Fantasy: 5 players to target on the Calgary Flames
With your fantasy draft just around the corner, theScore's Ian McLaren and Darren Kritzer take a look at 5 players you should consider drafting this season.
Top Targets
Mark Giordano
The 30-year-old defenseman is coming off a career year despite missing 18 games with an ankle injury. Giordano scored 14 goals, added 33 assists and recorded 180 shots, all while averaging a career-high 25:14 ATOI. His 0.73 average points per game was well above his career average of 0.44, as was his 2.81 shots per game (1.73 career average). In theScore's defenseman composite rankings, Giordano came in as the 11th best defenseman, in the same neighborhood as Alex Pietrangelo, Victor Hedman and Zdeno Chara. Giordano is worth the gamble in the fourth or fifth round of your draft.
Sean Monahan
The 19-year-old center got off to a blazing start in 2013-14, making him one of the more attractive waiver wire pickups in the early portion of the season. The 6th-overall pick in the 2013 draft scored six goals and added three assists in his first eight NHL games, but went on to score just three goals over his next 16, before suffering a hairline fracture in his foot. Overall, he recorded 34 points in 75 games and became the first Flames rookie forward to score 20 goals in a season since someone named Jarome Iginla. Expect him to center the second-line with wingers Jiri Hudler and Curtis Glencross.
Proceed With Caution
Jonas Hiller
It's never a bad thing to have a starting goalie on your roster, that's for sure, but be cautious when selecting Jonas Hiller this season. Owned in 74 percent of Yahoo! leagues last season, the former Ducks netminder posted a 29-win season, with a 2.48 GAA and .911 save percentage, but was benched late in the season after a few poor starts down the stretch. Hiller started just two of the Ducks 13 playoff games in favor of Frederik Andersen and John Gibson, and essentially lost his confidence. Hiller will be battling for the No. 1 role at camp with Karri Ramo, who played in 40 games last year, posting 17 wins and a 2.65 GAA.
Jiri Hudler
Hudler put together a decent season for the Flames last season, posting his best point-per-game average of his career (0.72). After seven seasons in Detroit, Hudler has notched 81 points in 117 games for the Flames, and will once again be looked upon to rack up the points in Calgary. Don't expect him repeat on his 15.6 shooting percentage, along with another 54-point campaign. Hudler will net you plenty of assists this year, but that's about it.
Take A Flier On
T.J. Brodie
The Flames fourth-round selection in the 2008 draft broke out in a big way last season, recording career-highs in goals (4) assists (27) and shots (104). Brodie also led the team in total minutes played with 1,949:06, and played against quality competition along the way. Brodie has a cannon of a shot, and can be had in the later round of your draft. You can expect the defenseman to log some power-play time in 2014-15, making his value even stronger.