Fantasy Hockey Rookie Roundup: Five Players to Keep an Eye On This Season

Hey folks. Every fantasy hockey season brings a new crop of rookies looking to make their mark in the NHL, and this year's group has plenty of high end talent who I think are franchise cornerstone worthy. I think all of these players will make an immediate impact now and in the future, while some may need the right opportunity before they become fantasy relevant in non-dynasty leagues.

With the season right around the corner and drafts already starting for this season, I wanted to highlight five rookies fantasy managers should be watching closely. These are players who could earn significant roles, see valuable powerplay time, and potentially become difference makers for fantasy teams this season. Let's dive in.

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Gavin McKenna - Toronto Maple Leafs

McKenna is a franchise forward, and while I don't necessarily expect him to be a point-per-game player as a rookie, everything is set up for him to have immediate success in Toronto. He is going to get every opportunity to play in the top six, and I would be shocked if he doesn't get a look on the first powerplay unit before the season is over. There is even a chance we see him spend some time on the top line with captain Auston Matthews.

The Leafs have surrounded McKenna with an incredible amount of offensive talent. Matthews is coming off a down season by his standards and should be much better if he can stay healthy, while William Nylander and John Tavares give McKenna another pair of elite offensive players to play alongside. Toronto also improved its blue line by bringing in Darren Raddysh, who gives the team a legitimate powerplay quarterback, and added Sergei Bobrovsky to stabilize the crease. Raddysh's ability to move the puck and create offense should only help Toronto's top forwards.

This isn't about expecting McKenna to come into the NHL and immediately score 100 points. He doesn't need to do that to be fantasy relevant. The talent is obvious, the opportunity is going to be there, and the Leafs have plenty of elite players who can help him succeed. McKenna is a player I want on my radar from day one, because it feels like only a matter of time before the franchise forward starts getting franchise player deployment.

Porter Martone - Philadelphia Flyers

Martone is one of the rookies I am most interested in watching this season, and for me, the biggest question is where he sits in the Flyers' pecking order. After what we saw from him last season, I think he enters the season ahead of Matvei Michkov. This is Martone's spot to lose, not his spot to win. I expect him to play significant even strength minutes, see meaningful powerplay time, and spend most of the season in the top six.

Martone looked like he belonged at the NHL level almost immediately after joining Philadelphia, and that gives me a lot of confidence heading into his first full season. He brings a combination of size, skill, physicality and offensive ability that should make him difficult for the Flyers to take out of a prominent role. He also brings the kind of shot volume and willingness to get involved physically that can make a rookie especially valuable in deeper fantasy leagues. Some fantasy rankings have Martone as the top rookie for this season, but despite his potential he is still a few steps behind McKenna for me.

The big thing for fantasy managers is the opportunity. Martone doesn't need to become a superstar overnight to have value. If he is playing in the top six and getting consistent powerplay time, the points should come, and his physical game gives him another avenue to contribute. Philadelphia clearly sees him as a major part of its future, and everything we have seen so far tells me he has a chance to become a major part of its present as well. I think Martone has a very good chance to be one of the most fantasy relevant rookies in the league this season.

Anton Frondell - Chicago Blackhawks

Frondell is another rookie I am very interested in this season, but I think fantasy managers need to be a little careful with the expectations. He is going to get a big opportunity right away, especially with Connor Bedard expected to miss the start of the season, and I think Chicago will want to see what he can do with bigger minutes. The problem is that I don't necessarily think that is where he finishes the season. This is a young Blackhawks team with a lot of talent, and Frondell is going to have to produce to keep those bigger minutes.

That doesn't mean I am down on Frondell at all. He can do a little bit of everything and has the size, skill and all-around game to become a really good top-six forward. He is also going to benefit from playing with a franchise forward like Bedard once he returns. The return of Patrick Kane is another really interesting wrinkle for Frondell. Kane is obviously not the player he was when he was winning Cups in Chicago, but he is still an elite passer with incredible vision, and having a veteran scoring presence like that around Frondell could do a lot for his development. There are already projected line combinations that have Kane playing alongside Frondell, which is a pretty exciting possibility.

From a fantasy perspective, I think Frondell's deployment and confidence are going to be heavily tied to his production. He should still see powerplay time, but I expect him to eventually settle onto the second unit, and I think his even-strength deployment could follow a similar path. If he produces early, Chicago will have every reason to keep giving him bigger opportunities. If he doesn't, there are enough young players on this roster that he could eventually slide into more of a middle-six role. That makes Frondell a really intriguing rookie to watch because the talent is there, but his fantasy value could change quite a bit depending on how quickly he proves he belongs.

Ivar Stenberg - San Jose Sharks

The Sharks have the best problem in hockey right now. They have too much young talent. That sounds like a great problem to have, and it is, but it also means there are a lot of young players fighting for the same spots and trying to develop at the same time. I think that is going to be both good and bad for Stenberg. He is going to be surrounded by incredibly talented players his age who can relate to what he is going through and help him develop, but he is also joining an organization that has more young talent and draft picks than just about anyone in the league.

I think Stenberg starts in the middle six this season and sees some time on the second powerplay unit. He has the talent to work his way into a bigger role, but I don't think the Sharks are going to hand him top-line minutes just because he was the second overall pick. Macklin Celebrini, Michael Misa, Will Smith and Collin Graf are all part of this young core, and there are more prospects coming. The Sharks are going to have to figure out which players are actually going to be part of the long-term solution, especially once these young players start coming off their entry-level deals. Stenberg's job is going to be to prove he deserves to be one of those guys. Daily Faceoff currently projects him to start as a middle-six winger before eventually pushing toward a top-line role, which is pretty close to how I see his development playing out.

From a fantasy perspective, I think Stenberg has more value in dynasty leagues than redraft leagues right now. The talent is obvious, and he has the tools to eventually become a major offensive piece alongside Celebrini and the rest of this young Sharks core. I just don't expect the full breakout to happen immediately. There are too many talented players competing for opportunity, and his deployment is going to depend on how quickly he proves he belongs in those bigger situations. That makes Stenberg a player I want to keep a very close eye on this season, because if he starts forcing his way up the lineup, his fantasy value could change very quickly.

Cole Hutson - Washington Capitals

Hutson is probably my biggest darkhorse rookie of the season. Washington just got a whole lot better this offseason, and I think that could be a really good thing for a young defensemen like Hutson. He doesn't have to come into the NHL and carry an offense. He can focus on moving the puck, creating offense and finding some of the talented forwards Washington has added around him. We already saw how quickly his offensive game translated in a small sample last season, and I think he is going to be sneaky good this year.

The biggest question is what happens on the powerplay. Jakob Chychrun is an elite defensemen and an excellent powerplay quarterback, so this isn't about Washington having a problem at the position. I just think Hutson has a natural offensive talent that is going to be very difficult to keep contained as he gets more NHL experience and a longer leash to do his own thing. Chychrun himself has talked about how special Hutson is with the puck.

From a fantasy perspective, Hutson is exactly the kind of late-round rookie gamble I want to make. If he stays on the second powerplay unit all season, I still think he can be useful because of his offensive ability. But if he earns the first powerplay job, his fantasy value could explode. My bold prediction is that before the season is over, Hutson steals the top powerplay quarterback role from Chychrun. I don't think Chychrun will play poorly or suddenly become a bad option. I just think Hutson could be Lane Hutson 2.0 in the making, where the offensive talent is so good that eventually the team has no choice but to give him more freedom. This is a player I want to be early on.