. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Fantasy Hockey Rankings – Honorable Mentions
Olli Maatta – Maatta is a low risk add if he’s still available late in your draft. He isn’t going to see much power play time and hasn’t lit the world on fire offensively but he’s likely to be partnered with Kris Letang on Pittsburgh’s top pairing this season. That means more time with Pittsburgh’s top-six, which is an extremely potent offensive force. Maatta could see a nice uptick in points by proxy.
Mark Stone – Okay, this isn’t within the Metro Division. But, Stone is ranked 129th overall among forwards according to Yahoo and that’s a travesty. That’s an extremely low ranking for a guy that tallied 64 points (26g, 38a) in 80 games-played last season. Stone is a young 23-year old on the rise and should continue to improve. He is fully recovered from his wrist ailment and looks poised to repeat those numbers from 2014-15. Don’t let him fall to the 129th forward selected.
Mats Zuccarello – Zuccarello isn’t a home run to improve on his 49 points from last season but considering the departures in New York this summer he’s likely to see an increased role. Part of that increase in responsibility could mean more power play time. He’s definitely someone to keep an eye on and if he goes undrafted, be ready to grab him in the case of injury.
Steve Mason – While goaltending is often looked at as the issue in Philadelphia, Steve Mason was anything but the reason for their dismal 2014-15 campaign. His individual numbers were among the league’s best for much of the season and with their coaching change this summer, he could be a very good second goaltender. I don’t see Philly being a playoff team but that’s due to a lack of offensive potency. Mason won’t provide as many wins as some of the names above him but he should boast a very solid GAA and SV%.
Next: Expectations vs. Reality for 2015-16