From the Press Box: Riding In Their Own 18-Wheeler

FROM THE PRESS BOX
By Paul Bruno, RotoWire.com

The prospect factory in Detroit...recent additions changing the culture in Toronto…

Detroit - The cupboard is full

While talking with a senior exec of the Wings, he revealed some concern over the club's ability to remain as competitive as they have been during a 23-year streak of making the post-season. The club's pre-season goal was to take steps that would allow that streak to continue. He was most concerned with the fact that club's leadership core (Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Kronwall and Franzen was aging. If he was correct in that assessment, did they have enough younger players who were ready to step up? Fantasy owners, no doubt, shared this concern.

Well, 30 games into this season, some new names have come forward to deliver big efforts and change the Wings' focus.

Tomas Tatar tops that list so far. He was a 2nd round draft pick in the 2009 Draft - another in the never-ending pipeline of discoveries by the Wings' Hakan Andersson, who is credited with being a huge part of the long-time success of the scouting success in Motown. Tatar has followed the path of many Detroit prospects, which have preceded him. He toiled for the Wings AHL affiliate, in Grand Rapids, for four seasons, before he got his first long look in Detroit last year. He scored 19 goals and 39 points (with a +12) last year, in his rookie campaign, though he did get a little taste of the NHL, in two earlier cameo appearances, as an injury replacement. This season, he has continued his career trajectory with 12 goals and 21 points, solidifying his place among the top two forward lines and earning regular power play time as well.

A very similar story can be told for young sniper, Gustav Nyquist, who also got a couple of looks at life in the NHL, before he joined the Wings on a full-time basis part way through last season. He was a brilliant offensive force, who led the club with 27 goals despite playing only 57 games last season. He has picked up right where he left off, in the first two months of this current schedule and is again the top goal-scorer (14 in 31 games) for Detroit.

This season, two more forwards have taken on larger roles and look to be taking big steps forward in their development here as well. Justin Abdelkader, 27, is assuming more of the role that was exclusively the domain of Johan Franzen, as the big body player who would get down in front of opposing goalies to create havoc on the attack, particularly the power play. With 15 points in 25 games, he is well on his way to career highs and his own place among the top scoring lines here. Riley Sheahan, 23, is another young player with a high draft status (1st round in 2010) who has also taken that circuitous route through Grand Rapids, to make his own mark with Detroit this year. He's also a big physical presence, at 6'2", 212 lbs., who has performed admirably with seven goals and 16 points, adding even more depth to the Wings offense.

As a result of these players all contributing so consistently this season, the afore-mentioned, Detroit executive is now adjusting his thinking to more of the same, in terms of post-season impact and regular season success, for Detroit. Fantasy owners need to be aware of this development and count these new Wings among the relevant options to be considered in their leagues.

The Leafs are rolling in their own 18-wheeler

In the past three seasons a dramatic turn has brought a disastrous end to the Leafs' season. This time around, a 9-2 shellacking from Nashville seems to have been a seminal moment in this season, as Toronto is now the hottest team in the league romping to a 10-1-1 mark in their last 10 games.

A big part of the club's troubles in the past, was a heavy reliance on their top forward line, consisting of Tyler Bozak, James van Riemsdyk and Phil Kessel. This offseason, Leafs' GM Dave Nonis added some depth to the bottom six of this roster by picking up some inexpensive, yet experienced veterans to hopefully balance this attack.

Foremost among those additions is Mike Santorelli. He is one of the fastest skaters on the club and was expected to be a good addition in a checking role. He was drafted in 2004, by Florida and his career best campaign was a 20-gal, 41-point effort in 2010-11 for the Panthers. Through 31 games with the Leafs, he has six goals and 22 points, with much of that scoring taking place during the Leafs current hot streak. Toronto has probably already received more than the $1.5M contract that they signed him for, in this instance. This gamble will continue to pay handsomely.

Daniel Winnik, 29, is a big (6'2, 210 lbs.) veteran of over 500 NHL games. He was brought in to upgrade the penalty kill group, a bane of this club for the past few years. So far, that has worked out, too, as the Leafs are in the top ten in that category, after a number of years in the bottom five of the league. Winnik has the distinction of being the most-used forward in the entire NHL on the penalty kill.

He and Santorelli may have had their biggest impact in showing Nazem Kadri a thing or two about work ethic. This long-time Leafs prodigy has been a bit of a disappointment to date because he has not parlayed his ample skill set into the big numbers that were projected for him, when he was drafted 7th overall in the 2009 Draft. However, he has ramped up his game and responded to this positive start for the Leafs, by producing 20 points and a +9 rating, whiling playing in all 31 games so far.

Leafs GM Dave Nonis deserves kudos for the trade that brought Peter Holland over from Anaheim last season, in what looked like a swap of irrelevant players. Holland was not going to get much playing time with the Ducks, who were blessed with lots of organizational depth at center. In Toronto, he has earned a regular shift and is also showing signs that explain his first round draft status from the 2009 Draft. He has been instrumental in the emergence of a third scoring line, with seven goals and 13 points, with his own strong contribution to the penalty kill unit.

In the last three years, the Leafs season has been characterized as an 18-wheeler that has driven off a cliff. This season, largely due to this group of previously irrelevant fantasy players, in Toronto, is giving many observers the confidence to suggest that there are better days ahead for a club that is hot right now. They could very well stay that way for the rest of the season.

Fantasy owners who are looking for smart additions to their rosters need to look beyond the pre-season projections of top-six forwards or top-four defenders and look for situations like these where some surprising, or new, names merit consideration. Stay on top of these situations and react quickly to those where you feel most confident.