"Skater Stream": Hot Skaters to Pick Up for Week 6
In Sunday's post, I looked at which goalies have been "studs" and which ones have been "duds" over the past week.
In this post, on Veteran's Day (thank you veterans in both the USA and Canada), I am going to look at hot performers from each position who are rostered in 50% or less of Yahoo Leagues, as of November 11th.
Let's break down the "Skater Stream" for Week 6 of the NHL season.
Center: Dylan Strome, WAS (70% rostered)
If Strome is still available in your league, that probably needs to end pronto. With 13 points in his last seven games, the 27-year-old Capitals center has proven to be one of the biggest surprises in fantasy hockey this season.
Strome is simply a point machine, with most of his 22 points coming on apples. He has 18 assists this year and in his past four games he has six. Strome's rate stats are also eye-popping as he is averaging 1.57 P/G, 1.29 A/GP, a 4.9 PTS/60, 12.8 PPP/60, and is on pace for 129 points in 82 games.
The latter will unlikely happen, especially since he had 67 points last season. However, it shows how dynamic Strome has been for Washington this year on the first line with Aliaksei Protas and Alex Ovechkin.
The main issue with Strome may be that a lot of his success seems to be hinging on Ovechkin's incredible play so far this season.
Ovi is the main point-accumulator on the Capitals first line, as he has eight goals and five assists in his last seven games. While Strome is certainly setting Ovechkin up for goals with plenty of apples, Strome is not producing many shots.
Strome's shot percentage is zero over the past week. In his last 10 games, his SH% is 6.3%. Furthermore, his SOG/60 is 6.2, 0.7 points down from a year ago, and his 1120 PDO is much higher than the 985 PDO he sported last season.
Based on those shot metrics, it feels like there's a bit of luck and flukiness in Strome's point numbers so far this year.
Nonetheless, Strome certainly fits well in the Capitals first line. With Washington tied for 2nd in the Metropolitan with 20 points, he shouldn't lose any playing time soon.
That said, while Strome is worth picking up immediately, his progress needs to be monitored, along with Ovechkin's.
A cold stretch from Ovi will likely sink Strome's fantasy value consequently. Games against the Maple Leafs, Avalanche, and Golden Knights could be a measuring stick this week for managers who roster Strome and want to see if he's worth holding in the long term.
Left Wing: Jake Debrusk, VAN (33% rostered)
The former Bruin winger started off the year quite cold, and his overall stats this year demonstrate that.
In 13 games played with Vancouver, he only has eight points on three goals and five assists. His Pts/60 is also 2.3 and his SOG/G is 1.7, down 0.6 points from a season ago.
Lately though, like most of the Canucks offense (especially Elias Pettersson), the 28-year-old Canadian winger has gotten into a groove. He's collected four points in his last four games, which includes two goals and an assist in his last three games.
Debrusk has gotten more shots recently on the Canucks' second line with JT Miller and Brock Boeser.
He has a 28.6% SH% in his last three games and an 18.8% SH% in his last 10 games. That is 15% and 5.2% higher than his 13.6% SH% for the season, respectively. He also sports a 60% secondary assist percentage. That further demonstrates that he is benefitting from a line that has +3 plus/minus this year on the ice.
The Canucks have a favorable schedule this week with games against the Flames, Islanders, Blackhawks, and Predators, all at home. Furthermore, Debrusk is a nice source of hits in banger-league formats, as he has 24 this season.
Those two qualities make him worth a pickup for fantasy managers looking for help at the wing position.
Right Wing: Gabriel Vilardi, WPG (38% rostered)
Vilardi was on my radar at the start of the year due to his projected first line status on the Jets with Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele. Unfortunately, he got off to a slow start initially and it seems like fantasy hockey managers simply forgot about Vilardi after the first week of the season, based on his 38% rostered percentage on Yahoo.
Even though he isn't getting as much attention as Connor, the 25-year-old winger is finally showing promise in Winnipeg after scoring 36 points in 47 games a season ago.
In 15 games played with the Jets this year, he has 13 points on six goals and seven assists. Nine of those points have come in his last seven games. His 0.87 PTS/G mark is 10 points higher than a year ago, and he's doing this while shooting roughly the same number of shots (18.8 SH%) from last season.
In his last 10 games, Vilardi has emerged as a key shot taker and goal scorer for the Jets' first line. He has six goals and four assists over that time frame, and he also has a 22.2% SH% and 27 SOG in that sample as well.
The only drawback to Vilardi's value in fantasy is that it relies solely on his goal-scoring ability. He only has four hits and five blocks this season, making him a liability in banger-format leagues.
That said, for fantasy managers needing help in the shots and goals category, the Jets right winger certainly fits the bill nicely and likely would be available in most leagues for now.
The only downside to adding Vilardi now is that the Jets have a tough road trip coming up this week with visits to the Rangers, Tampa, and Florida.
Bowen Byram, BUF (27% rostered)
Byram came over to Buffalo in a trade last season from Colorado and it seems like he is settling in with the Sabres in his first full season.
The 23-year-old Canadian defenseman has 10 points on three goals and seven assists in 16 games played this season. His PTS/G has jumped from 0.40 last year to 0.63 this season and his SH% has also improved from 13.1% to 20% as well. In his last four games, Byram has four points, including two goals and two assists.
Byram has mostly been paired with Owen Power on the blue line, but it is looking like he may see more time with Rasmus Dahlin going forward. The Byram-Dahlin pairing has a SF% of 53.6% and CF% of 54.3%. That is much better than the 40.8% SF% and 48% CF% that Byram and Power have produced as a blue line group this season.
With 5-on-5 shooting up to 16.1%, and his PTS/60 and PDO also seeing more incremental gains than expected this year, Byram deserves to be targeted in leagues that need defensemen help on their rosters. He also has 16 hits and 17 blocks this year, making him an even more valuable asset in banger leagues.
The Sabres lost 7-5 today to the Canadiens in a noon Veteran's Day special. However, Byram had a strong performance, collecting an assist, a point, two hits, a block, and a plus/minus of +3 in 24:31 of ice time.
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