I’ve been stubborn in terms of thinking Dougie Hamilton was going to have a massive fantasy season for years now. Loyal Razzballers know my love for guys who hit all of the categories, and Hamilton has always done that. It seems like Carolina is finally giving him the chance to be the #1 guy in all situations and he’s off to a tremendous start. On Friday, Dougie scored a goal and an assist with four shots and two PIM. He followed that up with a goal on five shots Saturday, bringing him to 4+4 in 6 games with 19 shots, 6 PIM and +7. Obviously he’s not going to keep up this pace, but this is the kind of start that can allow Hamilton to finish as a top five defenseman. In fact, gun to head, I’d bet on it happening right now. If you follow my rankings, odds are that you have Hamilton on your team in redrafts or keepers. If that’s the case, don’t even consider selling high because this isn’t a fluke. Let’s take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
Friday’s Games:
Linus Ullmark – 41 saves on 43 shots in the 3-2 SO win over Florida. He was 10 seconds away from a 2-1 win, but it was still a great game for Ullmark. He’s had two strong starts, so I’d stream him during the week in his next game against whichever California team he goes against.
Zemgus Girgensons – Two assists with two shots. Kyle Okposo had two assists as well. The fourth line for the Sabres has been absolutely incredible in the first two weeks of the season. While they’re not good enough for fantasy, they deserves their props.
Evgenii Dadonov – Goal and an assist with two shots. He’s bounced up and down the lineup so far under Q, but Dadonov is an easy hold.
Ryan Miller – 26 saves on 27 shots in the 2-1 win over Columbus. He won’t get a lot of volume, but Miller should be good in most starts. He’s a good streamer.
Nino Niederreiter – Two assists with four shots. Another guy who is bouncing up and down the lineup, I’m being patient with Nino in the early going.
Andrei Svechnikov – Goal and an assist with three shots and two PIM. This was his fourth straight game with two points. He’s been outstanding as I expected ranking him much higher than consensus.
Jordan Eberle – Two assists with three shots. He played over 20 minutes in this game which bodes well for future production. I’m bumping him to elite streamer.
Brock Nelson – Goal and an assist with three shots. The shot volume has been great for Nelson who also looks to be an elite streamer.
Saturday’s Games
Oscar Klefbom – Goal and an assist with three shots. As long as he’s on PP1, Klefbom should be a #3 defenseman.
Mike Smith – 20 saves on 21 shots in the 4-1 win over the Rangers. Do I trust Smith? Hell no. Should he be owned everywhere? Hell yes. Roll him while he’s a hot schmotato.
Leon Draisaitl – Two goals and an assist with four shots. Connor McDavid had a goal and an assist with three shots and two PIM. There’s no more formidable duo in the game at the moment.
Cale Makar – Two assists with three shots. It’s nice to see him get three shots on goal after having none in the first three games. That said, Makar has had an assist in every game so far. AAGNOF!
Vladislav Namestnikov – Two goals and an assist with three shots playing almost 22 minutes. Revenge game! Names is getting huge minutes so far in Ottawa and with four points in two games, he’s worth streaming while he’s hot.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau – Goal and an assist with two shots and five PIM. I might be wrong, but I think Pageau had the first Gordie Howe hat trick of the year! He’s a nice player in deep leagues but I doubt Pageau gets to be a real asset in 12’ers.
Ryan Ellis – Two assists. The Predators have shifted towards being an offensive team which should help the blueliners like Ellis. He should be a bottom end #2 going forward.
Ryan Johansen – Two assists. He’s had a point in every game so far, but four shots in five games isn’t going to cut it for RyJo. I don’t own him everywhere and I’m not really buying in.
Dustin Brown – Goal and two assists with six shots. Strong start across the board for Brown who should be owned in most (all?) formats.
Ilya Kovalchuk – Goal and an assist with two PIM. I want to be encouraged, but 12:26 of ice time isn’t going to cut it. I’m buying Kovalchuk getting back to a strong streamer but I’m not valuing him as a hold.
Anze Kopitar – Goal and an assist with five shots. He’s had a point in every game this season and at least three shots on goal. The bounce back appears to be real.
Michael Amadio – Goal and an assist with two shots. Amadio is getting PP time so he’s an okay option as a deep league streamer.
Sean Walker – Two assists with four shots and two PIM. He’s off to an incredible start after doing very little last season. I’m not buying in yet but he’s worth monitoring. Welcome to the Razzball Database!
Tuukka Rask – 31 save shutout in the 3-0 win over the Devils. Very few can match Rask’s fantasy value on a per-start basis. If he received the volume, he’d be a slam dunk top 5 goalie.
Brad Marchand – Goal and an assist with three shots. The top line is carrying Boston which comes as no surprise. Marchand has been great per usual.
Nikolaj Ehlers – Goal and an assist with three shots. Excellent start for Ehlers after starting horribly last season. He’s pushing four shots per game right now which is obviously incredible. The talent is too high for him to fail again.
Nicholas Shore – Goal and an assist with three shots. The Leafs beat the Red Wings 5-2. Here are the guys with two points: Shore, Dmytro Timashov, Ilya Mikheyev, Jacob De La Rose, Justin Abdelkader. Woof. The only one I could see sustaining fantasy value is Mikheyev. I like him quite a bit in deep leagues and think he’s an okay streamer in 12’ers.
