image courtesy of The Buffalo News

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Last week I took a scroll through the long Fantrax player list of rookies, and hand-picked some under-owned players that weren’t being drafted nearly high enough for their current status. This was a fun exercise and got fun feedback from readers, so this week I’m going out on a slightly longer limb. Below is my list of rookies I believe are currently OVER-owned in Fantrax – ones that may be talented and promising, but are unlikely to be fantasy-relevant in the near future or just have lower upsides than other players being held at a similar rate. 

If you’re in the draft and relying on the “%Own” number to guide your selections, maybe wait a little longer on these rookies:

71% – Olli Juolevi (VAN)

The high-pedigree d-man is unlikely to crack the NHL this season in my opinion, and even when he does make the big jump (and he will eventually), he’s unlikely to be the top PP option. Being a good real-life defenceman doesn’t always translate to being a good fantasy hockey defenceman.

70% – Linus Ullmark (BUF)

Ullmark still has the potential to be the future in net in Buffalo, but he only played 5 NHL games last year and Carter Hutton was brought in to carry most of the load for a few years. This is a high ownership for a long-term “maybe”.

66% – Jake Bean (CAR)

Turning pro this year and will likely need an adjustment period, not to mention Carolina’s blueline is already stacked so his spot in the pecking order is never going to be high unless he really blossums in the AHL.

65% – Zach Aston-Reese (PIT)

His most frequent line combo last year was Crosby-Sheary, and he still only managed 6 points in 16 games. His second most-frequent combo was Jooris-Kuhnhackl, with which he didn’t get a single point (who can blame him). It would take a match made in heaven for him to put up fantasy-relevant points, and I don’t like his odds of getting another chance with Sid.

60% – Michael Dal Colle (NYI)

Unimpressive sophomore AHL season, new management brought in lots of grinders to fill out the NHL squad, and his top internal LW competition Kiefer Bellows had a very promising year between the WHL and WJCs. Not looking like an easy path forward here. I’m saying to give up, but 60% ownership seems silly when you look at guys below him in the list.

58% – Nic Hague (VGK)

Promising youngster? Absolutely. But how many 19-year-old d-men have we seen dominate junior and then lose a step when turning pro? He’s not going to be a 35-goal scorer in the NHL, I think people just need to temper expectations a bit here.

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Thanks again for reading, and have fun easing into the 2018-19 season as rookie tournaments start getting us way too excited for our prospects!

Hayden Soboleski

@soboleskih