Frozen Fantasy: The Good, Bad & Ugly at Midseason

This season has been a true roll of the dice. Lady luck has delivered fantasy owners some remarkable surprises.

Good and bad.

It's the halfway point of the 2016-17 season and it's time for the good, bad and ugly of this fantasy season.

First, the bad. It borders on downright ugly.

Studs Anze Kopitar and Jonathan Toews are both on pace for less than 40 points. Sniper Corey Perry is heading toward a paltry 14 goals. And almost one-quarter of all of Evgeny Kuznetsov's points have come in two games this week.

Two games!

Henrik Lundqvist's save percentage isn't in the league's top 25. Ben Bishop and Cory Schneider aren't in the league's top-30.

And Steven Stamkos is injured. AGAIN.

Enough of the bad and ugly. The good isn't just good. Some of it is simply fantastic.

Case in point – the rookies. How soon will Patrik Laine, Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner be top-three in league scoring? And how quickly will Zach Werenski eclipse Erik Karlsson as the go-to fantasy defender?

Columbus drafted third in June and now leads the league. And they're doing it by rolling four lines in relentless fashion. Even so, none of us could have imagined Cam Atkinson as a top-10 scorer. Or Sam Gagner's resurrection.

I can say I predicted Alexander Wennberg's emergence. But that was Lady Luck again. Even I know that.

Now let's take a look at caught my eye this week.

Nathan Beaulieu, D, Montreal (7 percent Yahoo! owned) - Beaulieu has stepped up in a big way with Andrei Markov on the shelf. He has five points (one goal, four assists), including three power-play helpers, in his last four games. Beaulieu is finally listening to his coaches and at 24, he's actually growing up a bit – no more risky up-the-middle passes or bad pinches. Beaulieu is on the rise and we're witnessing the first steps toward him filling Markov's boots long term. Short-term, his value may be limited – Markov is back practicing. But Beaulieu's recent success will make it hard to keep his ice time limited. Keeper leagues need to pay attention.

Connor Brown, RW, Toronto (5 percent) - Brown is on fire. Sure, it helps to be skating alongside number 34 (look it up if you don't recognize the next big thing). But Brown is skilled in his own right – he's produced at every level and he's showing those talents in blue and white. Brown's shorty Friday night stretched his goal streak to three games, a span in which he has five points (three goals, two assists). And he has nine points, including five goals, in his last seven. I added him right after his big three-point showing in the Centennial Classic. Check him out.

Jared Coreau, G, Detroit (6 percent) - This once fringy free agent is now living the dream. Jimmy Howard's injury (what's new) gave him a spot on the bench in Detroit, but his play has earned him serious playing time. And I mean serious. Coreau has started four of the Wings' last six starts and is 3-1 with one shutout, 2.75 GAA and .913 save percentage. And that includes the Centennial Classic in Toronto on New Year's Day. He's built like a tank (6-foot-6, 235) – think Rob Gronkowski-lite. But his technical skills are solid and his confidence is high. Coreau can deliver you some goalie points in the Wings' system, even with the team on serious suckage.

Michael Frolik, RW/C, Calgary (11 percent) - He's one of my regulars and he should be yours, too. Calgary is heating up and Frolik has eight points, including five helpers, in six games heading into the weekend. And he's plus-6 with 15 shots in that span. Oh yah – half of those points, including two goals, have come on the power play. Heard enough yet?

Bo Horvat, C, Vancouver (20 percent) - Horvat is on a six-game, seven-point scoring streak headed into the weekend. And he has 12 points, including four goals, in his last 12 games. Horvat leads the Canucks in scoring at just 21 and he's also becoming dominant in the faceoff circle (54 percent). I still haven't mustered the courage to drop the underperforming Jonathan Toews or Anze Kopitar for him, but man, those stats look good in comparison. Can he help you at center?

Michal Kempny, D, Chicago (0 percent) - What the heck has gotten into Kempny? He got back into the rotation after being a healthy scratch in nine of 10 games before Christmas. His first game back? Meh. But since then, he has four points, including two goals, in four games. There's always a risk he'll slip back onto the bench, what with the Hawks' eight-man blue line. But he could be a cheap fill-in while he's on the ice.

Kevin Labanc, LW/RW, San Jose (1 percent) - You need to get to know this guy STAT. Labanc has rocketed up the Sharks' prospect list and he's now skating with Logan Couture on the second line. And there, he has delivered six points (three goals, three assists) in his last six games, including a four-game, four-point streak. Labanc's chemistry with Couture is real. And his scoring sizzle is, too. This is a kid who topped the Ontario Hockey League with 39 goals and 88 assists in 65 games last season. Ride his wave if you can.

Tanner Pearson, LW, Los Angeles (12 percent) - Pearson put up a sleepy 13 points in his first 30 games, but has woken up with six points in his last seven. His pedigree suggests there's offense in that stick, but it'll come when his line mates heat up. Pearson is the epitome of "complementary scorer" in the right situation. And that situation looks like it's finally here.

James Reimer, G, Florida (29 percent) - Bobby Lou went down with an upper-body injury during warm-ups Friday night and Optimus Reims was pressed into emergency duty. Luongo started the game in the dressing room, but returned to the bench for about four minutes late in the first. He then left for good. Reimer has the pedigree to step into the starter's role, so roll the dice on him if he's on your wire. And hold him until we learn Bobby Lou's fate. You might just strike gold.

Jaccob Slavin, D, Carolina (4 percent) - Slavin and D-partner Brett Pesce are among the Eastern Conference's top-D pairs … and perhaps the whole league. They are excellent in shot suppression and they can move the puck, too. Slavin is the most offensive of the two and has three points, all assists, in his last five games. It's modest production, but valuable for anyone in deep leagues, especially if plus-minus is still used as a standard category in your league.

Ryan Strome, RW/C, NY Islanders (3 percent) - On the surface, Strome's 14 points in 33 games seem like a bleak confirmation that last year's 28-points (71 contests) might be his norm. But look closer and you'll see that eight of those points have come in the last nine games. Strome is heating up and it's about time. He did score 50 points in 81 games two seasons ago, so he's not just a wasted fifth overall pick. Strome might just be the ultimate buy-low guy right now.

Back to Lady Luck.

Fantasy success is perhaps 10 percent skill and 90 percent luck. And my luck this season has been absolute crap. A whole lot of bad and plenty of just plain ugly.

Oh well – I'm still having fun. Isn't that what fantasy is all about?

Until next week.