Frozen Fantasy: Responsible Talent?

Filip Forsberg, Vladimir Tarasenko and Tyler Toffoli. Three young, rising stars, each with 90-point upside. All three are in the league's top-20 scorers. Nice. And surprisingly, they also sit one-two-three on the top of the NHL's plus/minus list.

Whoa. Aren't young guys supposed to be sloppy on the defensive side of the puck?

Let's start by getting the plus/minus argument out of the way. It's long been a controversial stat since its introduction in the 1967-68 season -- just look up Dallas Smith for evidence of that. And Brian Burke went as far as calling it a "horse****" stat within the last 18 months.

Road apples, eh? Part of me agrees.

There are often too many guys who get credit for contributing to a goal when they weren't even in on the play. And conversely get dinged because a teammate did something stupid to allow a goal. Or because they play on a porous team.

Reminds me of my beer league. We don't exactly do line changes well… but I digress.

Love it or hate it, plus/minus is still a fantasy category. And for all of its problems, it's still right up to 70 percent of the time. That means decent players will benefit from playing with two-way studs. And two-way studs should really shine, especially if they're on a good team.

And that brings me back to Forsberg, Tarasenko and Toffoli. All three play on strong teams. But they not only lead the league in plus/minus, they also lead their respective teams in scoring.

Responsible talent. Quick -- somebody call Alexander Ovechkin.

It's an interesting trend. Young players who can play both side of the puck? It wasn't that long ago that conventional wisdom would have suggested that young players needed several seasons to learn defensive responsibility. But not anymore. Or so it seems. We really don't have to look any further than Ondrej Palat, Tyler Johnson and Nikita Kucherov of the Bolts; T.J. Brodie and Johnny Gaudreau of the Flames; and Tarasenko and Jaden Schwartz of the Blues. And even Toffoli and Tanner Pearson of the Kings. All young and all smart in their own zones.

I can't help but wonder if this better-at-a-younger-age trend bears watching. It might just change what draft days bring…

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

Nick Bjugstad, C, Florida (5 percent Yahoo! owned): Bjugstad is a horse. No, let me correct that -- he's a thoroughbred. He's a strong skater with huge size who can protect the puck, snipe, play two-way hockey and dish with the best. He's a blue chipper with top-line upside and he's been showing that in the last week. He has a pair of two-goal games and seven points (with a plus-five rating) in three games. And one of those was an absolutely dominant four-point effort against the Ducks. He out-Getzlaf'd Ryan Getzlaf. I've added him to my lineup.

Paul Byron, RW/C, Calgary (1 percent Yahoo! owned): It's a tale of two Byrons. He's not much of a road warrior, but this pint-sized forward has been a beast at the Saddledome. Eight of his 10 points have come in 10 home games and that includes five -- including four goals -- in his last four games there. He was a preseason afterthought -- cripes, he didn't even make most forecasting magazines. But I like what I see when he's on home ice. Snag him for Saturday and then drop him right away. Or wait until the first week of December and snag him for the Flames' three-game homestand.

Danny DeKeyser, D, Detroit (4 percent Yahoo! owned): DeKeyser is a defensive specialist, but he's not without offensive skills. And he's showing that on Mike Babcock's second power-play unit. He's on a three-game, three-PP assist streak heading into Saturday and is worthy of a roster spot in even medium-depth squads right now. Hey -- he could top 30 points this season and give you a solid number of hits, too.

Sam Gagner, RW/C, Arizona (3 percent Yahoo! owned: It's hard to believe this guy has his name in the Oilers' record books beside Wayne Gretzky and Paul Coffey -- cripes, it's taken him 20 games to equal that single-game output (eight points) from Feb. 2, 2012. But he's starting to show signs of playmaking life in the desert. Keep an eye on him -- he can deliver some solid assist totals if he can keep up his recent warm(ish) play.

Markus Granlund, C, Calgary (1 percent Yahoo! owned): Granlund is a natural playmaker who has always been overshadowed by his brother Mikael in Minny. But right now, it's Markus who is the most productive sibling. He's on a three-game, five-point scoring streak heading into the weekend and has a remarkable nine points (three goals, six assists) in just 10 games this season. Calgary has been a blast to watch and he's part of that excitement. He's a short-term value pick that might have a few weeks of worth.

