Frozen Fantasy: It’s a Wonderful Week

It's a wonderful life. Not the old movie – this week in hockey is always great, but this one might be one of the best yet. 

World Juniors. Winter Classic. The PWHL's first game. Bowl season. And 1,000 games for Marc-Andre Fleury (60 percent Yahoo!). 

By the time you read this, the Flower will have played that game. 29 more and he'll tie Patrick Roy for third all-time. If he won Sunday, Fleury will be tied with Roy for second all-time on the wins list with 551. 

Fleury is such an affable guy and a notorious practical joker. I can't wait to celebrate him when he passes Saint Patrick. Remember – savor every moment. 

The PWHL drops the puck Monday, and I'll be watching. It's another moment in history, and I can't wait. I wish I was at the Toronto game, but I missed out on tickets. They've sold out every home game in the old Maple Leaf Gardens. Women's hockey is fast and aggressive, without being dirty. Trust me – give it a shot. 

T-Mobile Park and the Kraken host the first-ever outdoor game west of the central time zone. Forget the odd entertainment mix of Heart and Sir Mix-A-Lot. It'll be eight degrees Celsius/46 Fahrenheit under cloudy skies, and the ice will be hard to maintain. But who cares? I love the Vegas uniform and the barber pole socks. Hallelujah there are no gold helmets. Spit.

The World Juniors have been OK so far. The Sweden-Finland game Sunday morning was the best so far. There's been some sloppy play and some stupid penalties. I'm talking to you, Canada and Conor Geekie. Now you're suspended for the quarterfinal. 

Play the game you're in, instead of flashing your privilege. There's no such thing as a legal check to the head… unless you're in North America. And hockey is bigger than that. 

I hope the sudden-death rounds lift me from my seat. Team USA is an advertisement for players you'll soon see in the NHL. The Swedes look good. The Canadians have been meh. At least their goal song from Great Big Sea is good, even if none of these kids had ever heard it before. 

Czechia scares me, though Arizona prospect Michael Hrabal has no idea where he is in the net. File that away for the future. Slovakia looked great until they got smacked 10-2 by the U.S. 

I have a big box of candy riding on this tourney. I'll have my jersey on Tuesday. And hopefully Thursday and Friday too. 

Now let's take a look at who caught my eye this week. 

Kevin Bahl, D, New Jersey (0 percent Yahoo!) – Bahl has come out of the break with a nasty snarl. Maybe he learned Santa doesn't exist, and that's made him foul. You don't roster Bahl for scoring. But you do add him if you're in a league that counts hits. Bahl heads into play this week with 14 of them (and five blocks) from his last three games. Sometimes that kind of effort can win you a category in a close contest. Be ready to send him packing when he stops pounding opponents. 

Nico Daws, G, New Jersey (4 percent Yahoo!) – Daws beat Ottawa on Friday in his season debut. Why is it meaningful? The Devils goaltending tandem of Vitek Vanecek (74 percent Yahoo!) and Akira Schmid (19 percent Yahoo!) has been the worst in the NHL. They're a mess on the ice and unplayable in fantasy, yet the Devils are somehow within reach of a Wild Card spot. They have the talent to lead their division, so something has to give. Daws isn't quite the answer, but it won't take much to be better than the other two. Schmid has been sent to the AHL to get his game back, so Daws is here for a bit. I'm willing to try him out. 

Chris Driedger, G, Seattle (1 percent Yahoo!) – Driedger is the lost man in the Kraken net. He finally returned to the NHL this past week for the first time in 19 months and snuffed out the Flames in a tight 2-1 win. He was besieged in the final two frames as Calgary pounded him with 30 shots in those 40 minutes. Driedger had been toiling in the AHL since rehabbing a torn ACL suffered at the World Championships in May 2022. He can steal games having played a critical role for the Panthers in 2020-21 going 14-6-3 with a 2.07 GAA and .927 save percentage. Driedger is a fantasy freebie right now, and the Kraken are finally playing better hockey. You may get a few strong performances from him if you add him now. 

