It’s almost hockey pool time again. Need some tips for winning your hockey pool? For all you NHL Hockey Fantasy GMs out there, we thought we would go through all 30 NHL teams and provide one sure win pick and one dark horse pick who might help you reign supreme in your hockey pool this season.
Fantasy Hockey Pool Tips for the 2016/2017 NHL Season
So the criteria is simple, we have listed one sure-fire pick and one darkhorse pick from each of the 30 NHL teams who should help you compete well in your hockey pool this season. Selections are based on data up to August 29th, 2016, meaning that if a player gets hurt in the World Cup or in pre-season, well then there’s always next year.
Anaheim Ducks: Sure-fire pick: We expect bigger things from Ryan Getzlaf this season. He should be good for 60 to 70 points; Dark-horse pick: David Perron can score in bunches; he’s your darkhorse pick for the Anaheim Ducks.
Arizona Coyotes: Oliver Ekman-Larsson nearly complete package; Dylan Strome might very well be No. 1 center with the Desert Dogs this season.
Boston Bruins: Sure-Fire:Patrice Bergeron is the guy. Dark-horse: David Backes should bounce back with new team
Buffalo Sabres: Ryan O’Reilly will continue to get things done on an improved team in Buffalo. Dark-horse: Rasmus Ristolainen had 41 points on D for the Sabres last year. He just might improve on that this season.
Calgary Flames: Sure-Fire: Johnny Gaudreau leads way Dark-horse: Brian Elliott can translate efficiency to heavier workload. He is still a very underrated goalie in the NHL.
Carolina Hurricanes: Sure-Fire:Lee Stempniak gets traded a lot but he’s a guy that most teams covet and can put up the points as we saw last season with the Devils and Bruins. Dark-horse: Off-Season Trade might spark Teuvo Teravainen’s production; Sebastian Aho among sleepers
Chicago Blackhawks: Sure-Fire:Patrice Bergeron lead the NHL in points last season. Dark-horse: Duncan Keith should rebound and have a great season.
Colorado Avalanche: Sure-Fire: Nathan MacKinnon. Dark-horse: Gabriel Landeskog has bounce-back potential.
Columbus Blue Jackets: Sure-Fire: Brandon Saad . Dark-horse: Seth Jones can produce more than he has shown in the past.
Dallas Stars: Sure-Fire: Tyler Seguin will push Jamie Benn for the NHL lead in points. Dark-horse: Jason Spezza
Detroit Red Wings: Sure-Fire: Dylan Larkin set for expanded role. Dark-horse: Frans Nielsen will boost slumping forwards
Edmonton Oilers: Sure-Fire: Connor McDavid could very well be a top 5 point producer in the NHL this season. Dark-horse: Milan Lucic should be good for 20-25 goals playing with Connor.
Florida Panthers: Sure-Fire: Aleksander Barkov primed for full breakout. Dark-horse: Jaromir Jagr – does this guy ever tire?
Los Angeles Kings: Sure-Fire: Anze Kopitar will have a huge year for the Kings this year. Dark-horse: Teddy Purcell if he plays with the right players.
Minnesota Wild: Sure-Fire: Devan Dubnyk is continuing to look strong between the pipes. Dark-horse: Eric Staal could provide much-needed offense.
Montreal Canadiens: Sure-Fire: a healthy Carey Price will win a bunch of games himself. Dark-horse: Defenseman Shea Weber is believed to have been the weaker of the two d-men traded for each other in the P.K. Subban for Shea Weber trade. We feel that he’s not that week of a link and will have something to prove to the doubters out there in Quebec.
Nashville Predators: Sure-Fire: Are you kidding me, P.K. Subban with Roman Josi will be dynamic pair. Dark-horse: James Neal.
New Jersey Devils: Sure-Fire: Taylor Hall gives offense new dynamic and will play with a chip on his shoulder as he feels that he has something to prove. Dark-horse: Andy Greene could see scoring boost
New York Islanders: Sure-Fire: Jihn Tavares is the guy for the Islanders. Dark-horse: Andrew Ladd
New York Rangers: Sure-Fire: Henrik Lundqvist although his time may have come. Dark-horse: Mika Zibanejad could have a break out season.
Philadelphia Flyers: Sure-Fire: Jakub Vorachek. Dark-horse: Shayne Gostisbehere unless he experiences a sophmore slump.
Pittsburgh Penguins: Sure-Fire: Sidney Crosby. Dark-horse: Phil Kessel although he might start the season on the injured list.
Ottawa Senators: Sure-Fire: Erik Karlsson among top 10 overall players. Dark-horse: Curtis Lazar is due to have a very solid season.
San Jose Sharks: Sure-Fire: Joe Pavelski. Dark-horse: Mikkel Boedker has sleeper pick upside.
St. Louis Blues: Sure-Fire: Vladamir Tarasenko. Dark-horse: Jake Allen’s stock may rise as the true No. 1 goalie in St. Louis.
Tampa Bay Lightning: Sure-Fire: Steven Stamkos. Dark-horse:Jonathan Drouin can be elite tandem if playing with Stammer.
Toronto Maple Leafs: Sure-Fire: Auston Matthews should get a lot of ice time. Dark-horse: Morgan Rielly could have breakout season
Vancouver Canucks: Sure-Fire: Daniel or Henrik Sedin. Dark-horse: Loui Erikkson could make a nice impact on the West-Coast.
Washington Capitals: Sure-Fire: Alex Ovechkin is still the Great-8. Dark-horse: Lars Eller, a move out of Montreal may be just what Eller needs to pick up his game play.
Winnipeg Jets: Sure-Fire: Dustin Byfuglien. Dark-horse: Tobias Enstrom is due for a highly productive and injury-free season.
Stats-Links courtesy of NHL.com
In upcoming weeks we will be presenting our predictions for the top 150 scorers and point producers for the upcoming 2016/2017 NHL season.
