Fantasy - 5 biggest disappointments this season

Fantasy draft day is always full of high hopes as managers look to make shrewd selections that they believe will carry them to the top.

Sometimes, however, those gambles quickly reveal themselves to be most unwise, and projected sleepers end up flat-out sleeping through the season.

Here's a look at five of the biggest disappointments in fantasy hockey so far this season.

Stars F Ales Hemsky

Upon signing with the Dallas Stars this past offseason, Hemsky was thrown into the fantasy hype machine for two distinct reasons: he was set to either pick up where he left off in Ottawa with Jason Spezza, or, better yet, he'd get a chance to roll with the likes of Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn on the club's top line. 

Instead, Hemsky has bounced around the Dallas lineup, seemingly unable to settle in while posting woeful fantasy numbers.

In 43 games, Hemsky has managed to record only seven goals, 11 assists, 76 shots and a minus-5, certainly not what fantasy managers were expecting from a player who's averaging 0.72 points per game over a career spent mostly in Edmonton.

Hurricanes F Alex Semin

Heading into the season, Semin was a 0.85 point per game player over the course of his career, and was ranked 110th among all NHL players in Yahoo leagues. 

Through his first two seasons with the Carolina Hurricanes, he had scored 35 goals and added 51 assists with 360 shots on goal in 109 games, giving fantasy managers sufficient reason to bank on some measure of consistent production in 2014-15.

Instead, Semin's scored only one goal on 33 shots in 26 games, finding himself scratched from the lineup on several occasions. His fantasy ownership has dropped to 33 percent, and rightly so.

Sharks F Tomas Hertl

Hertl exploded onto the scene as a rookie, recording a four-goal game and causing Martin Biron to reconsider his place in hockey before suffering a serious knee injury that derailed his first NHL season.

The talented young forward was expected to pick up where he left off with the San Jose Sharks, as evidenced by an original ranking of 115 in Yahoo leagues.

Hertl, however, has largely been assigned a bottom-six role with the Sharks, meaning he hasn't been given much of an opportunity to skate alongside the club's top talent. 

With only eight goals on 81 shots in 48 games, he's on pace to finish with fewer goals in 82 games than he recorded in 37 last season.

Penguins D Christian Ehrhoff

Ehrhoff appeared to have moved from the doghouse to the penthouse after being bought out by the Buffalo Sabres and subsequently signing with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Power-play time with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin coupled with an expected boost in the plus-minus category all but ensured Ehrhoff would at least hit the 40- to 50-point range - the level of production he reached in San Jose and Vancouver.

Originally ranked among the NHL's top-25 defenseman in Yahoo leagues, Ehrhoff has scored three goals and added ten assists, with only one power-play point to his credit. As such, he's producing more like a third or fourth fantasy defenseman.

Coyotes G Mike Smith

Projected to be a top-20 fantasy goalie, Smith has been one of the absolute worst players at his position.

Through 31 appearances with the Arizona Coyotes, Smith has won only seven games, with a .887 save percentage and a 3.51 goals-against average.

Last year, the Canadian Olympian won 27 games with a .915 save percentage, and is only three seasons removed from posting 38 wins and a .930 stop rate. 

At this point, anything resembling his career average of .911 would be a bonus for anyone still brave enough to start Smith on a given night.