10 Underrated Players By Yahoo! Fantasy Hockey Rank

As seen in my 12 overrated players, Yahoo’s fantasy hockey ranks aren’t perfect. Of course, no one’s are. Some services and magazines and sites get close, but no one’s ever going to get everything spot on in terms of predictions (not even us). For the most part, that’s what fantasy hockey ranks are generally for, to predict where players will end up in relation to each other. However, we will try to seek out some draft bargains for you in some fantasy hockey services’ rankings.

Here are 10 players who are underrated, according to current Yahoo! Fantasy Hockey O-Rank.

1. Scott Gomez – O-Rank 103 – New York Rangers

   Center may be a very deep position quantity and quality wise, but Gomez is still slightly underrated here. Even though Jagr’s gone overseas, Gomez still has the talent to make things happen on his own. Also, with some solid new guys coming in such as Naslund and Zherdev, he will still be able to put up a good amount of points. Gomez had somewhat of an off-season in 2007-2008, but look for him to improve a bit on his totals this year. There are a few centers ranked above him that he’ll probably outproduce, such as Franzen and Carter.

2. Andrej Meszaros – O-Rank 115 – Tampa Bay Lightning

   After not getting a deal done with the Sens, Meszaros was shipped off to TB, where he’ll be the top D-man in town. He’ll likely be the point on a strong first power play unit in Tampa with the likes of Lecavalier and St. Louis on it. D-men are often overlooked in fantasy pools because they traditionally score less than forwards do, even middle of the road forwards. However, relatively speaking, strong D-men are much harder to come by than average scoring forwards. Keep Meszaros in mind as a semi-sleeper due to his rank, he’ll surely outproduce several other defensemen that are ranked above him.

3. Pavol Demitra – O-Rank 138 – Vancouver Canucks

   Demitra is a fantasy headache most of the time. He does have the talent to put up big numbers, with 62 points in only 58 games in his stay with LA a couple years ago, and also notching 93 points back in 2002-2003 with the Blues. However, with the potential production also comes a significant injury concern as Demitra tends to miss a good amount of games every season, for various reasons. Due to this, his rank is adversely affected, and rightly so. However, if you’re in a deep league, Demitra will be one of the more talented players left in the later rounds so make sure you’re aware of him.

4. Robert Lang – O-Rank 187 – Montreal Canadiens

   Robert Lang is getting up there in age but he did manage to put up over 50 points in each of the last few seasons. Now that he’s moving to the Habs to center Alex Kovalev, hopefully they can rekindle the chemistry they used to have back when they both set career highs in points for Pittsburgh. If that does happen, he should easily be able to clear 60 points playing on a high octate Montreal team, especially if he sees significant time on last season’s #1 power play unit. He is only ranked slightly off where he should be, especially because centers are so plentiful, but don’t hesitate to grab him in deeper leagues.

5. Jamie Langenbrunner – O-Rank 220 – New Jersey Devils

   Like several others on this list, Langenbrunner missed a decent amount of time last season due to injury. He may not have as high an offensive upside as some of the others either, but he is capable of putting up 60 points or so, which is a pretty good deal considering how late you may be able to grab him. If you’re not in a deep league, you won’t really need to take someone like Langenbrunner, but if you are in a deeper league, having a guy who can produce decently and being able to grab him pretty late due to ranks will surely boost your team depth.

6. Shawn Horcoff – O-Rank 225 – Edmonton Oilers

   Shawn Horcoff could be a HUGE steal at O-Rank 225. He would actually go undrafted in a regular Yahoo! public league if you went strictly by the ranks. Last year’s injury shortened season only had Horcoff see 53 games, but he still put up 50 points. He’ll no doubt be playing with Ales Hemsky again and they’ve shown some good chemistry the past several seasons and that should carry over to this season. Also, he may play with new Oiler Erik Cole, creating a really good first line in Edmonton, and Horcoff himself should be able to put up at least a 75+ season easily if he plays a full season. Look for him to go earlier than his rank would dictate. Hopefully you can snag him before any of your competitors can.

7. Teemu Selanne – O-Rank 239 – Anaheim Ducks

   Selanne’s been tearing up the league for a long time now and if he does come back again this season with the Ducks, as is fully expected even though the exact return date is still unknown due to the Ducks’ salary cap situation. It does look like he’ll be returning for sure, for he will be in the Ducks training camp even though he’s not signed yet. He’ll continue to put up good numbers for fantasy managers. Due to his uncertain status, he’s ranked much lower than he would be otherwise. Also, he is getting older, but he’s still very recently put together 90 and 94 point seasons, along with 23 points in 26 games last season. You can draft him in the later rounds and hold onto him until he signs. Or you can use the wait-and-see approach and then grab him once it’s clear that he’ll sign. Selanne still has the juice and he’ll be able to give you good production, no matter when or where you get him from.

8. Michael Nylander – O-Rank 336 – Washington Capitals

   Although Nylander was injured to end the season last year, and he’s not getting any younger, the fact remains that he’ll either play with Ovechkin or Semin. That’s pretty good company, to be sure. More than likely, he’ll be centering Semin on the second line, and he’ll be on the second power play unit, at the very least. With a Yahoo! o-rank of 336, if he produces anywhere near where he has the potential to with the talent around him in Washington, he’ll be a diamond in the rough late in the draft.

9. Patrice Bergeron – O-Rank 359 – Boston Bruins

   Bergeron is coming off a major concussion and he missed significant time last year. Some people are still questioning whether he can ever return to his pre-injury form. The fact remains though, that his talent didn’t disappear. He’s still a pretty young player and still has high potential. His injury is still troubling, for sure, but being ranked 359th means you can grab him pretty cheaply in your draft. Any kind of return will be positive, even in deep leagues.

10. Maxim Afinogenov – O-Rank 386 – Buffalo Sabres

    Afinogenov scored 73 points in 77 points in 2005-2006 and then 61 points in 56 games in an injury shortened 06-07 season. Last year, in another injury shortened season, he only put up 28 points in the same amount of games as the year before. Clearly, Afinogenov is an injury risk, something that is never good in fantasy hockey. However, it’s evident that he does have the talent to put up some good numbers. Being ranked 386 puts him in deep sleeper territory. If he can get back to his 2006 form and you draft him with a very late pick in a deep league, you can bet you’re going to get some excellent value.

So go forth and draft wisely. Use this short list to help you grab some gems late, where others may not even think of them. You may be able to hold off on players you normally would’ve because you have backup sleepers.