.
Dawson Mercer, C/RW, Devils (9% rostered)
Not sure what to think of Mercer sometimes, other than the fact that he's a very useful player who plans a ton of minutes. That doesn't always translate to fantasy, however, though Mercer scored his first goal in a wild 6-5 loss against the Caps on Saturday. With four games this week, I think Mercer has some fantasy value based on quantity alone.
Kaapo Kahkonen, G, Avalanche (3% rostered)
If you want to be bold, take a shot at Kahkonen. (I picked him up as a speculative add in one of my leagues). Neither Alexandar Georgiev nor Justus Annunen have played well this season, and Kahkonen's visa issues have been resolved and he's practicing with the team. I expect we'll see Kahkonen soon; if he plays well, he might carve out a bigger-than-expected portion of the starts.
Honorable mention:
J.T. Compher, C/LW/RW, Red Wings (10% rostered)
Nick Paul, C/LW, Lightning (10% rostered)
Bobby McMann, LW, Maple Leafs (4% rostered)
Anthony Cirelli, C, Lightning (4% rostered)
