The DobberHockey Top Sleeper Prospect Award goes to...

[2014olympicgold]

I like T2....

total sleeper....still alot of poolies asleep at the wheel forgetting that next year T2 is a top 6...PP guy.....thanks to chis cap issues....chi will still be stacked and this is an incredible situation for his development....truthfully it doesent get much better.....

treat of the weeks are kucherov and kuznetsov

T2 outshines them both

I was waiting on a Sharp trade all yr to move TT into an effective role. He could easily be 2015-16 Tarasenko.

[ShawneePanthers]

Yes, almost all guys there aren't sleepers anymore.

[Pengwin7]

I hate to echo everybody else... I'm not sure what we are supposed to pick... numerically.
I would say 75%+ of this list are not sleepers.

For me, when I hear the term "sleeper" it means this:
Sleeper - the guy who will see the largest increase in points in the coming season.
(i.e. If these guys have already touched 50pts... they've got maybe 10-20pt increase left).

As much as I hate to do it, I'll agree with Tequila Monster and say that Teuvo Teraivanen is that guy.
CHI's got cap issues, so TT should slot in at either LW1 or LW2. (Saad being the other LW.)

If you are simply looking for the guy that will have the highest point total in upcoming year or two: Strome/Galchenyuk/Kucherov.

Klingberg is going to be 45+... probably 50+ consistently... especially since the DAL PP1 should be a consistent top 10 PP unit in the league.

[Feadur]

I hate to echo everybody else... but I'm not sure what we are supposed to pick.

For me, when I hear the term "sleeper" it means this:

Sleeper - the guy who will see the largest increase in points in the coming season.

Yup, exactly this! Maybe "breakout player" would've been better. Oops.

[Pengwin7]

I like Elias Lindholm (which the 2014-O-G) mentioned.
He had 39pts and I can foresee him with a big year... potentially touching 60pts.

My definition of "breakout":
*Forward who scored fewer than 40pts in the previous season who can potentially score 60pts+ (Kuznetsov, Lindholm, Yakupov... maybe!, even Pouliot at 34pts last year could possibly jump, even at 28yrs old)
*Defenseman who scored fewer than 30pts in the previous season who can potentially score 50pts+ (these guys are usually REALLY difficult to find, but most of us saw Karlsson coming)

My definition of "sleeper":
*Player not known to casual fantasy GMs that could have the largest increase in points. (Teravainen 9pts, Ehlers DNP, Marner & D.Strome - if they play a full season)


Klingberg would've been both a "sleeper" and a "breakout" player... LAST year.

[Feadur]

I consider any player who you can get at a certain price, when that price is about to skyrocket, a sleeper. Guys like Klingberg, Kucherov, etc, all have shown they can really excel, but are they one-hit-wonders? Until they do it two seasons in a row, I can use that "risk" to finagle a trade from other GMs. Basically buy-low candidates who are about to begin scoring a high amount of points with consistency.

[Pengwin7]

"Sleeper" is usually a "fantasy draft" term... most commonly used in fantasy football one-year leagues.
In any fantasy sport, it usually means a later round player that could "breakout" (a big increase in points).

Most young players have only one big increase in points.
Once they do that they are no longer a "breakout" or a "sleeper".
I'd say Klingberg (D), Faulk (D), Kucherov (F), Galchenyuk (F), and Ryan Strome (F) will all be top 120 players on a draft board next year.
If they are up there on a draft board - everybody sees their names and thus nobody "sleeps" on them - because they are right in front of our faces!!!
i.e. These players should not be termed as "breakout candidates" or "sleepers".

A "sleeper" can also be an injured player that we have forgotten about or a veteran that might have better linemates:
*Dupuis
*Franzen
*Pouliot

"Breakout" (IMO) should refer to only young players on the rise... about to make the "JUMP" (i.e. 20pt gain, to peg something quantitatively)


Lots of babbling, yeah... just goes to show they are definitions that people have differing meanings for... which makes most "Sleeper" and "Breakout" threads a bit confusing!

[Feadur]

"Sleeper" is usually a "draft" term.
I

Fair point!

