Martin Frk

Frk is 100 games deep into his NHL career, having received a cup of coffee with the Hurricanes (2016-17) before rejoining the Red Wings for parts of two seasons. The Czech forward with the booming shot and power-play role was rather efficient in the attacking zone in Detroit, as evidenced by him producing 12 goals and 19 assists through 98 games and 9:57 of average ice time. However, Frk's struggles in the defensive zone are well-documented; the 25-year-old winger is working against a career minus-26 rating while coughing up the puck 20 more times than he's taken it away. Now associated with the Kings in his age-26 season, there's a clean slate for Frk to prove that he belongs to another rebuilding club, but his lack of experience at the top level is a major red flag for fantasy owners to consider.

Frk settled on a one-year, $1.05 million contract extension with the Red Wings in June, but it's been a wild ride for the Czech skater. He was cut from training camp two years ago and subsequently waived before enjoying a proverbial cup of coffee with the Hurricanes; no stranger to adversity, a resolute Frk would ultimately return to Motown that same season. Detroit's 2012 second-round (49th overall) draft pick made the most of his fourth-line role, amassing 11 goals, 15 assists and nine power-play points in 2017-18. He's known to have one of the heaviest shots in the league but the Wings brass won't stop raving about prospects Michael Rasmussen and 2018 fifth overall draft pick Filip Zadina, so Frk figures to have a small margin for error in his second full season.

Frk is poised to show hockey pundits what a difference a year makes after he ran the gamut of adversity in 2016-17. The skilled scorer was cut from training camp, then hit the waiver wire and became property of the Hurricanes shortly thereafter. Even though Frk failed to impress the big bosses in Raleigh -- he went scoreless and posted a minus-3 rating through his two-game NHL trial -- the feisty winger has returned to the Wings organization as a reclamation project. At the age of 23, Frk recorded a personal-best 50 points (27 goals, 23 assists) for AHL Grand Rapids and ultimately dropped the mic with a Calder Cup-winning goal. There’s still potential for a bright future regarding the Czech winger, who signed a one-year, two-way extension with the Wings in mid-July.

Detroit’s second-round pick of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, Frk finished fifth in points among skaters for AHL Grand Rapids in 2015-16, dropping 27 goals and 17 helpers in 67 games. Nobody on the Griffins came close to his 11 scores on the power play. Frk’s been involved in postseason play for nine seasons below the NHL level starting with HC Karlovy Vary of the Czech under-18 squad in 2007-08. There’s no vowels in “Frk,” but he’s drawn plenty of ‘ooo’s’ for his ability to find the back of the net. On the downside, Frk’s skating needs work and that could be enough to delay his arrival in the NHL beyond the 2016-17 campaign. He’s on the third and final year of an entry-level contract, though he’s longer exempt from waivers, so it’s more important than ever for Frk to make a lasting impression in training camp.

Martin Frk, the 49th overall pick in the 2012 NHL draft scored 84 points in just 56 games for Halifax (QMJHL) this past season. Frk, just 19 was often overshadowed by his more glamorous teammates, Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin but remains a good prospect. Frk is expected to open the season in the AHL.