All the talk from Toronto has surrounded no.1 overall pick Austin Matthew's awe inspiring four-goal rookie debut, but fantasy owners should also take chances on teammates William Nylander and Mitch Marner. Both figure to be available in most leagues while Austin is long gone. Nylander played extended minutes during the second half of last season and now has exhbited sublime chemistry with Mathews on the third line. If these two keep peaking, their third line label will no doubt change. Meanwhile, Marner has played with JVR and Tyler Bozak, scoring his first goal on Saturday and firing 10 shots over two games. I am excited about the offensive potential these Leafs have to offer moving forward, so pay attention to these possible valuable waiver targets...Jonathan Marchessault was brought to Florida in the offseason for offensive depth purposes but an injury to Jonathan Huberdeau has the young forward playing on the top line. Two games in and four points later, JM is suddenly on everyone's fantasy radar. He always had ton of upside but was buried on the Tampa Bay depth chart. Now he has landed in the right spot but his fantasy worth could depend on how well he continues to mesh with Aleksander Barkov and Jaromir Jagr. If you are a Huberdeau owner, maybe snag him as a temporary handcuff.
Zach Werenski highlights a strong group of young defenders looking to grab the fantasy spotlight early on. Coach Tortorella is playing the talented Michigan product on the top unit with Seth Jones and the move has already paid quick dividends with him notching 2 power play points over first 2 games. While it may be too soon to annoint the youngster this season's Shane Gostisbehere, he is coming in with huge expectations and maybe worth an early season pickup.... 27-year old Finnish League veteran Yohann Aahavitu might be an NHL first-timer but has huge offensive potential playing for the New Jersey Devils. He has started the season quarterbacking their top power-play unit, so watch ghim closely. His emergence would cut into Damon Severson's potential fantasy value.
In the wake of Jonathan Quick's serious injury, fantasy owners should be quick to pick up Jeff Zatkoff. I am not sure he will last as their starter so keep your eye out on recently released Ondrej Pavelec.There has been some speculation that the Kings are interested in adding the veteran which would obviously upgrade him in the fantasy department. it would be interesting to see how well Pavelec would fare on a more defensive-minded team like the Kings. The situation bears watching.
ADD'EM:ROOKIE LEAFS ON THE RISE primepucks.comSun 10/16/16 6:20 PM