The calendar is slowly inching towards September and that means training camps around the NHL will be opening in a matter of no time. With that in mind, it’s never too early to take a peak at the fantasy outlook and projections for players on the San Jose Sharks.
Today, Yahoo released their Top 100 rankings for the 2015-16 season and the Sharks placed four players on that particular list.
Leading the way for San Jose is who else but Joe Pavelski, who checks in at number 20. It should come as no surprise that Pavelski is the highest-rated Sharks player as he led the team for the second consecutive season in goals (37) and points (70). Pavelski is a scorer who sees plenty of power-play action and plays in many different situations as he led all Sharks forwards in average ice time (20:08 per game).
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Four spots below Pavelski is the next San Jose Sharks player in Logan Couture. Couture, often overlooked on this Sharks team, comes in at number 24 in the rankings after finishing second with 67 points (27 goals and 40 assists) a season ago. Couture has increased his goal-scoring and point totals over the past three seasons and will be looking to continue that trend which should benefit fantasy owners.
Next up, at number 47, is Brent Burns, who presents added value in that he can be slotted in as either a right wing or defenseman in Yahoo’s fantasy structure. Burns ranked second in the league in points by a defenseman with 60, but his plus/minus was a bit of a concern. If Burns can improve in that area and continue his point production, he will be a great pickup in any fantasy league.
Finally, Patrick Marleau is the final San Jose player in the Top 100 as he finds himself at number 80. Despite having a down year, Marleau is still a productive player with 57 points a season ago and ranking second out of Sharks forwards with 19:35 of average ice time. Marleau will need to pick up his production for San Jose to reach their playoff aspirations, which should only raise his fantasy value.
The one noticeable omission from the Top 100 from a San Jose Sharks perspective is Joe Thornton. Thornton has been a solid fantasy producer for years, mainly due to the gaudy assist numbers he’s put up throughout his career. While Thornton struggled a bit last year and doesn’t offer the same goal production as other forwards, he’s still a valuable player and was surprising to find him not included in this initial list.
Next: San Jose Sharks Fantasy Outlook