Blueline Bingo: Johnny Boychuk's big chance on the Island
One reason I never spend much on defensemen on draft day is because I always feel you can find cheap values late in the draft, or in the early days of free-agent pickups. Here are some players I've added or considered for my rosters; maybe they can help you, too.
Johnny Boychuk is set up to have a career year with the Islanders, where he'll get first-team power-play time (always hedge against Lubomir Visnovsky's health). Boychuk posted a reasonable 5-18-23 line with 142 shots in Boston last year, and that came without a single power-play point. Boychuk was in fine form in New York's opening win, picking up a power play goal and assist in a 5-3 victory. Forty-plus points? I can see it.
[Make Sunday even more fun. Play in FanDuel's Week 6 fantasy football league, win cash]
Like Boychuk, Trevor Daley is an established veteran who's never had a big scoring year (last season's 9-16-25 was his best showing). But the Stars are giving Daley a shot with the top power-play unit, and he responded with a PPG on Thursday. Look at the other guys on the No. 1 Dallas unit: Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, Jason Spezza, Ales Hemsky. Who couldn't pile up points playing with those guys?
The case for Sami Vatanen is so obvious, I can't believe he's 86 percent unowned in Yahoo leagues. Vatanen posted a 6-15-21 line in 48 games last year, and the slick puck mover is going to get a ton of power-play opportunity this season. Vatanen had two man-advantage assists in the Anaheim opener, and was tops on the club with 5:13 in specialty time. What's not to like? Fix that ownership tag.
Olli Maatta won't be a power-play staple in Pittsburgh; they have too many established blueliners in front of him there (Kris Letang, Christian Ehrhoff, even Paul Martin). But Maatta is certainly going to get a regular shift with this high-scoring club, and he managed a 9-20-29 line last year despite limited man-advantage run. The 20-year-old defenseman has everything you look for in a future star: vision, size, confidence, pedigree. Look for an uptick in his point total.
We've been waiting on Zach Bogosian's development for several years, ever since he was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2008 draft. We haven't seen anything past a 30-point season, despite excellent size and a powerful shot. Sometimes the bigger blueliners need more time to develop. The Jets will shuttle two power-play units, with Bogosian part of that mix. He picked up two assists, at even strength, in the season opener. Sometimes you follow the shots and pedigree, and hope the light goes on at age 24.
Anton Stralman showed us some power-play chops a few years ago, posting a 6-28-34 line with a bad Columbus team in 2009-10. The setup is better for him now: a plum spot in Tampa Bay, skating some with the first and second PP units. The Rangers didn't use Stralman as a specialist last year, so the point total was a washout. He won't automatically be with the top Lightning group, but there will be some overlap with the Steven Stamkos unit. This looks like an affordable 30-plus points.
