Fantasy Hockey Fans: This Story is for You
A look at the NHL's underrated key contributors this season.
New Key Contributors
While some big names continue to produce big numbers, there are many lesser-known or previously average players who have taken a big step this season. In this post, we’ll recap their performance to date (April 13, 2022), compare it to last year and their next-best year, and tell you where they rank in the NHL and on their team. If you like fantasy hockey, you might want to keep this list handy for next year’s draft!


Forwards
Jesper Bratt
39th in the league among Forwards and 1st on the New Jersey Devils in Points at 68; 53.3% improvement over last year (which was also his best year) in Points per Game
Robert Thomas
42nd in the league among Forwards and 2nd on the St. Louis Blues in Points at 66; 188.1% improvement over last year and 64.6% over best year in Points per Game
Jordan Kyrou
44th in the league among Forwards and 3rd on the St. Louis Blues in Points at 65; 57.1% improvement over last year (which was also his best year) in Points per Game
Troy Terry
52nd in the league among Forwards and 1st on the Anaheim Ducks in Points at 59; 108.2% improvement over last year (which was also his best year) in Points per Game
21st in the league among Forwards and 1st on the Anaheim Ducks in Goals at 33
Tage Thompson
55th in the league among Forwards and 1st on the Buffalo Sabres in Points at 59; 125.6% improvement over last year (which was also his best year) in Points per Game
22nd in the league among Forwards and 1st on the Buffalo Sabres in Goals at 33
Michael Bunting
60th in the league among Forwards and 6th on the Toronto Maple Leafs in Points at 57; 26.1% improvement over last year (which was also his best year) in Points per Game
Trevor Zegras
71st in the league among Forwards and 2nd on the Anaheim Ducks in Points at 59; 49.3% improvement over last year (which was also his best year) in Points per Game
Lucas Raymond
72nd in the league among Forwards and 3rd on the Detroit Red Wings in Points at 55; rookie year
Ivan Barbashev
80th in the league among Forwards and 5th on the St. Louis Blues in Points at 53; 133.1% improvement over last year and 84.0% over best year in Points per Game
Defensemen
Moritz Seider
18th in the league among Defensemen and 4th on the Detroit Red Wings in Points at 46; rookie year; 36th among Defensemen in Time on Ice per Game (23:09)
Evan Bouchard
30th in the league among Defensemen and 5th on the Edmonton Oilers in Points at 38; 45.8% improvement over last year (which was also his best year) in Points per Game
Gustav Forsling
45th in the league among Defensemen and 11th on the Florida Panthers in Points at 32; 26.5% improvement over last year (which was also his best year) in Points per Game; 8th among Defensemen in Plus/Minus (+32)
Vladislav Gavrikov
49th in the league among Defensemen and 8th on the Columbus Blue Jackets in Points at 31; 100.1% improvement over last year and 67.4 over best year in Points per Game
Jamie Drysdale
51st in the league among Defensemen and 7th on the Anaheim Ducks in Points at 31; 25.7% improvement over last year (which was also his best year) in Points per Game
Oliver Kylington
64th in the league among Defensemen and 9th on the Calgary Flames in Points at 27; 237.5% improvement over last year and 100.4% over best year in Points per Game; 17th among Defensemen in Plus/Minus (+26)
Sean Durzi
69th in the league among Defensemen and 9th on the Los Angeles Kings in Points at 26; rookie year
Goaltenders
Juuse Saros
7th in the league in Save Percentage (Sv%) at .922
1st in the league in Wins at 36; 71.4% improvement over last year (which was also his best year)
Darcy Kuemper
3rd in the league in Sv% at .926
6th in the league in Wins at 34; 240.0% improvement over last year and 25.9% over best year
Jack Campbell
20th in the league in Sv% at .912
11th in the league in Wins at 27; 58.8% improvement over last year (which was also his best year)
Jake Oettinger
16th in the league in Sv% at .914
13th in the league in Wins at 26; 136.4% improvement over last year (which was also his best year)
Ville Husso
5th in the league in Sv% at .925
20th in the league in Wins at 23; 155.6% improvement over last year (which was also his best year)
Jeremy Swayman
13th in the league in Sv% at .916
23rd in the league in Wins at 20; 185.7% improvement over last year (which was also his best year)
Create your profile
Only paid subscribers can comment on this post
Check your email
For your security, we need to re-authenticate you.
Click the link we sent to , or click here to sign in.