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Fantasy crystal ball: Projecting the future for 3 breakout stars

John Russell / National Hockey League / Getty

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The breakout players of the 2016-17 NHL season are beginning to cement themselves as viable fantasy options. Perceived early luck and reliance on skilled teammates have transitioned into sustained production.

While the majority of fantasy hockey owners continue to let this production go wasted on the waiver, here's a look at what can realistically be expected from five of the top breakout players thus far:

LW Viktor Arvidsson, Nashville Predators

Arvidsson has been jostled around the Predators' lineup a little bit, but he has consistently been used in a top-six role. His most common linemates at 5v5 have been C Ryan Johansen and RW James Neal, while LW Filip Forsberg has recently joined Arvidsson and Johansen, forcing the former to his off wing.

Per Corsica.Hockey, all three of the line combinations of which Arvidsson has been a part have had Corsi For ratings well above 50 percent. In 28.58 minutes played together at 5v5, Forsberg, Johansen and Arvidsson have accumulated a Corsi For of 63.33 percent. Their PDO of 114.29 is doomed to regress, as they've outscored their direct opponents 3-0.

Arvidsson has totaled seven goals and seven assists through his first 22 games of the season while averaging better than two shots on goal per game and 15:32 of ice time. He has played 23:24 of 5v4 time this season, ranking eighth among team forwards. He has one goal and two assists on the power play, adding a goal and an assist while shorthanded.

Just one of his four assists at 5v5 have been primary. Johansen works as the main distributor on the Predators' top line, working with two elite finishers on his wings at nearly all times. As part of such a skilled trio, Arvidsson can be expected to have skewed counts between primary and secondary assists.

End of year projection:

G A SOG PIM +/-
25 35 250 10 10

RW Patrick Eaves, Dallas Stars

The 32-year-old winger has played almost exclusively with Stars C Tyler Seguin and LW Jamie Benn at 5v5 this season. Exposure to two of the best forwards in the league has him nearly halfway to the career-high 20 goals he scored in his rookie season, when he played mostly with Ottawa Senators C Jason Spezza and RW Daniel Alfredsson.

Eaves hasn't been able to top 14 goals ever since the rookie season. His career high of 18 assists came back in his sophomore campaign, a number he is more than a third of the way to matching already this season. He is halfway to topping his career best of 32 points set in 2006-07. His 16:51 of ice time is more than three minutes higher than his previous best single-season average.

Eaves has a Corsi For percentage of 51.63 at 5v5 on his own, with the number improving to 56.46 percent with Benn and Seguin. His PDO of 96.6 is expected to improve toward a more standard 99.37, per Corsica. He is shooting at the highest rate of his career, providing some stability when his 15.5 shooting percentage inevitable falls toward his career rate of 8.4 percent.

End of year projection:

G A SOG PIM +/-
20 30 200 32 0

C/RW Charlie Coyle, Minnesota Wild

Coyle's ice time has been rising early in the season and sits at 18:08 per game, the highest mark of his five-year career. He has played exclusively with C Eric Staal, with their trio being used as either the first or second line. This usage has him at eight goals and 15 points through 22 games, easily trending toward career highs. He hasn't missed a game since the 2013-14 season.

On his own, Coyle has a Corsi For rating of 53.03 percent, and is at an even 50-percent clip skating with Staal and LW Zach Parise. Coyle's three power-play goals on the season have come in just over 59.03 minutes of 5v4 time, where he works predominantly with the same unit as at 5v5.

The increased special teams usage and top-six opportunity have him well on the way toward a career season. He has averaged just 1.70 shots on goal per game for his career, but he is tallying 2.41 per game this year.

End of year projection:

G A SOG PIM +/-
25 25 248 54 12

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