Frozen Fantasy: Early Award Winners

We're a week-and-a-half from U.S. Thanksgiving. Typically, about 12 or 13 teams in playoff spots at the holiday stay there. Things change dramatically for three or four. 

Yes, there's angst in Canada. 

But there's plenty of time to dissect that. And trust me, it will be dissected (and then some). Don't stream sports chat from up here unless you like nausea. There's almost no escape.

So, let's talk about something else. Like early season excellence. And who's leading the trophy races, especially with Connor McDavid (100 percent Yahoo!) playing at about 70 percent. 

Jack Hughes (100 percent Yahoo!) has taken a big leap. He's my Hart favorite, even injured. If he's out several more weeks, my money will switch to one of Elias Pettersson, Nikita Kucherov or Auston Matthews (all 100 percent Yahoo!). Those three have been electric. 

Auston Matthews is the clear-cut Rocket Richard winner. No one else is close. I'm pretty sure he took the 'is he really in the top-five' convo personally. The real question? 50 in 50? 

Quinn Hughes (100 percent Yahoo!) has an early hold on the Norris Trophy. He has a mind-blowing 14 points in his last six games, so he's a hair ahead of Cale Makar (100 percent Yahoo!), who's also been elite. It's clearly a two-man race. We'll see if Hughes can stay there. 

Connor Bedard (97 percent Yahoo!) has done nothing to give up the Calder. It's a slam dunk. 

Elias Pettersson is at the forefront for the Selke trophy, now that Patrice Bergeron has hung up his skates. Anze Kopitar (84 percent Yahoo!) has looked amazing. Mitchell Marner (100 percent Yahoo!) has also started to round into form. 

Thatcher Demko (96 percent Yahoo!) has a mind-blowing .975 high-danger save percentage. Wow. His resurrection has put a crack in the dominating Russian netminding wall. So has fellow American Jake Oettinger (100 percent Yahoo!), but the Vezina is Demko's…for now.

Rick Tocchet has worked miracles since his arrival in Vancouver last January, so he has an early lock on the Jack Adams as top coach. It took him 19 games to get 10 wins last season after taking over. Since then, the Orcas are in the NHL's top-six in points earned.

Let's take a look at who caught my eye this week.

Erik Gustafsson, D, New York Rangers (29 percent Yahoo!) – He's been on this list before, so you should already have him on your roster. But if not, you should check out a Rangers contest. Gustafsson is on a three-game, five-point streak heading into Sunday night. He's top dog on the blueline with Adam Fox (98 percent Yahoo!) on LTIR. Surely you can make room.

Joel Hofer, G, St. Louis (6 percent Yahoo!) – Jordan Binnington (70 percent Yahoo!) has struggled of late, and Hofer has stepped in with two wins this week over the Habs and Yotes. Hofer is the Blues' goalie of the future, but he's not ready for primetime… yet. But he could find himself in a timeshare as long as the starter keeps scuffling. Binnington got a big win Saturday, though it was against an Avs team that has lost five of its last seven. And behind an eight-goal offensive outburst. Binnington has a no-trade clause this season, so he's not going anywhere. But Hofer will get starts if he keeps playing like this. 

Alex Iafallo, LW/RW, Winnipeg (22 percent Yahoo!) – There's still time to get in on Iafallo, who has put up a goal and seven assists in his first five games this month. He won't keep up that pace, so you won't benefit quite the way reader @scottperrell did this week. But you'll get a top-line winger who fires pucks, gets power-play points and occasionally dishes some hits. 

Calle Jarnkrok, LW/C, Toronto (9 percent Yahoo!) – Jarnkrok had a five-game, six-point streak (12 shots, eight hits) snapped Saturday, but that doesn't diminish my interest for deep formats. The 32-year-old's versatility is both a blessing and a curse. Jarnkrok can play up the lineup, which he did early in the week alongside Auston Matthews. By Friday, he was on the third trio with Max Domi (33 percent Yahoo!) and Nick Robertson (3 percent Yahoo!) and that's also clicked. Jarnkrok won't get power-play time. But he's smart, confident and will bring you decent 5v5 scoring in bigger leagues. 

Petr Mrazek, G Chicago (23 percent Yahoo!) – I thought Mrazek would be a tough fantasy play this season, but so far, so good. He's won his last three starts, and it's not like Arvid Soderblom (7 percent Yahoo!) is going to steal his crease. Mrazek can go cold, and his style is best described as "adventures in goaltending". Chicago has been better than expected, especially on the road (4-4-0). And three of the Hawks' next five are away (Florida, Nashville and Columbus). Mrazek is a roll of the dice. But Hawks like Mrazek can be a solid play with Connor Bedard (97 percent Yahoo!) looking every part a stud. 

