This
is my 2021 Week Three 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 your
best options among those who are more likely to be available in your league as
opposed to the universally owned players. There are 10 recommendations in
total, 2 goalies, 2 defensemen, and 6 forwards.
Best Standard League
Adds (25% to 65% Yahoo ownership):
1) Denis Gurianov, Dal, (49% Yahoo ownership): I bought some stock in Gurianov last week to stream against the Red Wings, where he scored 5 PTS in 2 GP. The Stars schedule is not quite so juicy this week, but he’s too hot to stream out, scoring 7 PTS in his first 5 GP. Dallas will play 3 games, with the last being Chicago, so there’s at least a decent chance for a blowout performance. At this point, Gurianov is a long-term acquisition target, not just a temporary streamer.
2) Jake Allen, Mtl, (29% Yahoo ownership): The best schedule this week in Fantasy easily belongs to the Montreal Canadiens, who will play a pair of games against each of Vancouver and Ottawa. Allen will likely get 2 starts in games that should be easy wins. It has been a solid start to the season for Allen with a 1.68 GAA and .933 SV% in 3 starts, stopping 31 of 32 shots in a losing effort against the Flames yesterday. He’s tough to own long-term in standard leagues, but he’s a decent streamer when the schedule aligns.
3) Alexander Romanov, Mtl, (49% Yahoo ownership): I may be a little late boarding the Romanov hype-train, but as previously stated, I’m buying up all the Montreal equity I can get my hands on this week. The Russian defenseman started the season 8% owned on Yahoo, but saw his ownership skyrocket after 2 PTS in his first 3 NHL GP. He has since gone pointless in 5 straight games, so some of his owners in shallower leagues may be thinking of cutting him loose. My advice would be to get him into your line-up for the next 4 games against Vancouver and Ottawa, then re-asses. At worst, he’ll give you decent peripheral stats.
4) Jonathan Drouin, Mtl, (31% Yahoo ownership): The “Buy Canadiens” theme of this week’s report continues, with Drouin scoring 8 PTS (mostly assists) in Montreal’s 8 games. Playing on a line with Nick Suzuki has brought the best out in Drouin, and if the pair stays together long-term, continuing to build chemistry, the future is bright. Jonathan is currently on pace to crush his career best point total (he’s reached 53 PTS twice), the only red flag being low peripheral stat totals, recording only 6 shots and 5 hits in those 8 games.
5) Jordan Kyrou, STL, (41% Yahoo ownership): Josh Anderson’s “flu-like symptoms” on Saturday made him a last-minute scratch from my weekly recommendations (he was going to be #1), and Kyrou was next on the depth chart, earning an activation from the Taxi Squad. The young winger has scored 9 PTS in his last 6 GP, maximizing the opportunity to play with Schwartz and Schenn. Kyrou posted disappointing numbers last season, as people were starting to question whether he would ever deliver on the potential he flashed in junior. Spoiler alert; he’s good.
Honorable Mentions: Andrew Copp, Conor Garland, Linus Ullmark, Josh Anderson, Alex Edler
Last Week: Joe Pavelski, Oliver
Bjorkstrand, Pavel Buchnevich, Devon Toews, Matt Murray (sorry about that one)
Best Deep League Adds
(under 25% ownership):
1) Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Mtl, (10% Yahoo ownership): Kotkaniemi may only be playing on the Habs 3rd line, but that hasn’t stopped him from scoring 5 PTS in his last 5 GP. The team’s forward depth has resulted in strong production throughout the line-up, and the young center has started to find his offensive touch. His stock is rising in dynasty formats, as he’s starting to silence the skeptics who doubted his scoring upside. In 8 games this season, Jesperi has also registered 17 shots and 14 hits with a +5.
2) Rasmus Andersson, Cgy, (24% Yahoo ownership): For the 2nd consecutive week, I’m recommending Andersson as my top deep league D-man. I chose him over Ty Smith last week, but it is Ty’s ownership who blew up (but he’s now owned in too many leagues to qualify for this category). My preference for Andersson was because of his higher ice time, which dipped down to 18 minutes last night. So long as he continues to see time on that Calgary power play, I’m buying stock. The Swede has scored 5 PTS in 7 GP.
3) Antti Raanta, Ari, (7% Yahoo ownership): The Coyotes will be playing 4 games in 6 nights against St. Louis and Minnesota. Raanta has only started 1 game so far this season, hence why his ownership has plunged this low, but that should change with the upcoming compressed schedule. There is not much data to prove his worthiness, other than stopping 31 of 34 shots in his single start. The low usage can make him a tough long-term hold, but there’s deep league value when he does get opportunity.
4) Christian Dvorak, Ari, (10% Yahoo ownership): There have not been any must own players among the Coyotes forward group this season, as the talent has been evenly spread across the top 3 lines (Kessel is the Yotes top owned forward at 41%). Dvorak has been playing with Clayton Keller and Tyler Pitlick, enjoying some success. He has averaged 18:12 of ice time per game, scoring 7 PTS in 8 GP, with 3 of those PTS coming on the power play. There are not many PP1 players that are this widely available.
5) Phillip Danault, Mtl, (23% Yahoo ownership): Despite the success the Habs have had as a team, it has not been a fiery start for Danault offensively, scoring just 3 PTS in 8 GP. He scored at a 54-point pace last season, and that’s down to a 30-point pace in 2021, hence why his ownership has been declining. Phil did not make this list because he’s hot, but rather because I’m betting that the upcoming Montreal schedule is a fantastic opportunity to regress to his mean. The Senators are a great slump buster.
Honorable Mentions: Noah Dobson, Paul Stastny, Jordan Greenway, Carter Verhaeghe, Scott Wedgewood
Last Week: Kaapo Kahkonen, Rasmus
Andersson, Carter Verhaeghe, Denis Gurianov, Joel Eriksson Ek
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