Sunday, December 1, 2019

2019 Week 9 NHL Fantasy Hockey Report


This is my week nine fantasy hockey report for those competing in head to head categories or rotisserie leagues. There are both standard and deep league acquisition targets. This is more of a “waiver wire” report, looking for those who are more likely to be available in your league as opposed to the universally owned players. I also do not recommend any players who play 2 games or less over the next 7 days (Monday to Sunday), with a preference for those with 4 or more games.



Best Standard League Adds (20% to 60% Yahoo ownership):


1) Brock Nelson, NYI, (55% Yahoo ownership): Brock Nelson was 16% owned on October 1st. Needless to say, his 20 PTS in 23 GP have exceeded expectations. He has 1 point in his last 4 GP, but also has 10 PTS in his last 9 GP. The Nelson-Beauvillier-Brassard line had been hot, but after a few losses, Daily Faceoff now lists Eberle instead of Brassard. I’m not endorsing the long-term sustainability of Nelson’s scoring run, but the Islanders have a good schedule this week. I’m buying Islanders wherever available for Monday-Tuesday against Detroit and Montreal if you’re streaming. Eberle and Beauvillier are also good picks.

2) Corey Crawford, Chi, (43% Yahoo ownership): Crawford has been performing at an elite level over the last 2 weeks, posting a 2.43 GAA and .920 SV%. His time share with Lehner is the only reason he’s available in this many leagues, but fortunately the Blackhawks play 4 games next week. Lehner got lit up for 5 goals against Colorado last night, which might help Crawford get an extra start next week.

3) Victor Olofsson, Buf, (53% Yahoo ownership): Olofsson was dropped in a bunch of leagues after a demotion from the Eichel line a few weeks ago, but he’s back on the top unit and scoring points (6 PTS in his last 8 GP). The Sabres play 4 games this week, none of them against good defensive teams. Sam Reinhart is also playing on that top line and was a nominee for my top 5 streamers this week, but didn’t make the final cut.

4) Blake Coleman, NJ, (35% Yahoo ownership): Normally I try to avoid recommending the same player in back to back weeks, but anyone who added him last week should strongly consider riding this wave a little bit longer, especially if your league counts hits. Over his last 6 GP, Coleman has scored 5 goals, 7 PTS, with 12 shots and 17 hits. The Devils play 4 games this week, including Monday-Tuesday, so this is a great option to pad your hit totals early in your match.

5) Adam Fox, NYR, (24% Yahoo ownership): Fox’s ownership has been steadily rising over the last 2 weeks as the rookie defenseman continues to put up points (12 PTS in his last 15 GP). There’s a lot of talent on that Rangers blueline and the log jam for power play time also makes them all hard to trust long-term. Their coach isn’t handing out consistent deployment, going back to last season.


Last Week: David Krejci, Blake Coleman, Joonas Korpisalo, Colton Parayko, Bryan Rust


Best Deep League Adds (under 20% ownership):


1) Linus Ullmark, Buf, (11% Yahoo ownership): Ullmark has wrestled a majority share of the Buffalo net from Carter Hutton. His numbers haven’t been spectacular, posting a 3.04 GAA and .903 SV% over his last 5 GP. There are some better performing goalies in this ownership range (like Stalock, Jarry, and Elliot), but Buffalo has a better schedule this week. If you are looking for a deep league volume play, Ullmark is your best option.

2) Nikita Gusev, NJ, (8% Yahoo ownership): Gusev was 38% owned on October 1st and has seen his ownership plummet after falling short of expectations. But his ice time has started to rise with the help of top power play deployment, resulting in more scoring (4 PTS in his last 6 GP with 19 shots, averaging 15:40 of ice time). I’m not necessarily trusting him long-term, but I’m more than happy to roll the dice on him as a streamer next week.

3) Nate Schmidt, LV, (12% Yahoo ownership): Schmidt spent most of last season in the 20% ownership range, and has been mostly under-valued this season. He’s been playing big minutes for the Knights and has produced 7 PTS in his last 7 GP. They play 4 games next week, making Schmidt a great streaming option in deep leagues.

4) Christian Dvorak, Ari, (7% Yahoo ownership): The Coyotes have been spreading out their talent across 3 forward lines instead of stacking their scoring lines. This has hurt the production of the top end players, but has benefited guys like Dvorak, who is currently listed as playing with Schmaltz and Garland. Arizona plays 4 games this week, including Thursday-Friday-Sunday if you want to wait until later in the week to pick him up.

5) Brandon Saad, Chi, (10% Yahoo ownership): Saad has been productive over the last 30 days, scoring 11 PTS in 15 GP with 35 shots, averaging 17 minutes of ice time. He is currently listed on the Blackhawks top line with Toews and Nylander, and has good streaming value this week in deep leagues. The Hawks play 4 games, including Thursday-Friday-Sunday, so this is another guy you can wait a few days before adding.


Last Week: Adam Fox, Phillip Danault, Zach Parise, Brian Elliot, Nick Suzuki


The 1% (best adds 1% owned or less):


1) Jimmy Vesey, Buf: Vesey did not have a good start to November, scoring 0 PTS with low ice time over the first 8 games of the month. The good news is that his ice time and production have increased, with 5 PTS in his last 5 GP (averaging 15 minutes per night). Vesey has been playing on the 3rd line with Mittelstadt and Johansson, and they’ll play 4 games this week.

2) Adrian Kempe, LA: Kempe is not a guy who deserves a permanent roster spot in any sized league, but he can be a useful streamer in super deep formats when the Kings have a good schedule. Over his last 7 GP, he has scored 3 PTS with 15 shots and 10 hits while averaging 16 minutes of ice time.

3) Nicolas Hague, LV: Hague doesn’t play big minutes and he won’t get you many PTS, but if you need to stream some extra hits in super deep leagues this week, this defenseman has recorded 26 hits in his last 12 games. Vegas plays 4 games this week.


Last Week: John Marino, Oskar Sundqvist, Emil Bemstrom

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