Fantasy: 5 players to target on the New York Islanders
With your fantasy draft just around the corner, theScore's Ian McLaren and Darren Kritzer take a look at 5 players you should consider drafting this season.
Top Targets
John Tavares
Prior to suffering a season-ending injury at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Tavares was on track for 33 goals, 58 assists and 91 points, a total that would have slotted him second to Sidney Crosby for the League lead in scoring.
Tavares is a bonafide NHL superstar, a point per game player at the very least, and a surefire first round fantasy pick in any league; there's not much else that needs to be said.
Kyle Okposo
Okposo finally broke out in a big way last season, setting career highs in goals (27) and assists (42) while missing the final ten games of the season due to injury.
Some may be wary of his inflated shooting percentage (13.8 percent), but what's encouraging about Okposo's game is that he finished tied for seventh among NHL forwards with 47 even strength points, and his 5-on-4 performance stands to improve with regular power-play time alongside Tavares.
Okposo will also give fantasy owners a healthy measure of penalty minutes, and is likely to surpass the 200 shot mark; add it all up, and the 26-year-old could be in for a monster fantasy year.
Jaroslav Halak
Halak first hit the 30 start mark in 2008-09 as a member of the Montreal Canadiens, posting a .915 save percentage that season and raising his career average to .918 in the years since.
Out of all the goalies that have played at least 5,000 minutes over the course of the past six seasons (47 in total), Halak ranks a respectable 11th in terms of even strength save percentage (as per Stats.HockeyAnalysis.com), making him a steady and reliable (if not quite elite) fantasy option in net.
The Islanders' overall team defense should be much improved, meaning Halak could provide great value for fantasy owners who miss out on a top-tier goaltender.
Proceed With Caution
Lubomir Visnovsky
Visnovsky is the team's highest-paid and most-skilled defenseman, averaging 47 points per every 82 games, with roughly half of his career points coming on the power play.
On the other hand, he's also 38 and coming off a season cut short due to a concussion.
If healthy, and while quarterbacking a power play that involves the likes of Tavares and Okposo, Visnovsky could pile up the points. Expecting him to play a full season, however, is likely asking way too much, thereby lowering his fantasy value.
Take A Flier On
Brock Nelson
The 30th overall pick from the 2010 Draft impressed during his rookie season, with 14 goals, 12 assists, seven power play points and 132 shots on goal in 72 games.
Nelson finished fourth among Islanders forwards last season with 26 even strength points, and first among forwards with at least 500 minutes played with a 5-on-5 Corsi rating of 53.1. He has also demonstrated a scoring touch at every level, including 25 goals in 71 AHL games and four goals in seven games at the 2014 IIHF World Championship.
Heading into his second season, the natural center is expected to get a look on the wing, and could very well land the plum assignment of playing alongside Tavares and Okposo on the top line. As such, Nelson could easily hit 20 goals and 45 points, making him a potentially valuable late-round selection.