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Graovac may find himself on the outside looking in for 2020-21, as the Canucks have a glut of natural centers on their roster. Graovac had two goals in eight games for the team last year, but he remains behind the likes of Adam Gaudette and Jay Beagle on the depth chart. Jayce Hawryluk, Brandon Sutter and Zack MacEwen have also played center in their career, muddying the path to regular playing time for Graovac. Instead, the 27-year-old Graovac may serve on the taxi squad or with AHL Utica this year, making him a non-factor for fantasy purposes.
Acquired from the Minnesota in June of 2017, Graovac fulfilled expectations as a depth player for the Capitals organization in 2017-18. While he only managed five games with the Capitals, the 6-foot-5 forward garnered 12 goals and 29 points in 53 games with AHL Hershey. Now signed with Calgary, the 25-year-old will have an opportunity to earn a roster spot at the top level once again, but like last year, he could struggle to stay up in the NHL and thus has very limited fantasy value.
Acquired in the offseason from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for a fifth-round pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, the Capitals hope the 24-year-old forward will be able to reinforce the bottom-six following the loss of Daniel Winnik in the offseason. While competition for a roster spot is stiff, the 6-foot-5 forward potted seven goals in 52 games as a fourth-line player for the Wild last season, so may present some limited fantasy value in 2017-18 if he can make the team as a full-time player, but such an outcome is far from certain so he's not squarely on the fantasy radar in most leagues at the moment.
Graovac will battle Zac Dalpe and Joel Eriksson Ek for the center spot on the fourth line. Graovac played through a groin injury last season that may have limited his production. He scored just 16 points at AHL Iowa in 39 games after scoring 46 points in 73 games in 2014-15.
Graovac played his first AHL season last year, putting up a solid 13 goals, 12 assists and 29 penalty minutes through 64 games. Graovac hopes to work his way onto the Wild's NHL roster at camp, but doesn't figure to carve out a permanent spot for himself even if he does make his NHL debut this season. The team has high hopes for big, sharp-shooting center, so like Erik Haula before him, he's worth watching if he does make an appearance with the parent club. But realistically, he probably won't arrive until 2015-16.