Ryan Murray – Two assists with two shots. Murray never fulfilled his potential and I don’t see much of a path to fantasy relevance.
Alexander Wennberg – Two assists with two shots. Meh, bottom end streamer at best since Wennberg generally refuses to shoot the puck.
Brayden Schenn – Goal and an assist with two shots and two PIM. That’s a goal in four straight for Schenn who is loving life on the St. Louis first line.
Vladimir Tarasenko – Two assists. Slow start for Tarasenko but I have no concern.
Brendan Gallagher – Goal and two assists with seven shots. Gallagher is always undervalued in drafts and he’s shown why in the early going. The shot rate is terrific and this was his second three point game already. He’s a great DFS option most nights as well since he’s underowned except in the best of matchups.
Tomas Tatar – Goal and an assist, as did Phillip Danault, Jonathan Drouin, and Max Domi. Do I love any of these guys? Nope. I would rank them Domi, Tatar, Drouin, Danault without much hesitation. I would hold the first two and stream the others.
Ilya Samsonov – 24 saves on 25 shots in the 4-1 win over the Stars. Two great starts from Samsonov to open his career. He’s the future and should be a quality streamer this season.
John Carlson – Goal and an assist with two shots. Incredible start for Carlson with 10 points in 6 games.
Tom Wilson – Goal and an assist with four shots and four PIM. You always have to worry about Wilson doing something stupid and getting suspended, but the offense has improved drastically and the shots have been there so far. He could be a decent surprise offensively this season.
Sidney Crosby – Goal and an assist with four shots. The minutes are through the roof right now making Crosby a great DFS option even at a high price. Same goes with Kris Letang (1+1, 4 SOG).
Sam Lafferty – Goal and two assists with three shots and two PIM. I don’t expect much from Lafferty, but the minutes could be decent if he plays well with all of these injuries. Welcome to the Razzball Database!
Jared Spurgeon – Goal and two assists with two shots. It’s been a rough start for Spurgeon like most Wild players but he should be a bottom end hold going forward.
Brad Hunt – Goal and an assist with three shots. He’s had a great start to the season, probably the only player on the Wild that has had one. I don’t see much from Hunt going forward but he could be a decent deep league guy.
Chris Tanev – Two assists. He’s stumbled into some points but there is no offense here.
Mark Stone – Goal and an assist with three shots and two PIM. Stone has been on a tear to open the season which isn’t a surprise from a player with his ability.
Max Pacioretty – Two assists with three shots. Patches looks night and day compared to last season. I’m leaning towards holding him again.
William Carrier – Goal and an assist with three shots. And there’s your annual Carrier update!
Sunday Games:
Zach Aston-Reese – Two goals and an assist with five shots. ZAR is an elite streamer with how gutted the Penguins lineup is.
Jake Guentzel – Two goals on three shots. Same deal as Crosby and Letang mentioned above. The minutes are incredible and the points should come with that.
Sam Lafferty – Two goals on four shots. Maybe there can be something there? Still have my doubts.
Marcus Pettersson – Two assists with a shot. Nice player in real life but I don’t see Pettersson carrying fantasy value.
Paul Stastny – Two goals and two assists with three shots. Stastny is back on the second line with Patches (1+2) and Stone (goal, 5 SOG) making him an elite streamer. I could see having Stastny as a tentative hold while he’s in this role. Cody Glass is no longer an elite streamer while he’s in the bottom six.
Shea Theodore – Two assists with four shots. I feel like I undervalued Theodore in the preseason. He should be a no-brainer hold all season with the chance for 50+ points.
Martin Jones – 32 saves on 33 shots in the 3-1 win over the Flames. I’ve been low on Jones every season and I’m not going to change now. Not a fan at all for fantasy.
Logan Couture – Two assists with two shots. The Sharks have started slow but Couture has not with six points in six games.
Tomas Hertl – Goal and an assist with two PIM. It could have been better but Hertl missed an empty net chance in the last minute. I had a few questions about Hertl in the comments. I have the same stance on him as most of the other Sharks: be patient. I’m giving them at least the rest of October because the upside is too high.
Three Point Challenge: For those who aren’t familiar, for each Tuesday and Thursday of the season, you can make a pick in the comments section. That player needs to get 3+ points for you to win. You cannot take a player in the top 10 in points in the league. For the first month to six weeks of the season, we will use last season’s top 10 in points. That means no McDavid, Kucherov, Kane, Draisaitl, Crosby, Marchand, Gaudreau, MacKinnon, Stamkos, or Barkov. Feel free to make your pick any time before 7 PM EST on Tuesday night. As of now, Fungazi and Aurelius are on top with one correct pick each. For Tuesday, I am going to take Dylan Larkin on the road in Vancouver.
That’s all for now guys. I may have notes again on Tuesday morning depending on how much action is in the game today. If that’s the case, Three Point Challenge picks can be made in this post or that one. At the latest, I’ll be back on Wednesday morning. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. Thanks for reading, take care!
