This article is part of our NHL Waiver Wire series.
The Waiver Wire – For the Week of October 19 – 25
Even Better Than You Think
Victor Hedman D, TBL – Prior to the start of last season, it had appeared as though Tampa Bay had been completely out to lunch selecting Hedman second overall in the 2009 draft. As the saying goes, it takes longer for a defenseman to learn the game, and in the last two seasons, the young Swede has emerged as one of the more dominant rearguards in the league. While he's currently tied atop the league scoring charts – regardless of position - he's also key to shutting down the very best players on the opposing team for the Lightning. Scarier still, he's continuing to get better. By the time he hits his stride in his career, we'll be looking at a prototypical Chris Pronger defenseman. If you are in a keeper league, he should be a stud for your team for years to come.
Gustav Nyquist RW, DET – Many thought that his production last year may have been an aberration; a result of increased ice time due to injuries of key contributors Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk. What we're seeing early on is that those detractors failed to consider that the readdition of the aforementioned players would have Nyquist playing against weaker competition on the second line. While the season is still only two weeks old, his current pace of scoring is consistent with his output from last year – about
The Waiver Wire – For the Week of October 19 – 25
Even Better Than You Think
Victor Hedman D, TBL – Prior to the start of last season, it had appeared as though Tampa Bay had been completely out to lunch selecting Hedman second overall in the 2009 draft. As the saying goes, it takes longer for a defenseman to learn the game, and in the last two seasons, the young Swede has emerged as one of the more dominant rearguards in the league. While he's currently tied atop the league scoring charts – regardless of position - he's also key to shutting down the very best players on the opposing team for the Lightning. Scarier still, he's continuing to get better. By the time he hits his stride in his career, we'll be looking at a prototypical Chris Pronger defenseman. If you are in a keeper league, he should be a stud for your team for years to come.
Gustav Nyquist RW, DET – Many thought that his production last year may have been an aberration; a result of increased ice time due to injuries of key contributors Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk. What we're seeing early on is that those detractors failed to consider that the readdition of the aforementioned players would have Nyquist playing against weaker competition on the second line. While the season is still only two weeks old, his current pace of scoring is consistent with his output from last year – about a point per game, and more goals than assists. In leagues where goals are king, Nyquist is an exceptional find that can help lock down weeks that are in doubt.
Hidden Gems
Radim Vrbata RW, VAN – When Vancouver announced the free agent signing of Vrbata in the off-season, we had already put a flag on him in our notes for draft day. He seemed like a natural fit on the right side of the Sedin twins; a natural scorer who didn't mind taking shots or getting his nose dirty on the boards. While we had early concerns that there may be a reunion of Alexandre Burrows to the top line, the early success of Vrbata seems to have solidified his position, both even strength and on the top power play unit. At 70% ownership, he's also available in some leagues still – which is crazy considering he's in the top 30 in scoring.
Cam Atkinson RW, CBJ – If you've been a steady reader of our column for the past while, you'll know we're fans of both Columbus and Cam Atkinson. Just like many other players on the Blue Jackets – Nick Foligno, Scott Hartnell, Boone Jenner, and others – Atkinson can assist you in every category your league scores with. While he stays out of the box more than his compatriots, we believe his totals will increase as the year progresses. With a 23% ownership rate, he's widely available, and well worth an add.
Frederick Andersen G, ANA – In our office pool, we were able to snag Andersen far deeper than we should have been able to, primarily because of the battle in net between John Gibson and Andersen. We even put him in last week's column labelled as a Good Risk. His four wins in four starts, an exceptional .937 SV% and 1.72 GAA combined with a 70% ownership rate now qualifies him as a Hidden Gem. If your pool is one of the 30%, grab him as a second- or third-string goalie. By the end of this week, his ownership rate should be at 100%.
Good Risks
Darcy Kuemper G, MIN – With the injury and subsequent suspension of Josh Harding combined with Niklas Backstrom's bad back, Kuemper has become the default goalie for the Minnesota Wild, a team we had pegged to improve over last year. With this opportunity, the youngster has tallied a 2-1-0 record with two shutouts, a microscopic 0.67 GAA and a crazy .972 SV%. Of course, Harding is on the mend and should be back soon, but if Kuemper can continue to play like this, Harding may be inconsequential. Whatever happens, he's a good risk right now to take if you're looking for a goalie.
TJ Brodie D, CGY – Every year, there's someone who busts out of the gate like a bull in a china shop. This year, exhibit A is TJ Brodie. While we've been a fan of his since last year, he is certainly not going to keep this up; he's good, but a point-per-game player he is not. His ownership rate is at 37%, which is crazy low for a player who is only a point back from the top of the scoring lead, but because this is just a streak to start the year, it's about right. Nonetheless, if you like riding a hot hand, pick him up, but not for too long.
Watch
Jonas Hiller G, CGY – Fresh off his 50-save performance in Chicago this week where he simply willed the team to win, Hiller showed the world that his talent was for real. While Calgary doesn't seem to be the team that will be in a position to get many wins for their backstop, Hiller's benefit to fantasy owners may be a high save percentage as a result of countless tons of rubber sent his way. It's still too early to say for sure, but his ownership level is so low (61%) for a starting goalie, that you probably have some time to decide. Watch the next few games and determine if this is a trend or simply a one-off game.
Damon Severson D, NJD – New Jersey's surge out of the gates has been a surprise, but with the stellar play of this young defenseman, it's been little wonder. In his first five games as an NHLer, he has a plus-five rating, to go along with three goals and one assist. He's also chipped in with four PIM and 15 shots – a threat to perform in every category. Just like Stuart Percy that we mentioned last week, it's still far too soon to pass judgment either way, but early indicators are very good for this 20-year old, and something that wise fantasy GMs would take note of.
Tomas Tatar LW, DET – The Red Wings organization continues to be a model for the rest of the hockey world on how to draft and develop players. Just as people were ready to write off Detroit as too old and time to rebuild, they dig deep into their farm system and pull up players like the aforementioned Gustav Nyquist, and his teammate Tomas Tatar. While Tatar has not gotten off to the fast start that Nyquist has, his play has been exceptional in both ends of the ice. He's been buzzing around opposition nets, and sooner or later, that's going to result in points. Granted, he's playing alongside Tomas Jurco and Riley Sheahan who aren't prolific scorers by any means, the return of Pavel Datsyuk to the team from injury will likely move Nyquist back into Tatar's line. When that happens, we would suggest paying extra attention to see what production difference there is.
Be Careful
Rick Nash W, NYR – Nobody has been more surprised than us that he is leading the league in scoring five games in. Especially with New York's poor start, mirroring what happened last year to start the season. A lot of hyperactive poolies will be doing whatever they can to secure Nash; it's our advice that you should temper your expectations. Nash has only ever exceeded 70 points once in his career – six years ago as a member of the Blue Jackets – and routinely has hot starts to the year, only to cool significantly as the grind wears on him. Even with six goals five games into the season, we don't see him getting past 30 this year.
Tomas Plekanec LW, MTL – With seven points in his first six games, a lot of Canadiens fans are excited at the prospect of Plekanec reaching career-best point totals this year. Sadly, we aren't predicting this trend to continue for much longer. Plekanec notched five points in three games to start the year, with a steady plus-four to go along with it, but since, has seen his ice time decrease by a few minutes. He's still going to be a great player for Montreal this year, likely hitting the 50 point plateau once again, but don't expect much more from him.
