Top 75 Forwards: Weekly Fantasy Hockey Rankings (Week 1)

Over the course of the 2018-2019 NHL season, RotoBaller will be breaking down our fantasy hockey player rankings by position.

These positional rankings will be updated and posted on a weekly basis, starting with forwards every Sunday, defensemen on Monday, and goaltenders each Tuesday.

Note: Rankings are determined considering a standard Yahoo league format (goals, assists, plus-minus, power play points, shots on goal, and hits for skaters).

Top 75 Forwards - Fantasy Rankings for Week 1

1. Connor McDavid (EDM - C)
2. Alex Ovechkin (WSH - RW)
3. Nikita Kucherov (TBL - RW)
4. Sidney Crosby (PIT - C)
5. Evgeni Malkin (PIT - C)
6. Auston Matthews (TOR - C)
7. Jamie Benn (DAL - C,LW)
8. Tyler Seguin (DAL - C)
9. Nathan MacKinnon (COL - C)
10. John Tavares (TOR - C)
11. Steven Stamkos (TBL - C)
12. Brad Marchand (BOS - LW)
13. David Pastrnak (BOS, RW)
14. Blake Wheeler (WPG - C,RW)
15. Patrick Laine (WPG - RW)
16. Taylor Hall (NJD - LW)
17. Patrick Kane (CHI, RW)
18. Claude Giroux (PHI - C,LW)
19. Vladimir Tarasenko (STL - RW)
20. Phil Kessel (PIT - RW)
21. Filip Forsberg (NSH - LW)
22. Johnny Gaudreau (CGY - LW)
23. Artemi Panarin (CLB - LW)
24. Mark Scheifele (WPG - C)
25. Anze Kopitar (LAK - C)
26. Patrice Bergeron (BOS - C)
27. Jack Eichel (BUF - C)
28. Aleksander Barkov (FLA - C)
29. Evgeny Kuznetsov (WSH - C)
30. Mathew Barzal (NYI - C)
31. Ryan Getzlaf (ANA - C) *INJ
32. Jakub Voracek (PHI - RW)
33. Alexander Radulov (DAL - RW)
34. William Karlsson (VGK - C,LW)
35. Leon Draisaitl (EDM - C,RW)
36. Nicklas Backstrom (WAS - C)
37. Mikko Rantanen (COL - RW)
38. Joe Pavelski (SJS - C,RW)
39. Rickard Rakell (ANA - LW,RW)
40. Vincent Trocheck (FLA - C)
41. Mitch Marner (TOR - RW)
42. Jeff Carter (LAK - C)
43. Sean Couturier (PHI - C)
44. Brock Boeser (VAN - RW)
45. Jonathan Marchessault (VGK - C,LW) 
46. Sean Monahan (CGY - C)
47. Max Pacioretty (VGK - LW)
48. Viktor Arvidsson (NSH - RW)
49. Brayden Point (TB - C)
50. Evander Kane (SJS - LW)
51. Nikolaj Ehlers (WPG - LW,RW)
52. Mark Stone (OTT - RW)
53. Jake Guentzel (PIT - LW)
54. Mikael Granlund (MIN - C, RW)
55. Brayden Schenn (STL - C)
56. Jaden Schwartz (STL - LW)
57. Jonathan Huberdeau (FLA - LW)
58. Patric Hornqvist (PIT - RW)
59. Wayne Simmonds (PHI - RW)
60. Logan Couture (SJS - C,LW)
61. Sebastian Aho (CAR - C,LW)
62. Matthew Tkachuk (CGY - LW)
63. Mike Hoffman (FLA - LW,RW)
64. Gabriel Landeskog (COL - LW)
65. Ryan Johansen (NSH - C)
66. Cam Atkinson (CBJ - RW)
67. Clayton Keller (ARI - LW,RW)
68. William Nylander (TOR - C,RW) 
69. Ilya Kovalchuk (LW, LA)
70. T.J. Oshie (WSH - RW)
71. Eric Staal (MIN - C)
72. Anders Lee (NYI - LW)
73. Jeff Skinner (BUF - LW)
74. J.T. Miller (TBL - C,RW)
75. Kyle Palmieri (NJD - RW)

Stock Report

Fantasy Hockey Risers

Mitch Marner (TOT - C,RW) - 49 --> 42

Marner gets the biggest spike up the rankings following an electrifying start to the season. The 21-year-old's has four points (one goal, three assists) in threegames and looks good next to new acquisition John Tavares on the Leafs' top power play and second line. Marner has elite skill and his hockey sense is simply through the roof. Combine that with all of the offensive weapons surrounding him in Toronto and there's an instant need to vault him up the rankings this week.

Kyle Palmieri (NJD - RW) - NR --> 75

Palmieri jumps into this week's edition of the forward rankings after a strong two-goal performance on Saturday. I previously wrote about a Palmieri as a serious sleeper candidate last week. The 27-year-old looks primed to put together another season of steady production in scoring categories as well as peripherals (181 shots, 94 hits in just 62 games last season). Palmieri has great chemistry with the league MVP in Taylor Hall and budding talent Nico Hischier which should allow him to be a dangerous scoring threat all season.

Fantasy Hockey Fallers

William Nylander (TOR - C,RW) - 64 --> 68

Headed into the Maple Leafs' season opener on Wednesday, I was pretty surprised not to see  restricted free-agent forward with a new deal. However, as TSN reported a few days ago, Nylander's camp appears to be unwilling to come down from their $8 million per season ask and, as a result, an agreement between the two sides doesn't seem remotely close at this time. Nylander is a great talent but even if a deal miraculously gets done today, he's going to need some time to practice and get into a rhythm with his fellow teammates. Considering we are looking at another week or two before he even enters into the lineup, he takes a small dip in the rankings this week.

Eric Staal (MIN - C) - 62 --> 71

Staal's bump down the rankings can be attributed to a slow start in the season's first two games (zero points, minus-two rating), further supporting doubt that he can replicate his remarkable production from a season ago (76 points in 82 games). The 33-year-old just began his 15th NHL season and his team doesn't seem to have enough game-breaking talent on the wing. While Staal's offensive resurgence has turned heads in Minnesota, I have serious doubts as to whether or not he can find the 70-point range once again in 2018-2019.

Ilya Kovalchuk (LAK - LW,RW) - 63 --> 69

Kovalchuk takes a seven spot fall in the rankings this week. Kovalchuk should put up good numbers playing alongside Anze Kopitar on the first line and top power play unit but I'm just not sure he still has the speed to become a real impactful fantasy forward. Most seemed to project a 65+ point season from him in 2018-2019, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him sit more in the 55-point range at season's close.

More Fantasy Hockey Analysis