Nearly a third of the way into the season we are still seeing new stars emerging who just might help your fantasy team. Surely there are a few duds lingering on your bench who you have hung onto for far too long (I’m looking at you, Eric Staal.) Here are six widely available options to pluck off the waiver wire (as always, all ownership figures are based on Yahoo! pools.)
Valeri Nichushkin, RW – 24 per cent owned
The big right winger has all the tools and all the moves. Now he is in the right place skating alongside Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin on the Stars’ top line. A three-point night shows off what Nichushkin can do, but he has actually been fairly hot with seven points in the past seven games.
Maybe it won’t last. The youngster has had many hiccups through his career, but at least you can enjoy this run and if he keeps it up, you’ll have a monster on your hands. Better to get in early than late.
Frans Nielsen, C – 36 per cent owned
This isn’t high enough ownership for a guy who on many nights is the Islanders’ best skater. Nielsen might be shooting a high percentage at 13.8 per cent, but he is a career 10.4 per cent shooter who has the ability to sustain high percentage shooting. He did it a couple seasons ago when he had a 25-goal, 58-point season. He is on track for a similar season now.
Making Nielsen more attractive is that he has boosted his shot rate to nearly three per game and is on pace to shatter his career high with 226 shots on goal. If you play in a rotisserie league, even better. Nielsen blocks over a shot per game making him more valuable than some defencemen, like Tyson Barrie.
Teuvo Teravainen, LW – 14 per cent owned
Teravainen is almost certainly only a short-term pickup as Joel Quenneville’s constant line shuffling will likely work against Teravainen, but for now the Finnish winger is skating alongside Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa. A good spot indeed. He has goals in back-to-back games and a history of streaky scoring. Could be a nice boost here for the next week.
Dougie Hamilton, D – 69 per cent owned
It is actually surprising to see how many folks stuck with Hamilton after his early misery. That said, he is still available in a decent chunk of pools and is really starting to turn the corner. It’s been over three weeks since he saw less than 18 minutes in a game and has averaged three SOG per game for the past 10 games. Hamilton is also currently on a three-game point streak. Everything seems to be trending in the right direction.
John Moore, D – One per cent owned
Shayne Gostisbehere is still available in two-thirds of all leagues and is the best defenceman on the average waiver wire. That said, perhaps you missed the boat on him. Moore makes a modest consolation prize. He skates on what has been a surprisingly lethal top power play unit in New Jersey and has piled up six points in the past seven games. Moore is the only New Jersey defenceman worth owning right now.
Connor Hellebuyck, G – 24 per cent owned
There is still time to book your one-way ticket to Hellebuyck. He comes highly recommended with a pristine record in college, through the minors and even for the US at the last World Championship. Now he is 3-0-0 with a goals-against average below 1.00. He may not maintain such lofty production but he is so evidently the best goalie in the Jets’ system that it seems foolish that the team would abandon him for weaker options. More importantly, with these potential stars you want to get in on them early because there will be no chance to acquire them late.
Steve Laidlaw is the Managing Editor of Dobber Hockey. You can follow him on Twitter @SteveLaidlaw.
