5 NHL rookies who could make an immediate fantasy impact

With the 2016 NHL draft's first-round now complete, here are five rookies who are well positioned to be immediate fantasy contributors:

C Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs

After many years of suffering and despair, the Maple Leafs have drafted what many experts believe to be the new face of the franchise.

Matthews tore up the National League A of Switzerland with Zurich SC as an 18-year-old, tallying 24 goals and 22 assists in 36 games, which helped his team post a terrific 31-12-1 record under Canadian-born coach Marc Crawford.

The problem with targeting Matthews in standard redrafts this season is that he will likely see bottom-six forward minutes, according to coach Mike Babcock. It's unclear whether or not Babcock will protect him the entire season, but there is always a chance that Matthews will move up the depth chart as the 2016-2017 campaign progresses.

Remember: He will be 19 years old in September. Growing pains with the retooling Leafs will likely hinder his production during his rookie season. Don't reach for him in redrafts, but an aggressive approach in keeper leagues is a must. His prolific goal scoring and playmaking ability will be worth a premium pick.

W Patrick Laine, Winnipeg Jets

While Matthews will score his fair share of points this upcoming season, Laine has the opportunity to play alongside Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler on the Jets' first line, a role in which promising prospect Nikolaj Ehlers assumed from ex-Jet Andrew Ladd when he was shipped to Chicago at the trade deadline.

The Jets drafted a pure goal-scoring winger in the 6-foot-4 Laine, who is drawing absurd comparisons to Finnish legend Teemu Selanne before even lacing up the skates in the NHL. That hype will more than likely lead to fantasy owners drafting Laine as early as the eighth or ninth round, based upon Oilers' C Connor McDavid, who owned a 46th overall ADP last season.

Laine obviously doesn't boast McDavid's potential, but he does have the best opportunity to lead fellow draftees in scoring this upcoming season. He wouldn't be considered a reach in the mid-rounds of redrafts and could go as high as the first round in some keeper leagues with a higher goal-scoring upside than Matthews.

D Olli Juolevi, Vancouver Cauncks

Being the anchor of a Memorial Cup winning team can do wonders to your draft value, and that's just what happened with Juolevi.

Juolevi, the third Finnish prospect selected in the top-5, is projected to become the best defenseman of this draft class and is the epitome of a top prospect teams want on the backend. His 6-foot-2 frame has plenty of room to be filled out and he is one of the smoothest skaters in the entire draft.

He's expected to assume a top-4 role with the Canucks this upcoming season, but the team's bottom feeding offense of last year has yet to be improved, which significantly impedes his ceiling as a defenseman. Nevertheless, he is likely to be a late round flier in redraft leagues as well as one of the first defenseman off the board in keeper leagues.

W Jesse Puljujarvi, Edmonton Oilers

It is beginning to sound like a broken record for the Oilers organization by taking the best player available approach, but when a sure-fire top-3 prospect like Puljujarvi falls fourth overall, it's extremely difficult to justify passing on him.

Puljujarvi should have no troubles making the Oilers team out of training camp, but isn't expected to join McDavid out of the gate. He is a big bodied forward with a 6-foot-3 make up that fills out to about 201 lbs. Puljujarvi uses his size and speed to terrorize defenceman, but registered a meager 28 points in 50 games for Karpat of the Finnish Elite League.

Furthermore, the Oilers are set up to be fantasy juggernauts for years to come, and Puljujarvi has plenty of value as a first-round pick in both dynasty and keeper leagues -- especially when he is forecasted to spend the majority of his early career alongside a generational talent in McDavid.

W Matthew Tkachuk , Calgary Flames

The London Knights have become a factory for high-end prospects, producing eight first-round draft picks the past four years. Three of those eight draft choices are already in the NHL and another two are expected to make the leap this year - Coyotes' Christian Dvorak and Maple Leafs' Mitchell Marner.

Tkachuk could be the third Knight to join the NHL this season, though his chances are slim. If he is given the right opportunity in the Flames lineup, Tkachuk has the potential to lead all draftees in scoring by the end of 2017. He is widely regarded as the best prospect from hash mark to hash mark and can contribute to a variety of fantasy categories.

He has 30-plus goal potential if he lives up to his expectations as a top-line forward, and the Flames brass are projecting him to play alongside Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau in the near future. With that being said, he is a first-round selection in dynasty and keeper leagues but should be left undrafted in every redraft format.