Even with the beginning of the 2024-25 NHL season still more than two months away, it's never too early to look ahead and come up with some predictions, rankings, etc. This extends to the world of fantasy hockey.
Now I'll confess I've never been particularly interested in the fantasy side of professional sports, but I'm still well aware of how popular they are. Hence, there was some intrigue when the Daily Faceoff produced their fantasy hockey top 300 player rankings for 2024-25.
This potentially arduous task was undertaken by Matt Larkin, and he certainly deserves major kudos. Of course here at The Canuck Way, our main area of focus was on how well-presented the Vancouver Canucks were.
Before we dive into this, lets provide some context, i.e. Larkin's disclaimers: They include:
- This is version one. Rankings will be updated through training camp, preseason, etc
- Real-life value does not always necessarily translate to fantasy value
- Upside counts for a lot, particularly in early versions of these rankings
There are some other factors to consider too, which can be found at the top of the Daily Faceoff's article. Regardless, here are out takeaways from the rankings:
1) Shouldn't he be higher?
The first Canuck doesn't make an appearance until J.T. Miller at number 16. Miller is coming off a career year which included single season bests of 37 goals, 103 total points, a 19.1 shooting percentage and a +32 rating. His 103 points were ninth-most in the NHL, which leads to the question of why he wasn't ranked higher? Larkin's rationale -- which we appreciate but don't entirely go along with -- is that Miller has reached his peak at 31, and would have placed him in the top 10 is he was only 25-years-old.
2) Starting to warm up
At least fans didn't have to wait long for the next two Canucks, with Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson at 20 and 21 respectively. Quinn is coming off his best season yet, which included winning the Norris Trophy, while Pettersson came flying out of the gates, but then tailed off dramatically after the halfway point of the season. Larkin didn't rank Hughes higher due to him being less of a beast in other categories outside of scoring, while also fancying Pettersson to return to his form of the 2022-23 season.
3) Ranking impacted by injuries
The final Canuck to make the top 50 was no surprise, but what did surprise us mildly, was that Larkin only placed Thatcher Demko at 43, behind six other goalies. Demko is coming off his best season yet, which concluded with him finishing second in voting for the Vezina Trophy, so what gives? Well, after we settled down, we acknowledged Larkin's point about Thatcher not always being healthy, which indeed is painfully true. Still, the Canucks goalie is worth a 'risk' (for lack of a better description) for all you fantasy hockey folks out there.
4) A goal-scoring machine in need of a repeat act
There was only one more Canuck to feature in the top 100, and that was Brock Boeser at 88. Boeser easily set a new single season career-best with 40 goals, as he finally put his scoring talents on full display. However, even at just 26 and with the promise of more to come, Larkin isn't entirely convinced yet. He makes the fair point that he wants to see Boeser do it again, before deciding to rank him higher.
5) A couple of good gambles to take
Things really trailed off for the Canucks over the remainder of the top 300. The other players included were Filip Hronek at 182, Jake DeBrusk at 209, Arturs Silovs at 262, Conor Garland at 272 and Daniel Sprong at 279. We particularly like the chances of DeBrusk and Sprong producing better than their current rankings. DeBrusk will be given every chance to shine in the Canucks' top six playing alongside some quality talent, while Sprong provides more goals than a team deserves to expect from a player whose often on the fourth line.
Other notes
In total, the 10 players representing the Canucks are tied for the third-highest total by any team in the NHL top 300. The Edmonton Oilers unsurprisingly are first with 12 players, alongside the Anaheim Ducks, which is surprising. All 32 team are represented, with the San Jose Sharks last with six players.