Now that the busts have been covered, it’s time for a happier note in fantasy hockey land: the draft steals and surprises. This is the first of a two-part series.
Zach Parise – Many were anticipating a breakout year from Parise and boy did he deliver big time. A lot of young players tend to have their first big season in their 4th year, as Parise did, but the way Zach did it was somewhat unexpected in that he was easily in the top 5 most valuable skaters in fantasy hockey this past season. His value is even higher due to the fact that he is a winger and not a centerman. Not to mention that Parise had quality production across the board in all categories (except PIMs, of course). Parise looks to be a perennial stud from here on out, so those who were prescient enough to grab and hold him in keeper/dynasty league will be reaping the rewards for a long time to come.
Jeff Carter – Carter has been highly touted for a few years now and like Parise he had his breakout season in 08-09. In 07-08, Carter carried the Flyers on his shoulders while both Briere and Mike Richards had been out with injuries, and he showed flashes of brilliance and the ability to be a powerhouse on offense. He ended 2008 with a solid 29 goals on the year only to totally out-do himself in 2008-2009 with a 46 goal effort and 84 points total with a +23 rating. He had a 31 point jump from 07-08 to this past season, which is quite substantial. Carter should continue to perform at about a point-per-game level for the foreseeable future.
Mike Green – The only d-man on this list was quite a good offensive producer. In fact, he had equal or more point production than the last few guys on the list, who are all forwards. Green put up a 56 point campaign in 07-08 and he clearly showed that he had offensive prowess. Many were expecting a continuation, with a potential improvement into the 60 point range for scoring, but few probably predicted that he would be OVER a point-per-game scoring pace as a blue liner. Defensemen that have scored at this rate haven’t been around in a while. He notched 73 points in only 68 games played, missing some to injury, which would put him at an 88 point pace for a full season. Expect more of the same as the Capitals mature as a team.
Martin Havlat – Injury prone or not, Havlat did have a good season this time around. Although he worked over by a big hit in the Detroit-Chicago series, over the regular season, he only missed one game and had 77 points (a career high). He was the Hawks’ best player throughout the regular season and that continued into the playoffs. Be careful of his situation in keepers, though, as he did sustain an injury in the playoffs and is currently a free agent. The rumblings are that the Hawks want him to stay, and Havlat himself wants to stay with Chicago, too, but his injury track record still does not get wiped clean by only one season of health.
Scott Hartnell – Scotty Hartnell has been a pretty solid middle tier winger the past few years. He usually produces decent numbers, including 20+ goals each year and good PIM production to go along with it. However, in 08-09 he set career highs in goals, assists, AND points. Directly related to his offensive production was his solid +14 rating and he also had a very nice 210 shots on goal to round out his production. Don’t forget the 143 PIMs to top it all off. Definitely a nice surprise for managers that drafted him.
David Krejci – Krejci went into 07-08 with some minor question marks about his ice time due to the new-found depth that the Bruins had found. He started off the regular season with a goal and an assist and but had several pointless games for the first month. After a 5 game scoreless streak, Krejci really hit his stride in late November and all through December and never looked back. Krejci’s 73 point effort and +37 rating is a massive improvement over his 27 points and -3 from 07-08, which certainly qualifies him as a surprise player for 08-09. Of course the entire B’s team got better as a whole this season, but Krejci was a huge part of it.
Alex Burrows – Burrows is a pesky player on the ice and he gives it his all each shift. The type of workhorse player you can put out there in tough situations and he can throw the punches too. Burrows had a surprise 31 point season last year but his big draw was his 179 PIMs. This season, he upped his production by 20 points and potted 28 goals total. He also maintaned a good penalty minute contribution with 150. It is highly likely that he was drafted pretty late on average, so the way he produced was probably a huge boon for those managers who were good enough to take him.
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