Morgan Geekie, RW/C, Boston (9 percent Yahoo!) – Geekie heads into Sunday against the Wings on a modest three-game, three-point scoring streak that includes two goals on eight shots. But Geekie has proven himself as the Bruins top-line center since Pavel Zacha's (48 percent Yahoo!) three-game absence a couple of weeks ago. Yes, you read that right. Geekie has stuck as the 1C even after Zacha returned – the latter simply slid to the left side. And that means Geekie gets to serve Pasta every game. Yum-yum. He has eight points (four goals, four assists), four PPP and 22 shots in his last nine games. I nabbed Geekie on Sunday morning – there aren't many first-line gifts on the wire these days. And someone playing with David Pastrnak (100 percent Yahoo!) won't be regifted anytime soon. 

Marcus Johansson, LW, Minnesota (4 percent Yahoo!) – As usual, Johansson is one of the most underrated fantasy plays in the NHL. He's versatile, but boring. And that's what keeps him on the wire in far too many leagues, year in and year out. Johansson heads into Sunday on a two-game, four-point streak and has a chance to skate on the top line in place of an injured Kirill Kaprizov (99 percent Yahoo!). He's a better second-line performer that keeps him away from the opponent's best players. But you can't ignore 11 points (three goals, eight assists) and 23 shots in his last 12 games. Johansson is best used in formats where hits and blocks aren't counted since those are nonexistent for him. But steady complementary offense is. 

Timothy Liljegren, D, Toronto (3 percent Yahoo!) – Liljegren is a good little player. Granted, he scares me sometimes as his stickhandling in his own zone stresses me out. It seems like he could be pickpocketed at any time. But none of that matters in fantasy. Liljegren offers some offensive ability and he's riding a two-game, three-point streak (one goal, two assists) heading into this week. He's at five points - including four assists - over his last five games and a steady role in a potent Leafs lineup. You can do worse if you need blueline help. 

Dawson Mercer, RW/C, New Jersey (26 percent Yahoo!) – Mercer has taken a step back this season, so some folks have soured on him. But he may be starting to wake up. He was held off the board Saturday, but reeled off six points - with three of those goals - and eight shots in his previous four outings. Mercer is skating on the Devils third line, and that means time with Timo Meier (81 percent Yahoo!) at even strength - as long as the latter isn't out long after leaving Saturday's contest. Mercer is actually on pace for 25 this year. He might be a sleepy steal if he really is awake. 

Gustav Nyquist, LW, Nashville (13 percent Yahoo!) – Uhhhh, guess who's flexin this season? Nyquist is on pace for 60 points, which would be his best total ever. Who knew? I sure wasn't paying attention… until now. Nyquist is on a five-game, seven-point run that includes four goals heading into Tuesday's action. He's on the Preds' top line and a gig on the first power play. Nyquist is on the wire in too many leagues. That is, until you read this. 

Marcus Pettersson, D, Pittsburgh (14 percent Yahoo!) – Pettersson rode Kris Letang's five-point second period Wednesday - an NHL record - to four of his own to establish a new career mark. Yes, it's a coat tails kind of effort – like Amex, skating beside Letang has its privileges. But it was Pettersson's third multi-point effort in his last four, so something good is happening right now. He's not a typical fantasy contributor as he doesn't have standout numbers in any category. But with this run, Pettersson is on a career 34-point pace. He's a sneaky addition if he can also deliver 100-plus hits, 130-plus blocks and perhaps a plus-30-to-35 rating.

Back to the wonderful week. 

Like I said above – give the PWHL a shot. The offensive stars are elite. Alina Muller will put a lot of points on the board and be the league's first international star. She and Team USA star Hilary Knight make Boston one of the best offensive teams in the league.

Minnesota-born Taylor Heise – the 2022 Worlds MVP and Best Forward – will lead her hometown team to heights. Sarah Nurse, who joined Trevor Zegras as a cover athlete for EA Sports' NHL 23, is a beast for Toronto. And Marie-Philip Poulin in Montreal is the league's best – and most clutch – goal scorer. 

She's more clutch than Jonathan Toews ever was (and that's saying something). YouTube her goals. Poulin has earned three Olympic gold medals with Canada and scored the goal that clinched every one of them. 

15-year-old Nela Lopušanová, who might be the most exciting player in the world, isn't even eligible to play in the league. She was the MVP of the 2023 U18 tourney and pulled off The Michigan there… at only 14. She's a mix of Sidney Crosby and Patrick Kane. Wow. 

So you'll find me viewing on multiple devices this week. I have chicken wings, nachos, garlic shrimp, dill pickle chips, hot sauce and several bevvies ready. All savory, all the time.  

Until next week.