This article is part of our Frozen Fantasy series.
What a week. Sidney Crosby got his 500th goal and he did it at home. Marie-Philip Poulin became the best clutch performer in hockey, period. And Sarah Nurse's performance at the Olympics made it clear she's the best hockey player in her family.
Even cousin and star Darnell Nurse agrees.
We all held our breath as Jack Eichel returned Wednesday night. We smiled at Mitch Marner's drop pass to David Kampf against the Kraken and Morgan Reilly's best Bobby Orr in a win over the Pens.
And let's admit it – we all cheered a little when both Canada and the U.S. got ousted from the men's Olympic tourney. Slovakia's story was amazing. Juraj Slafkovsky, who was invisible at the World Juniors, was the top goal scorer in Beijing.
His draft stock went from top-eight to an active debate about him or Shane Wright for the top spot. Not sure about that, but it's still a great story.
Soccer may be called the beautiful game, but hockey is too. And weeks like this one make me love it even more.
Now let's take a look at who caught my eye this week.
Noah Dobson, D, NY Islanders (33 percent Yahoo!) – At just 22, Dobson is logging heavy minutes in the Isles' top four and he's running the team's top power-play unit. He's on a three-game, four-point streak heading into Sunday and has seven points (including three on the PP) in his last eight. Dobson has already become
What a week. Sidney Crosby got his 500th goal and he did it at home. Marie-Philip Poulin became the best clutch performer in hockey, period. And Sarah Nurse's performance at the Olympics made it clear she's the best hockey player in her family.
Even cousin and star Darnell Nurse agrees.
We all held our breath as Jack Eichel returned Wednesday night. We smiled at Mitch Marner's drop pass to David Kampf against the Kraken and Morgan Reilly's best Bobby Orr in a win over the Pens.
And let's admit it – we all cheered a little when both Canada and the U.S. got ousted from the men's Olympic tourney. Slovakia's story was amazing. Juraj Slafkovsky, who was invisible at the World Juniors, was the top goal scorer in Beijing.
His draft stock went from top-eight to an active debate about him or Shane Wright for the top spot. Not sure about that, but it's still a great story.
Soccer may be called the beautiful game, but hockey is too. And weeks like this one make me love it even more.
Now let's take a look at who caught my eye this week.
Noah Dobson, D, NY Islanders (33 percent Yahoo!) – At just 22, Dobson is logging heavy minutes in the Isles' top four and he's running the team's top power-play unit. He's on a three-game, four-point streak heading into Sunday and has seven points (including three on the PP) in his last eight. Dobson has already become one of the better players whenever on the ice, and his game will only continue to grow. He should be on more than a third of rosters.
Warren Foegele, LW/RW, Ryan McLeod, C, and Derek Ryan, RW/C, Edmonton (4/0/0 percent Yahoo!) – Someone has to fill Jesse Puljujarvi's role beside Connor McDavid. If it isn't Kailer Yamamoto (below), it's probably a guy in this group. Foegele's the least likely to do it, but he's riding a three-game, four-point (two goals, two assists) heading into Saturday. McLeod picked up two helpers Thursday skating with Leon Draisaitl and Evander Kane, and didn't look out of place. Ryan is the old man of this trio, but has two recent 38-point seasons in Carolina. He fills cracks in lineups. I think I'd rank them McLeod over Ryan, but they're all on my watch list.
Thomas Greiss, G, Detroit (5 percent Yahoo!) – Greiss is back from COVID with a bang – two wins, four goals allowed and 69 saves across two starts. Alex Nedeljkovic is the top guy, but there's a chance for a platoon. Or who knows – maybe a trade for this 36-year-old. I'm desperate for goaltending right now and only wish I had been quick enough to snag him.
Josh Morrissey, D, Winnipeg (42 percent Yahoo!) – The Jets have finally started to put up some wins and Morrissey has been part of that success. He had four points, including three on the power play, in his last four games going into Saturday. And he threw in a bonus with six each of hits and blocked shots during that same span. Morrissey is actually on a career pace, so use him while he's healthy (no guarantee there).
Jeff Skinner, LW, Buffalo (30 percent Yahoo!) – Yah, yah – Jeff Skinner. I know, but hear me out. The much-maligned sniper is on a 35-goal pace and on a surprisingly sharp top line with Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch. We pretty much all missed his four-goal, five-point outburst on Super Bowl Sunday, but it's time to pay attention - especially if you need goals.
Robert Thomas, RW/C, St. Louis (27 percent Yahoo!) – I don't know why Thomas doesn't get more hype. He has 37 points in 41 outings and is on a three-game, five-point streak (two goals, three assists) heading into Saturday. Thomas is on the Blues' top power play. And he's really picked up his faceoff percentage with 40 wins in his last four games. Thomas is on just one-in-every-four fantasy rosters because our world is skewed toward goal scorers. And he only has seven snipes. Thomas has a pretty consistent shooting percentage across four seasons, so he'll score if he just shoots a little more. So his nine shots in the last two could be foreshadowing a big jump in goal scoring and value.
Alex Tuch, LW/RW, Buffalo (49 percent Yahoo!) – I hope you already grabbed him, but if not, do it now. He had a four-game, seven-point streak snapped Thursday, but hot is hot. Tuch has 19 points in 17 games, and is part of the crew making Buffalo fans forget about Jack Eichel. Advantage Buffalo (so far), although that's likely to change.
Blake Wheeler, RW/C, Winnipeg (75 percent Yahoo!) – I don't usually throw in guys rostered this high, but that 75 is just way too low. Wheeler has finally woken up and has 11 points, including three goals, in his last four games going into Saturday. Three of the points were on the power play. Wheeler should be on closer to 100 percent of rosters, even at age 35.
Kailer Yamamoto, RW, Edmonton (7 percent Yahoo!) – Yamamoto is no Johnny Gaudreau – those draft day comps were completely unfair. But right now, he has a real opportunity to finally show off his speed and skill because of Jesse Puljujarvi's LBI. Yamamoto will end up with more ice time in the top-six and that's a recipe for possible fantasy success given the team's top-two pivots.
Back to the beautiful game.
The Canada-U.S. women's hockey rivalry is likely the best in the game, NHL included. This time it was Canada's turn – they were the most complete team since the 2010 Canadian men's squad.
They would have won even if Brianna Decker had been on the ice.
The women's game is getting stronger. So is the men's – without NHLers, the balance of power shifts away from Canada and the U.S.
That's a beautiful thing.
Until next week.
