Fantasy Hockey Rankings: Way Too Early Center Edition

Way Too Early Fantasy Hockey Rankings

Top 10 Centers

1. Connor McDavid – Edmonton Oilers

64 games played: 34G / 63A / 97pts / -6 / 28 PIM / 43 PPP / 212 SOG / 37 Hits / 18 Blocks

I would draft McDavid at the 1.01 in almost any fantasy hockey league. On pace for his fourth consecutive 100+ point season, he has been the definition of elite.

2. Leon Draisaitl – Edmonton Oilers

71 games played: 43G / 67A / 110pts / -7 / 18 PIM / 44 PPP / 218 SOG / 27 Hits / 19 Blocks

As close to a lock as you can get, Draisaitl has the Art Ross Trophy basically guaranteed for this season. He was on a 127 point pace before the stoppage. Draisaitl currently leads the league in points (110), assists (67) and game winning goals (10).

3. Nathan MacKinnon – Colorado Avalanche

69 games played: 35G / 58A / 93pts / +13 / 12 PIM / 31 PPP / 318 SOG / 51 Hits / 31 Blocks

After breaking out in the 2017-18 season, MacKinnon hasn’t taken his foot off the gas since. Three consecutive 90+ point seasons and league leading shot totals keeps MacKinnon’s name in the top three rankings every year. Having the benefit of playing on one of the best lines in the NHL doesn’t hurt either.

4. Jack Eichel – Buffalo Sabres

68 games played: 36G / 42A / 78pts / +5 / 34 PIM / 27 PPP / 227 SOG / 40 Hits / 42 Blocks

Eichel is in a tough spot, but is still thriving. He is on one of the worst teams in the league, but continues to put up elite numbers. He doesn’t have the top talent around him like most of the other players on this list, but that hasn’t slowed him down. Seeing him at the number one spot, on this list, in the future would not be a surprise.

5. Auston Matthews – Toronto Maple Leafs

70 games played: 47G / 33A / 80pts / +19 / 8 PIM / 25 PPP / 290 SOG / 40 Hits / 60 Blocks

Injury concerns aside, Matthews is a goal scoring machine. In his four year career, he is averaging 39.5 goals per season. It would be much higher if injuries didn’t shorten his 2017-18 and 2018-19 season.

6. Sidney Crosby – Pittsburgh Penguins

41 games played: 16G / 31A / 47pts / -8 / 15 PIM / 17 PPP / 109 SOG / 28 Hits / 17 Blocks

Crosby was significantly slowed down this season. Limited to only 41 games definitely hurt his ranking, but you can’t overlook what he was able to do in his short time playing. Pittsburgh was hit hard with the injury bug. Crosby lost his best linemate, Jake Guentzel, for the season just before the New Year. A healthy top line in Pittsburgh is a dangerous one.

7. Mika Zibanejad – New York Rangers

57 games played: 41G / 34A/ 75pts / +9 / 14 PIM / 27 PPP / 227 SOG / 40 Hits / 42 Blocks

The surprise of everyone’s fantasy hockey drafts, Zibanejad exploded this year. He was fifth in the scoring race when the season paused. He also held the best goals per game pace, of .72 G/game, a Richard Trophy was well within reach.

8. Evgeni Malkin – Pittsburgh Penguins

55 games played: 25G / 49A / 74pts / +7 / 58 PIM / 24 PPP / 171 SOG / 38 Hits / 22 Blocks

Malkin is another player that people shy away from come draft day. On one hand, he hasn’t played a full season since 2008-09. He has also missed 90 games in his last five seasons. The injury risk is going to be there. On the other hand, in those seasons, he has been well over a point per game producing player. Definitely worth the injury risk for the production he does supply.

9. Mark Scheifele – Winnipeg Jets

71 games played: 29G / 44A / 73pts / +2 / 45 PIM / 20 PPP / 170 SOG / 34 Hits / 49 Blocks

It seems everyone sleeps on the Jets year in and year out. A point per game, or better, in each of his last four seasons, Scheifele has been one of the most consistent players in the NHL. He doesn’t shoot a lot, but he does have an 18.7% shooting percentage over his last four seasons as well, with a 17.1% for this season.

10. Elias Pettersson – Vancouver Canucks

68 games played: 27G / 39A / 66pts / +16 / 18 PIM / 24 PPP / 162 SOG / 63 Hits / 42 Blocks

Closing out the Top 10 Centers we’ve got Elias Pettersson, EP40 as he is known to the Canucks fanbase. Through 68 games, he already matched his point goals from last year and would likely top the 75 point mark for the entire season. Vancouver clicked on a new level this season, and it’s a good possibility that you will see their other names in the rest of these rankings.

Honorable Mentions:

Sebastian Aho CAR, Steven Stamkos TBL, Patrice Bergeron BOS

It was a good year for Centers. We saw nine different Center eligible players hit the 30 goal mark, and three of them hit 40. There were 12 center eligible players that hit the 70 point mark, six of those being center only eligible. Compared to left wing eligible players (7) and right wing eligible players (5), this illustrates why center is such a deep position. Unlike the other forward positions, you can find a high level of production outside of the top five players.

I hope you enjoyed this edition of the Way Too Early Fantasy Rankings! Keep an eye out for the future editions from the rest of the Overtime Heroics Fantasy Hockey squad.