Nashville Predators: Fantasy Hockey Outlook
Nashville Predators Filip Forsberg (9). Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
The Slick Swede Filip Forsberg Readies his Wrist Shot
Yahoo Rankings – 64 ESPN Ranking – 54, 36th in Forwards NHL.com -81
Last year I saw Filip Forsberg in the Rookie Camp and preseason game and grabbed him in two of my three Fantasy leagues last year. I won one league and finished third in the other (after a heart-breaking playoff loss!) and he was a big part of it.
As a rookie last year, Forsberg threw in some really nice Fantasy stats. He played on the Predators number one line and had plenty of power play time too. He scored 26 goals and 63 points which was 35th in the league overall. He also had six power play goals and 19 points.
He was one of the best in the league with six game winning goals. He also had 24 penalty minutes and was a plus 15. A nice all around season for someone that was rated last year closer to 150 on most draft boards. He is also listed as LW/RW/C in Yahoo which helps you in that you can fit him in when you need a player at any position.
The big question is what will he do this year. There is always fear of the sophomore slump which is very real and we mentioned in this article about Forsberg. (https://predlines.com/2015/08/13/nashville-predators-filip-forsberg-what-next/) . As we also mentioned, we expect him to hit the 30 goal and 70 point marks this year. If you watched the young Swede and his “Twisted Wrister” shot last year you saw a young man who has some magic. I think he will more closely follow the lead of Vladimir Tarasenko’s stats that exploded in his second full year.
With that in mind, you have to decide for yourself. Will he be closer to superstar status this year or suffer the dreaded sophomore doldrums? He had one long stretch in February with only three points in a 15 game stretch. Add another 8-10 points in there and he would have been near the Top 10 in scoring in the entire league. Something to think about.
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