Full disclosure, I was totally baked when I first wrote this post. I'm not sure where I meant to go or how I ended up here . That might be why some people are confused.

[STONE.]

If I'm tossing out guys I see more as sleepers, I think I'd roll with some names like:

B. Ritchie: Could he find himself as the third wheel in the Benn/Seguin line?
Panarin: Although talked up on this board, I think many poolies won't know him and he could be a top-sixer on a cap-tight Hawks squad.
M. Bowey/D. Orlov: Green's leaving. Carlson is the top guy, but who takes #2. I have never had a lot of love for Niskanen for points
Sproul: All the talk is about Detroit dealing for a d-man; could they have their PP guy in Grand Rapids?
K. Kapanen: Barely a sleeper, but there's always the allure of a Crosby/Malkin linemate
Gostisbehere/Sanheim: Pushing Del Zotto out of the way wouldn't be impossible.

[Godin]

If I was single, I would definitely sleep with whoever your avitar is.

She is definitely a breakout candidate as well.

[Shake]

One name for sure that I'd be looking out for is Teemu Pulkkinen. He's riped for a larger role in Detroit.
Blash and him have familiarity with each other from Grand Rapids
Pulkkinen was a stud in latter part of the season in GR and especially in their playoff run.
He's earned a long look in Detroit and I am a believer he sticks and produces.
He's not the sexiest of names and will sit in your drafts but whoever gets him is getting a very solid player.

[Avangard]

Whoever will be playing alongside JT in NY will be a major sleeper. This because Capuano is so difficult to get a read of. Dano/Rychel in Columbus could be sleepers as well, if they play with RJ. Even Wennberg. Ryan Murray will be under everyone's radar after so many injuries. Curtis Lazar in OTT could very well be obtained on the cheap. And he'll surprise many. Etem in ANA is forgotten by the whole fantasy community. But watch out if he goes mad. I'd say Bo Horvat in VAN is a dark sleeper. Gormley in ARI. Maybe Matheson and Jimmy Hayes in FLO. Why not Kevin Hayes in NY ?

Those are what you can call some of my sleepers for next year's draft.

[Feadur]

Whoever will be playing alongside JT in NY will be a major sleeper. This because Capuano is so difficult to get a read of. Dano/Rychel in Columbus could be sleepers as well, if they play with RJ. Even Wennberg. Ryan Murray will be under everyone's radar after so many injuries. Curtis Lazar in OTT could very well be obtained on the cheap. And he'll surprise many. Etem in ANA is forgotten by the whole fantasy community. But watch out if he goes mad. I'd say Bo Horvat in VAN is a dark sleeper. Gormley in ARI. Maybe Matheson and Jimmy Hayes in FLO. Why not Kevin Hayes in NY ?

Those are what you can call some of my sleepers for next year's draft.

Simply incredible suggestions. Just for that, I'm going to try my best to acquire at least one of those in my league. Thanks, Avangard! And congratulations on 1000 posts!

[chuckcouples]

Brett Connolly is another sleeper that could get 30 goals next season. He's a guy that used to be very valuable due to his draft position but since he hasn't done much since then his value has likely dropped a lot. He should get a spot in the top two lines in Boston which means playing time with Krejci or Bergeron.

[2014olympicgold]

Brett Connolly is another sleeper that could get 30 goals next season. He's a guy that used to be very valuable due to his draft position but since he hasn't done much since then his value has likely dropped a lot. He should get a spot in the top two lines in Boston which means playing time with Krejci or Bergeron.

Pengwin touched on him a few days ago (maybe even yesterday) in another thread. He outlined how he doesn’t like how he got his goals and showed the highlights. It was a lot of cherry picking, not back checking kinda deal. It was a good outline to if he doesn’t change his ways, he won’t be in the NHL. Being in Boston, I think the vets will ride him until he changes, so it’ll be very obvious right away if he’s a bust, or a sleeper.

I’ll say he could be a little more offensively minded just because whoever centers him, they are pretty good defensively (Krejci or Bergeron). I’ll prolly draft him with my last pick in the draft, just to see how he does in the preseason.