Part 2 of our look
at where you can go wrong by drafting purely off a magazine draft list
continues with our underrated players.
(Part 1 called out those over-rated players).
OFFENSE
Nathan MacKinnon (Yahoo:25 / landsharkhockey:9)
If you trust Yahoo,
you're missing the boat. MacKinnon will
dominate for the next decade.
Anze Kopitar (THN:29 / landsharkhockey:12)
Kopitar could carry
your team for long stretches. He will be
gone by round 3.
Jordan Eberle (NHL:58 / landsharkhockey:13)
I don't get being
down on Eberle. The Oilers will score
goals in bunches, and he'll be right there in the middle of it.
Kyle Okposo (Yahoo:59 / landsharkhockey:24)
Last I checked, he's
still riding shotgun to J.T.
Patric Hornqvist (Yahoo:60 /
landsharkhockey:27)
Hornqvist =
Neal. Whether it's Crosby or Malkin
dishing him the puck, he will finish.
Jonathan Druin (THN:72 / landsharkhockey:34)
Maybe THN foresaw
the injury - or maybe they're missing the boat on this dynamic rookie on a
fantasy heavy Tampa roster.
Marian Gaborik (THN:71 / landsharkhockey:37)
He's inconsistent,
but a goal scoring machine who quietly reemerged in the playoffs.
Nail Yakupov (NHL:153 / landsharkhockey:53)
Again with the Oiler
hate. Nail will be much better this time
around.
Ondrej Palat (Yahoo:102 / landsharkhockey:58)
No love for the
Calder nominee. Even if he doesn't
improve in year 2, he's surely a top 100 pick, Yahoo.
Beau Bennett (THN:243 / landsharkhockey:68)
Apparently, THN
hasn't seen the Penguins play with Bennett in the lineup. A healthy stretch on Sid's wing will do
wonders towards changing their minds.
Joffrey Lupul (THN:142 / landsharkhockey:74)
Lupul will get
action with some pure goalscorers in Toronto.
Ignoring him at 142? Your loss.
DEFENSE
Dustin Byfuglien (Yahoo:27 / landsharkhockey:4)
Perplexing. Even if he really does stay anchored to the
blue line, he'll pot 10+ goals.
Drew Doughty (THN:38 / landsharkhockey:6)
Doughty is top 3 in
pure talent and certainly top 10 in fantasy impact on defense. This must have been a misprint, THN.
Brent Burns (Yahoo:31 / landsharkhockey:12)
Yes, he's
"officially" moved back to defense, but even the off chance that he
shifts back occasionally bumps his value way above 31.
Seth Jones (NHL:51 / landsharkhockey:18)
The youngster will
break out this year, despite what the experts at NHL tell you. Peter Laviolette will see to that.
Jacob Trouba (NHL:41 / landsharkhockey:12)
No way to sugarcoat
this one. NHL is wrong.
Tyson Barrie (NHL:29 / Yahoo:24 /
landsharkhockey:13)
Not a horrible miss,
but Barrie is running the powerplay on the team who will score the most goals
this season. Do the math and get back to
me.
GOALIES
Corey Crawford (NHL:9 / Yahoo:9 /
landsharkhockey:2)
Crawford in
Chicago. Chicago = Wins. Find me 8 goalies better than Crawford,
please.
Marc-Andre Fleury (Yahoo:11 /
landsharkhockey:4)
This isn't the
playoffs. Fleury is a top notch regular
season goalie.
Antti Niemi (NHL:11 / landsharkhockey:5)
No goalie gets less
respect than Cup winning Niemi. He piles
up wins and nobody notices.
Jake Allen (Yahoo:34 / NHL:32 /
landsharkhockey:12)
I guess this comes
down to whether you believe in Allen or Elliot as the #1 in St. Louis. I believe in Allen.
John Gibson (Yahoo:30 / landsharkhockey:22)
Somebody at Yahoo
missed the playoffs last season. I
thought I had him ranked too low 22.