Breakout Candidate: Luke Evangelista, RW
With a top-six role and PP2 minutes, Evangelista is in the best position to break out among the Preds’ young players. His development and production stagnated in his second full season, which is not unusual for young players, though he did finish strong with 16 points in 23 games. He spent much of last season with Ryan O’Reilly, and that’s where I think he’ll likely be this season.
Buy Low Candidate: Steven Stamkos, C/LW/RW
With triple-position eligibility and a near-guarantee for 15 power-play goals, which would essentially put him in the league’s top 10 again, I think Stamkos’ stock has been driven down so far that he’s verging into underrated territory. Yes, he’s no longer a center and I’d argue that he’s never been an elite play driver, but from a pure stats standpoint, you can’t go wrong with Stamkos with a mid-round pick.
I think Stamkos will score 30 goals again with shot volume returning to well over 200 shots, and the LW and RW eligibility provides maximum roster flexibility, especially in leagues with face-off wins.
Riser: Joakim Kemell, RW
Kemell’s in the best spot to win a roster spot out of camp, ahead of others such as Matthew Wood, Reid Schaefer, Brady Martin or Victor Edstrom. His internship with the AHL should be done after two full seasons, and he has all the makings of a top-six scoring winger. It won’t be a breakout season for him because the Preds have too many veteran wingers ahead of him, but don’t be surprised if Kemell moves up the depth chart for short stretches or plays a regular role on PP2. It’s too soon for him to make an impact in fantasy except for the odd hot streak, but just keep him in mind.
Faller: Roman Josi, D
Health is the biggest concern as Josi enters his age-35 season. He’s been incredibly reliable throughout his career – 38 games away from 1,000 – but a concussion and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome makes it difficult to predict. He is expected to play this season, but as of this writing there have been no official updates on his health or status for training camp.
When healthy, Josi is a potential top-10 defenseman in both fantasy and real life. But the health issues and age curve are things astute fantasy managers have to consider, and at this point in time, and considering the Preds’ current trajectory, Josi is a fade than a buy-low candidate.
All stats courtesy of naturalstattrick.com, moneypuck.com, hockeyviz.com, allthreezones.com, hockey-reference.com, eliteprospects.com unless otherwise noted.