Nick Robertson, LW, Toronto (3 percent Yahoo!) – Robertson's career has been slow to launch, yet his talent is obvious. He's finally healthy and looks like he belongs in the four games since his promotion as he's notched a point in each. Why is he up? The Leafs desperately need scoring from its bottom-six, and the trio of Robertson, Max Domi and Calle Jarnkrok (above) has real chemistry on line three. And Robertson is also likely being showcased for a potential trade. That's good for him and good for you. He'd soon be in the top-six in another city, especially in one that's rebuilding. Looking at you, Calgary. And apparently Nikita Zadorov (8 percent Yahoo!) wants to come to the Leafs…

Jaden Schwartz, LW/C, Seattle (46 percent Yahoo!) – Schwartz is on a heater – he's on a nine-game, 12-point streak (six of each) heading into Monday. Managers are catching on – he jumped from 25 percent rostered to 46 on Saturday alone. Seattle is still scuffling at 4-4-2 in its last 10. But that shouldn't stop you from jumping on the Schwartz bandwagon, at least while he's hot. You can always move on if it doesn't work out. 

Robert Thomas, C, St. Louis (28 percent Yahoo!) – St. Louis handed Colorado its fifth loss in seven on Saturday, and Thomas played a big part in that. The quiet-starting center put up four assists, including two on the power play and one shorthanded to push his point streak to six games and 10 points (five of each). Thomas also dominated at the dot winning 16-of-19 faceoffs. That growth is impressive. He has a career percentage of 49.8 percent, but this season he's at 55.9. And he's come close to an 80-point campaign (2021-22). That's valuable, even if he doesn't shoot enough. 

Colorado's First-line Left Wing Carousel 

Riley Tufte, Miles Wood, Jonathan Drouin, all LW (0, 1 and 3 percent Yahoo!, respectively) – Artturi Lehkonen (40 percent Yahoo!) was taken to the hospital Thursday after going face-first into the boards and he'll be out for weeks. Left wing is now wide open, and one or two of these players will need to step up. Drouin got the first shot out of camp, and it didn't go well. Tufte was called up this week, though he has almost no NHL experience. Wood has a low ceiling, but lists plenty of NHL experience. And a previous 19-goal season. The Avs have lost five of their last seven, and none of these choices can replace Lehkonen's top-four play. But they'll theoretically get points if they can skate and have their sticks on the ice. You may need a revolving roster spot to keep up with line changes, so it may or may not be worth it. 

Hits, Blocks and PIM

Brenden Dillon, D, Winnipeg (9 percent Yahoo!) – Dillon has a surprising five points, including four goals, in his last four games. But that's not why he's here – there's no way a crease clearer of his quality will ever be mistaken for Quinn Hughes. Dillon plays a quality muscle game, and he's on pace to deliver 200-plus hits, 140 PIM and 100-plus blocks. That profile can work well in your last D spot if your league still counts those categories. 

Dakota Joshua, LW/C, Vancouver (2 percent Yahoo!) – Joshua is a relentless hit machine who plays well enough in his own zone to be more than new-era muscle. That means consistent ice time and opportunity. With that comes a chance for points to go with those hits. In three games heading into the weekend, Joshua recorded two assists, two PIM, three shots and 17 hits. Yes, 17. And he delivered three more in a loss to the Leafs Saturday. He isn't a one-hit wonder (excuse the pun). Joshua played 79 games in 2022-23 and delivered 222 hits along with 60 PIM. His hit rate is up from 2.8 last year to 3.1 and he's tracking toward 90-plus PIM. His fantasy impact is underrated. 

Back to awards.

No one ever predicts a Lady Byng. The trophy awards talent and sportspersonship, and isn't that what the game should be about? 

Sorry to all the old-school hockey thinkers. I get it. Playing hard and tough is still part of the game, but it doesn't have to include driving people through the boards. Or using sticks as lazy ways to get at people and the puck. 

William Nylander (100 percent Yahoo!) is a frontrunner here. So is Auston Matthews. And we can't forget about Elias Pettersson. Brayden Point (99 percent Yahoo!) and Kyle Connor (98 percent Yahoo!) also have an outside chance. 

There's a whole lot of talent in that list. Remember, there are more players like that than there are Brady Tkachuk or Matthew Tkachuk (both 100 percent Yahoo!). Don't get me wrong – I love both of them. But the game gets faster and more skilled with each season. And it's evolved more style-wise than I think we even realize.

That's a discussion for another day. Because it gets into fantasy categories that may not make sense any more. Not today. It opens up too many angry debates. 

I will say that I used to write a Sin Bin column every week, but that disappeared about 10 years ago. Times change. Maybe we should too. 

So, what are your predictions? Do you think Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl (100 percent Yahoo!) can regain their confidence and overcome underlying injuries to compete? And what about Nathan MacKinnon (100 percent Yahoo!), who was an automatic top-three pick sitting in a massive 13-player tie for 28th in league scoring?

Until next week.