Players you underestimated

[Mikeaveli]

Tyler Johnson. I'm sure the same can be said for any Lightning fan

 

[Philoops]

Hoffman, Ceci I didn't expect to be that good. For players i overrated: Cowen, Stone.

 

[Sticks and Pucks]

Stamkos. When he was drafted, I thought he'd be a 30-35 goal scorer, tops. I was dead wrong.

Yup, this.

 

[Spurgeon]

Jason Zucker. Loved his speed but never thought he'd amount to anything. I thought he'd turn into a career AHLer who gets called up for injuries his entire career and would be included in a trade sometime down the line. I was very wrong. 17 goals this year and way more responsible in his own zone. He is a poor mans Zach Parise and I think he is only going to get better.

This, liked his speed, but never thought he was going to utilize it. Guy is fast and has a work ethic of a grinder.

 

[Stranger Danger]

No one in the world expected Jake Voracek to lead the league in points at any point in the season. I feel like he has too be the biggest surprise. But, I am a flyers fan, so biased prolly

 

[Hisch13r]

Nash and Voracek

 

[Brainiac]

On the Habs Dale Weise was underestimated when we traded for him. And Markov has been underestimated big time since coming back from his injuries.

 

[Kcoyote3]

Funny thing about Johnson, I was pretty sure he would at least continue his success this year that I drafted him in the late rounds of my fantasy league.


Then about 2 weeks in I decided to drop him, keep Filppula, and then kicked myself for dropping him early.

I would have had all the sleeper picks too. I picked up Forsberg, Vatanen, Foligno all off waivers or at the end of the draft.

 

[HanSolo]

Claude Giroux when he was entering the league.

Also Roman Josi

And Jaden Schwartz.

 

[Appleyard]

Michael Del Zotto.

His defensive play is twice as good as advertised, he works hard as well.

He has looked like a top 4 defenceman all year.

He has played over 20 minutes the last 10 games in a row and averages 20:35 on the season.

Nick Schultz.

He is exactly the same player he was in Minnesota. My brother is a Wild fan so I used to watch quite a lot of them... and he really is the Nick Schultz who was a 15-20 point Dman capable of playing ~19-20 mins a night as a #4 while being very solid on D. Seemingly his play for the Oilers was just a product of being on the Oilers.

Coming into the season I expected Del Zotto to be a ~#6 and Schultz to be a #7... so both big, positive surprises on the Flyers 2 reclamation projects this year.

 

[canucks10]

Thought Gaudreau would turn out much like Johnny Football so I guess I was wrong about that.
Also underestimated Vorachek I knew he was good but figured he was more just a product of Giroux

 

[strictlyrandy]

Brad Stuart. I underestimated how bad he'd be.

Flip side..

I greatly underestimated Calvin Pickard. I always figured Aittokallio would be the better of the two and Pickard wouldn't even get a cup of coffee.

 

[Jack Straw]

Del Zotto. I wasn't expecting much, but while I can't say for sure since I didn't watch him night in and night out with the Rangers, he might be playing the best hockey of his career.

 

[Evergreen]

I thought Brad Marchand's breakout season was a fluke.

I thought Jonathan Quick was overrated five years ago.

I did not think Rick Nash would ever return to being a 40-goal guy.

 

[member 116861]

Brad Stuart. I underestimated how bad he'd be.

Flip side..

I greatly underestimated Calvin Pickard. I always figured Aittokallio would be the better of the two and Pickard wouldn't even get a cup of coffee.

What? Brad Stuart has been decent this year.

 

[JacobimMugatu]

Kyle Okposo is definitely the one that stands out for me, thought last season was a fluke

 

[LudwigVonKarlsson]

Roman Josi
Johnny Gaudreau
Mike Hoffman

 

[Viqsi]

Steve Mason. Was always convinced he'd turn it around in the right situation, but I was also dead certain that Philadelphia was the exact polar opposite of "the right situation". Whoops.

Then there was that time that I was convinced Hall's career would be destroyed by headshots and he'd never get anywhere as a result...

 

[strictlyrandy]

What? Brad Stuart has been decent this year.

He hasn't been Guenin bad, but he has no business being in the top 4. He's awful and hé does nothing to warrant the contract he got.

 

[Longwayfromhome]

I never thought Niklas Backstrom (WSH) would make it in the NHL after watching him in the SHL. He was to soft i used to say... well, I was sort of wrong on that one.

 

[T1K]

Josi and Johnson