Top Colorado Avalanche players for Fantasy Hockey in 2022-23
Which Colorado Avalanche players should you look to draft in Fantasy Hockey for the 2022-23 season?
The Colorado Avalanche finished the 2021-22 season with 234 goals as a team. While they were not the league leader, they still happened to get the job done and win the Stanley Cup.
They were absolutely dominant during their Stanley Cup run; so dominant that they scored 42 more goals than they did during their Stanley Cup run during the 2000-01 season.
That team boasted players such as Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, Milan Hejduk, Alex Tanguay, and Chris Drury.
Colorado has come a long way over the last several seasons since the days of Patrick Roy as head coach. A lot of their success has to do with the first player on the list…
Top Colorado Avalanche players for Fantasy Hockey: Nathan MacKinnon
Nathan MacKinnon finished second on the team (Gabriel Landeskog) in points during the 2021-22 season. Could he surpass Landeskog in the 2022-23 season?
During the 2021-22 season, MacKinnon had five multi-goal games, including a 9-3 dominating win against the Los Angeles Kings, in which he scored three goals and had two assists.
MacKinnon has that sniper ability—he’s able to consistently attack the net whenever he wants, whenever the plays are designed for him to do so.
He went point-less in 13 games, but there are still 82 total games during an NHL regular season. MacKinnon did end up missing 17 games during the season. It’s always a good idea to count on MacKinnon even if he is going through a tough stretch.
MacKinnon should do well no matter who is at left or right wing, but it is a good thing that Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog continue to hold down those spots on the first line.
This fact makes it more likely that MacKinnon has a breakout season. Though I obviously cannot guarantee that he will, he’s still going to be one of the best players in all of hockey and will be a top player in fantasy drafts in 2022.
Top Colorado Avalanche players for Fantasy Hockey: Cale Makar
Let’s talk about the defenseman who was named the best in the league for the 2021-22 season, Avalanche star Cale Makar.
Makar is an outstanding skater that has often knocked his opponents off their feet with his shiftiness. He’s a tremendous skater.
As a defenseman, it doesn’t seem like you would be scoring a whole lot of points. After all, your main job is to get the puck out of your zone into the hands of your forwards.
That’s not Makar, though. That’s not the way the Colorado Avalanche did things in 2021.
In 77 games, Makar put the puck in the net 28 times while assisting on 58 other goals. His contributions go far beyond his responsibilities on the Avalanche’s side of the ice.
Makar is just 23-years old. Think about that for a moment. To be able to perform the way that he did in 2021-22 is just such an unbelievable achievement. I fully expect him to be as good or even better in the upcoming season. He has more games under his belt, which is never a bad thing.
Makar won the Conn Smythe trophy and the Norris trophy this past season/postseason.
Top Colorado Avalanche players for Fantasy Hockey: Mikko Rantanen
Mikko Rantanen had his best season for the Colorado Avalanche statistically in 2021-22. He played in 75 games (tied for second-most in his career), scoring 36 goals and 56 points for a total of 92 points. All of those stats were career-highs for the 25-year old.
Rantanen not only finished the season with career-highs in those three categories; he finished the season as the team’s leading goal scorer and total point-getter.
The 25-year old Rantanen showed during the playoffs that he can be a consistent scorer, as he scored in each of the team’s four games against the Edmonton Oilers. There were times when he was on a real hot streak during the regular season: Rantanen scored at least one goal in two-straight games eight times. He had four two-goal games and one three-goal game last season.
Rantanen had 32 power-play points and 16 power-play goals last season.
Final Thought: The players chosen for this list aren’t necessarily surprises. What is incredible is that these players have been consistently good/great for the Colorado Avalanche for several years. I’m looking forward to watching how they follow up their awesome 2021-22 seasons in the upcoming year.
The one thing the team has going against them is that they now have a target on their back. Teams will certainly play them tougher. Hopefully that brings out the best of everyone.