Tuesday, September 20, 2011

30 in 30: Top NHL Fantasy Sleeper Picks - Nashville Predators

It’s almost time for those annual fantasy hockey drafts. While most drafts feature the same players going in the first two rounds, it’s those players that you take in the mid-late rounds that will win you your league. Here’s the sixteenth of the thirty players that could be great sleeper picks in your draft this year.

Colin Wilson – Nashville Predators
Position – Center
Height – 6’1”
Weight – 219
Drafted – 1st Round, 7th Overall, 2008 NHL Entry Draft
2010/2011 Stats – 82GP, 16G, 18A, 34P, +9, 17PIM 

If you’re at your hockey draft and wondering which Predators forwards to take you could pretty much pull a name out of the hat.  Yes, their goaltender Pekka Rinne is one of the best in the league and you couldn’t go wrong with taking either Shea Weber or Ryan Suter for one of your defenceman. It’s their forwards  that don’t really stand out that easily. Despite finishing tenth overall in the final regular season standings, the Predators really struggled to put the puck in the net. They finished 22nd overall in goals for last season and their leading goal scorer Sergei Kostitsyn finished with 23 goals last season. He’d be the obvious choice for Predators forwards as would Mike Fisher and the usual combo of David Legwand and Martin Erat. The player you should look at picking though is Colin Wilson.

Last year was Wilson’s first full season in the NHL after splitting the previous season with Nashville and their farm team in Milwaukee. In a mostly third line role which saw him average just over 13 minutes of ice time last year he had 34 points in 82 games. There’s a good chance that Predators will be looking to Wilson to join the team’s top six forwards. On a team that struggled to score goals last year the Predators will be looking for him to help put the puck in the net more often. Look for him to get some more power play time this season after averaging 1:40 per game last year.  It wouldn’t be surprising to see him pass the 40 point mark this season which is more than Mike Fisher and David Legwand scored last season.

Previous Sleeper Picks:
Day 1 - Anaheim Ducks
Day 2 - Boston Bruins
Day 3 - Buffalo Sabres
Day 4 - Calgary Flames
Day 5- Carolina Hurricanes
Day 6 - Chicago Blackhawks
Day 7 - Colorado Avalanche
Day 8 - Columbus Blue Jackets
Day 9 - Dallas Stars
Day 10 - Detroit Red-Wings
Day 11 - Edmonton Oilers
Day 12 - Florida Panthers
Day 13 - Los Angeles Kings
Day 14 - Minnesota Wild
Day 15 - Montreal Canadiens

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