A couple quick notes:
Connor McDavid’s undisputed reign as the best player in the NHL is just underway, if it hasn’t already begun. For the past decade that belonged the Sidney Crosby but it looks like we found his successor. With 100 points in first full season in the NHL and with the C on his chest, Connor McDavid is the best player on planet earth in my opinion. Probably the fastest player in the league with hands as good as Patty Kane, He’s poised for another run at the Art Ross and Hart trophies respectively. As I’ve mentioned in a previous blog, the Oilers made some good moves in the offseason to put a better team around #97. Although I think Jordan Eberle is a better player right now, Ryan Strome could reach his draft potential playing with McDavid. If you’re lucky enough to have the #1 pick in your draft you’d be crazy not to pick #97. Barring injury, he’s a lock for another 100 point plus season in 2017-18.
Jack Eichel, the #2 pick in the McDavid draft, looks to be in line for his breakout season into super stardom. Even missing 21 games last season, he still surpassed his rookie point total from 56 to 57 last year. If he can stay healthy he should be in the neighborhood of 85-95 points this year. The Sabres aren’t anywhere as good as the Oilers but they are trending up. They hired Phil Housley in the offseason and it looks like he wants to play a more open and fast paced style of hockey this year, which should boost the fantasy stock for the Sabres top 6. Especially if Kyle Okposo is healthy this year, it should take some pressure off Eichel and allow him to put up a ton of points. I’d look to draft him around the late 1st early 2nd round, depending on your league size.
Here’s every goal they scored last season. I’m sorry in advance for the amount of Rick Jeanneret in this video. I’d rather listen to nails on a chalkboard than his goal calls.
Now onto my Top 50 Centers for the 2017-18 Season
- Connor McDavid EDM
- Sidney Crosby PIT
- Tyler Seguin DAL
- Auston Matthews TOR
- John Tavares NYI
- Mark Scheifele WPG
- Nicklas Backstrom WSH
- Jack Eichel BUF
- Evgeni Malkin PIT
- Steven Stamkos TB
- Ryan Johansen NSH
- Ryan Getzlaf ANA
- Sean Monahan CGY
- Claude Giroux PHI
- Alexander Barkov FLA
- Evgeny Kuznetsov WSH
- Jeff Carter LA
- Mikael Granlund MIN
- Alex Galchenyuk MTL
- Anze Kopitar LA
- Jonathan Toews CHI
- Ryan O’Reilly BUF
- Henrik Zetterberg DET
- Patrice Bergeron BOS
- Joe Thornton SJ
- David Krejci BOS
- Vincent Trocheck FLA
- Kyle Turris FLA
- Eric Staal MIN
- Matt Duchene COL
- Vadim Shipachyov VGK
- Jason Spezza DAL
- Logan Couture SJ
- Nazem Kadri TOR
- Bo Horvat VAN
- Tyler Johnson TB
- Mika Zibanejad NYR
- Alex Wennberg CBJ
- Nolan Patrick PHI
- Sam Reinhart BUF
- Sam Bennett CGY
- Nico Hischier NJ
- Dylan Strome ARI
- Victor Rask CAR
- J.T. Miller NYR
- Derick Brassard OTT
- Mathew Barzal NYI
- Mikko Koivu MIN
- Henrik Sedin VAN
- Derek Stepan ARI
Sleepers:
Joel Eriksson Ek MIN – 6’2″ 203 lb
The 20th pick in the 2015 draft by the Wild is oozing with potential. In his limited appearances last year ( 7 points in 15 games ) he showed flashes of the bright future ahead of him. Now he’s a deep sleeper but if he makes the team he should be on a line with Neiderreiter and Ennis. A 20-20 season is within reach for the 20 year old Swede, and if there’s an injury in the top 6 that point total will climb.
Ivan Barbashev STL – 6’0″ 185 lb
As of right now Barbashev is slated to play on the 3rd line and 2nd power play unit. The 33rd pick in the 2014 draft by the Blues has decent size, good speed and great playmaking skills. The injury to Robby Fabbri should help his stock a little, unless the team signs Jagr which I’m all for. It’s just not the same NHL without that legendary mop in the league. And if Paul Stastny gets injured, which is as much of a lock as me shitting my pants after a night on Caroline Street putting back an unreasonable amount of pizza from D’Andreas, he’s the most likely candidate to get bumped up to the top 6. He’s not someone I would draft, but I would keep him on your watch list to see how he progresses throughout the season.
Thanks for reading, and be sure to follow me on twitter @nhlbigred , next up my Top 50 Right Wingers for the 2017-18 season.
The Morning Skate 