Alex Killorn, LW/C, Tampa Bay (5 percent Yahoo! owned): This smart, two-way winger enters play Saturday on a four-game, four-point scoring streak that includes three goals. Modest, I know. But he's one of the best-rounded players on the Tampa roster -- that's saying something given the depth of that squad. Killorn has the offensive chops to be a first liner. But he's so damn smart and sound defensively that he can be an elite checking winger, too. And that's where he's excelling right now. He scored at a half-point-per-game pace last year and should best that this time out. He could even beat the 25-goal plateau. Go get him.

John Klingberg, D, Dallas (2 percent Yahoo! owned): Klingberg is just what the doctor ordered in Dallas. That is, a smooth-skating, puck-moving defender with ice water in his veins and a penchant for Tomas Kaberle-like first passes to hungry forwards. The Stars actually haven't seen this kind of puck moving since Sergei Zubov. Not that he's Zubov -- that's patently unfair to the young defender. But he does have offensive skills and the smarts to know when to jump into the play. And he has a history of production in the Swedish League. He has four points in his last three games heading into the weekend. I'm going to grab him; you should consider that, too.

Petr Mrazek, G, Detroit (2 percent Yahoo! owned): I love this guy. He's athletic and acrobatic, with a fire in his belly that makes him believe he's invincible. Maybe he is. His skills aren't as high as some of the top goaltending prospects, but he makes up for that with unbelievable compete. And he showed that Thursday in a win over Winnipeg. He's now the backup in the Motor City, what with Jonas Gustavsson out for a couple months. And he'll be a 30-plus win starter in the NHL before long. That's the kind of talent that can dominate matchups for you.

Riley Sheahan, C, Detroit (1 percent Yahoo! owned): Sheahan is great in possession, but he's not particularly fleet of foot. Maybe that's why I've ignored him up to now. Or maybe it's the transgressions of his pickled past. Whatever it is, I'm over it. He's big, has great playmaking ability and has recently been part of a really sharp power play combo with Gustav Nyqvist, Tomas Jurco, Tomas Tatar and Niklas Kronwall. And he's on a three-game, four-point streak heading into Saturday's game against Toronto. Half of those points have come on the PP. Sheahan will be a third-liner in his prime, but right now, he's delivering like a solid top-six skater. And he can be had on the cheap. Real cheap. Just saying.

Vincent Trocheck, C, Florida (0 percent Yahoo! owned): Speed kills and that's what opponents are discovering about this talented young pivot. He loves to blow past guys on the rush, ram guys in the corners and fire pucks. Lots and lots of pucks. He's not very big, but that's never held him back. He ran up a five-game scoring streak (one goal, five assists) in the last couple weeks and was plus-five in that span, too. The streak was snapped Thursday against San Jose, but never mind that -- he's stated his case to stay with the Panthers, at least for now. And if you watch him play, you'll even see a little Patrice Bergeron in him. That's good enough for me.

Back to plus/minus.

Take away your doubt about the plus/minus category and embrace it because you have no other choice. Stop fighting it -- it's a futile exercise.

Honestly, I don't fight it; instead, I draft by punting plus-minus entirely. But that approach always comes back to bite me in the…

Hey -- I bruise easily.

I also tend to avoid drafting youngish players in my Yahoo! leagues, simply because I believe they are low-offense (and poor defense) guys. That's the part I need to rethink. I'd be thrilled to have Forsberg, Tarasenko and/or Toffoli on my team. Really thrilled.

Instead, I'm at the bottom of plus/minus category in just about every Yahoo! league I'm in. And I don't have the offense I need, either.

Bad combination, eh. Wow.

Before I go, I want to update you on my dilemma with Ben Bishop. Well, I pulled the trigger on a trade. I packaged him up with Kyle Okposo, Evander Kane and Martin St. Louis, and got back Sidney Crosby, Logan Couture, Christian Ehrhoff and Thomas Greiss. They inject some major scoring into my struggling squad. And they also stabilize my plus/minus in a huge way. And I have enough goaltending to remain stable.

Hmmmm… I may just change my drafting philosophy next season.

Until next week.