Frozen Fantasy: Oh Canada!

The future of fantasy belongs to Canada. Or at least to Canadian teams.

The True North strong and free!

In short order, the NHL has been taken over by kids. And Canadian teams are flush with the best talent in the league.

Lord Stanley is headed north of the 49th. And soon.

Edmonton. Toronto. And Winnipeg. No team has better young talent than those three teams. They're rising. Fast. And they're the envy of the league.

There are other teams that are better right now. Pittsburgh. Chicago. Washington. New York (the Ranger variety). But, the fans of Toronto, Edmonton and Winnipeg are much better off.

Much, MUCH better. And Calgary isn't far behind.

Edmonton has Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, and maybe Oscar Klefbom and Jesse Puljujarvi. We'll see about the latter two.

Winnipeg has Mark Scheifele, Patrik Laine and Nikolaj Ehlers, plus Jacob Trouba (IF he decides he wants to stay).

Toronto has Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander, with Morgan Rielly and Connor Brown as a strong four-five.

So, who would be a first-round pick in a brand new 12-team keeper league drafted today? McDavid, Matthews, Scheifele and Laine would likely be locks in round one. Three of those four are teenagers. Teenagers! And Marner probably wouldn't be far behind after the turn into round two.

Successful Canadian teams are great for the economics of the league. They'll do the same for you as you push toward the pot at the end of the fantasy rainbow.

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

Nick Bonino, C, Pittsburgh (5 percent) - This guy isn't exactly known as an offensive stud – prior to Wednesday night, Bonino's last multi-goal game came 28 months ago. And his last hat trick was over four years ago. But his three-snipe production against the Jets on Wednesday was impressive – two of those snipes came on the power play. Bonino had six points, including four goals, in his last four games heading into Vancouver on Saturday night. He might bring you some valuable production on the cheap.

Michael Del Zotto, D, Philadelphia (3 percent) - Bless his heart, Del Zotto is an injury waiting to happen – the guy has missed significant time in each of his last five seasons. But he has delivered at a 40-point pace at his best and has the ability to deliver a point every other game. Last Tuesday night against Buffalo, Del Zotto set up two goals and was plus-5 overall. Mark Streit is gone and the rest of the Philly defenders are starting to stretch their games. Del Zotto is the cheapest addition from that group. Hey – you can always play catch-and-release if (sorry, when) he gets hurt again.

Sam Gagner, RW/C, Columbus (28 percent) - Gagner is a classic example of a solid producer who fell out of favor with aggressive fantasy owners. He fell into a slump (one point in 12 games) through most of February and was pitched to the wire. Now, he has 10 points in his last 10 games, including eight in his last six. And that includes two power-play goals. Gagner is worthy of an add right now. And use your add/drop listing to watch for others who might be out there. I had to jettison Mike Green a couple weeks ago to accommodate Jonathan Quick's return from the IR. Yes, he got snapped up fast by someone stalking the wire. You should do the same.

Magnus Hellberg, G, NY Rangers (0 percent) - Henrik Lundqvist is out two-to-three weeks and Antti Raanta's ownership is rocketing up – he's probably gone by the time you read this. Hellberg is now the Ranger's backup and the team plays back-to-back games four times in the next two weeks. Hellberg will likely get one or two starts in there and should deliver good results.

Calle Jarnkrok, LW/C, Nashville (3 percent) - Long, long ago, Jarnkrok was one of Detroit's super-finds – the diamonds in the rough from beyond the first round. His upside hasn't shown itself in Nashville, but Jarnkrok has been making slow and steady progress. Jarnkrok had four points in his last three games heading into play Saturday and 16 points in his last 20 games. He might be dusting off that diamond. Put the shine on your roster before someone else does.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau, C, Ottawa (5 percent) - This diminutive center is riding a five-game, six-point streak heading into this week. Pageau is getting increased opportunity because of Kyle Turris' absence, so take advantage of his time on the second line. It won't last long. But it'll be pretty good while it lasts.

Viktor Stalberg, LW/RW, Ottawa (1 percent) - Sometimes all a guy needs is a shot. Paroled to Ottawa, Stalberg seems to have found respect. And a new start. Sure, he's still playing on a bottom line. But the Sens have put him onto the power play. And he has two power-play points (three points overall) in six games since his arrival in Canada's capital. Stalberg is a low-level addition to most fantasy squads. But he could help you in the PPP category if Guy Boucher keeps putting him out there with the man advantage.

Drew Stafford, RW, Boston (3 percent) - Go get him. NOW. Stafford is skating with David Krejci and David Pastrnak. He has four points in four games heading into play Monday. Seriously. Go now. He's already mine. He should be yours, too.

Thomas Tatar, LW/RW, Detroit (13 percent) - Tatar's game has been as sour as it comes this season, at least for fantasy owners. He flirted with 30 goals two seasons ago, but this season, it has been touch-and-go to even reach 40 points. Until recently. Tatar has five goals and seven points in his last 10 games. And the Wings – as bad as they've been – seem to be playing lighter these days. The weight of the season just isn't as heavy, now that they've accepted their fate. And that's reflected in Tatar's game. He could be a ray of light for your fantasy squad as the season grinds along.

Jordan Weal, C, Philadelphia (0 percent) - Welcome to the NHL, kid – you get to ride shotgun with Claude Giroux and Wayne Simmonds. GULP. The knock on Weal has been his size – he's only 5-foot-9 – but he was arguably one of the top two players in the AHL two seasons ago. And he was scoring at better than a point-per-game pace in the A before his call-up. Weal only has four points in 10 games, but he's getting top line time. I'm watching for eligibility on the wing and I'm leaping once that comes. Weal's hockey IQ is Mensa-like – he'll be in the right place at the right time and that means a shot at plenty of points, especially with Giroux dishing him pucks.

Back to the Canadian teams.

Calgary's kids are close to the quality of the three teams above. Sean Monahan and Matthew Tkachuk are impressive. And Johnny Gaudreau should be a remarkable talent when/if he makes some lifestyle changes.

Phil Kessel, eat your heart out.

It was only a few years ago that I warned readers about over-relying on the shiny bright toys of young NHL players. Man, times have changed. And that's for keeper leagues and single-year leagues.

A buddy of mine is a BIG Oilers fan. Our conversations lately have been very interesting. He actually admitted – in pixels – that he'd prefer to have the five Maple Leafs I listed above than the Oil's best five right now (McDavid, Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jordan Eberle and Klefbom).

The Oil's best guys are awesome. But isn't it funny how fast windows close? I talked about that last week.

I'm not sure I'm prepared to think about the window already being closed on guys like RNH or Eberle. But it might be. Wow.

Still, a Cup is coming to Canada and it'll be here very, very soon. And hey – it might even be in Ontario … for the first time in my lifetime.

Booyah!

Until next week.