Nashville Predators: Fantasy Hockey Outlook
Nashville Predators defensemen Roman Josi (59). Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports
Roman Josi, Another in the Line of Great Preds Blueliners
Yahoo Rankings – 62 ESPN Ranking – 59, 11th in Defensemen NHL.com -83
Roman Josi is another player from the Predators that you can get some value on. Because Nashville is not the center of the Hockey world, many Northern (read Canada) media members forget about some of our players. That is especially true at the end of the season when it comes time for awards and lists of top players.
Roman Josi is flat-out becoming one of the best defensemen in the league. He is sometimes overshadowed by Shea Weber but he is becoming a stats machine. In the past three years his point total grew from 18 in 2012-13 to 40 and then last year he had 55 points which was fifth over-all among defensemen in the league. He also had 15 goals, the same as Weber which tied for sixth. And he’s only 25 years old!
As much as last year was a break out year for Josi, this year could even be better. With a better third line it looks as if the Predators could score more this year than last. It sure wouldn’t take much to raise scoring on their 25th ranked power play from last year and Josi could be a big part of that. With that in mind his power play points should improve from last year. Like Weber, he was a Plus 15 in Plus/Minus and chipped in 26 penalty minutes.
He hasn’t missed many games for injury and could be the type of player that really helps your team this year. If the Predators can just get that Power Play going it should really help Josi who is on the first pairing on that team. Don’t let him go too far in your draft before you grab him.
Next: A Swede Way to Fill Out Your Fantasy Lineup