New Jersey Devils: Using Fantasy Predictions To Assess Point Totals

Fantasy hockey is always looking at the future season in the NHL. Prediction models have been around to look at what players are going to do week to week and for the rest of the season. Honestly, it’s probably the first of the analytics models. For the New Jersey Devils, there aren’t a ton of players getting drafted, but the models still predict everyone’s point total just in case.

The Devils only have four players in the top 200 players drafted in fantasy. If you look at the top 300, then it becomes nine players. Dougie Hamilton is the only player in the top 100, as he’s ranked 43rd in average drafted slot. It’s no surprise since the Devils didn’t have a great season on the point sheet last season. They have some exciting players, but the team needs to prove it.

Where do the New Jersey Devils rank in terms of fantasy hockey points?

So, what do the fantasy models predict from Devils players, and how do we assess these predictions? Let’s start with the top player drafted by fantasy owners. For the record, we will be using the Yahoo Sports model as a guide. Also, ADP = average draft position for those who don’t know.

Defensemen

Dougie Hamilton: 17 goals, 46 assists, ADP 43

Dougie Hamilton is getting the love while the rest of the Devils are well on the outside looking in. Hamilton is the one offensive force that’s a proven commodity. Jack Hughes is projecting a better season and Yegor Sharangovich should be improved beyond his breakout rookie season, but Hamilton is a given on the blue line. In his last two 82-game seasons, he had 17 and 18 goals, so the prediction makes sense. Last season, he had 10 goals in 55 games. That falls just short of this projection. Devils fans would be ecstatic with this prediction.

Ty Smith: 4 goals, 35 assists, ADP 134

This would be fine for Ty Smith, but some might want his goal-scoring to go up a little bit. Smith had a great season on both sides of the ice last season, but he only recorded two goals. He was always in on the offense, but it didn’t lead to goals going into the net very often. Smith is also hurt to start the season, and we don’t know what the injury is, so it’s hard to see what timetable he might be dealing with. All that considered, this seems about right.

P.K. Subban 8 goals, 20 assists, ADP 166

P.K. Subban still gets respect amongst NHL fantasy communities because of what he’s done in the past. Although eight goals and 20 assists aren’t anything to go home about, it still provides value for fantasy players. Subban is expected to get power-play time for Lindy Ruff, and with the Devils revamped unit it should provide more opportunities than it did before. Subban’s monster shot is still an asset, and Ruff will find a way to take advantage of it even if Subban is on a third pairing. This feels about right for his stats, and Subban even has a chance to be a little better than this.