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.

Jack Hughes: 18 goals, 33 assists, ADP 144

While some people are predicting Jack Hughes could get close to 60 points, fantasy predictions are much, much lower. Hughes is getting a total of 55 points here, which is 10 points higher than his 2021 pace, so there’s something there. It still feels like a disappointment if Hughes ends this season with 55 points. He’s expected to make a jump, and if that jump comes with just 10 points higher than the pace he had during the season he was dealing with COVID and two brand new linemates, then it will come way short of our expectations.

Nico Hischier: 22 goals, 31 assists, 166 Unranked

Nico Hischier was once considered an undrafted player in Yahoo leagues, which was a massive surprise. There are other players fantasy owners are keen on taking a chance on like Alexis Lafreniere or Craig Smith. Nico Hischier is going to be much better this season, only because he can’t possibly have the same injury luck. 22 goals would be a career-high for Hischier, who hasn’t seen the same offensive success he had with Taylor Hall in his rookie year.

Yegor Sharangovich: 24 goals, 22 assists, 170 Unranked

Yegor Sharangovich is looking to have a career season after breaking out last year on the left of Jack Hughes. He looks even better in the preseason and during the offseason games while playing for Belarus. His goal scoring has gone up a notch, and Hughes increased ability to make plays should lead to high-danger chances for Sharangovich. This is probably a little low for our liking, but not by much.

Pavel Zacha: 18 goals, 23 assists, ADP Unranked

Pavel Zacha likely isn’t going to be a fantasy option, but it’s interesting to see where they see his stats moving after a huge performance in 2021. He had 17 goals and 18 assists in 50 games last season. It was his career-high in goals, and he had a 57-point pace for an 82-game season. Here, the predictor thinks Zacha is only going to have 41 points, which is a much bigger drop in production. This would be a massive disappointment, and it might force Lindy Ruff to consider where Zacha fits best because these numbers aren’t worthy of top-six minutes on an actual contending team.

Jesper Bratt: 13 goals, 32 assists, ADP Unranked

Oof, this is the worst prediction of them all so far. The predictor does not have high hopes for the Bratt-Hischier-Zacha line. 13 goals would be a devastating disappointment for Jesper Bratt here. He needs to have a big season as he’s going into a contract year and is looking to sign a deal that will eventually take him into unrestricted free agency. Will he be able to earn a huge deal? Well, not with 13 goals he won’t. 45 points would only tie the career-high he hit in his rookie season,  but he would have crushed that number if either of the last two seasons were even remotely normal. This is completely underrating Bratt.

Tomas Tatar: 18 goals, 32 assists, ADP Unranked (236 on CBS)

Another disappointing prediction, Tomas Tatar is hoping to get back to his 20-goal scoring ability, but the fantasy predictions show they think he’s going to be nothing more than another average scorer on an average team. 18 goals would fall well under the Devils and its fans’ expectations. Tatar is expected to score for either Hughes, Hischier, or Dawson Mercer. If he can’t do that with at least an average level, the signing will be a disappointment.

Miles Wood: 20 goals, 14 assists, ADP Unranked

Miles Wood was the Devils leading scorer last season before Pavel Zacha came up at the end and tied his number. If he can come back this season and get back to 20 goals, Devils fans will be ecstatic. That means he’s getting breakaways on the third and fourth line and adding secondary scoring to a team that has been missing it for years. If Wood really was unlocked by Lindy Ruff, this is absolutely possible.