Marcus Johansson is one of the biggest fantasy hockey sleepers entering this shortened NHL season.
Analysis: Johansson is a former first round pick and he has the most pure talent on the Capitals outside of Alexander Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstom. But will all this talent surface in his third year and after a 46 point season as a twenty-one year old?
It is likely that Johansson will land on the first line with Ovechkin and Backstrom which is great news especially with what MoJo’s average draft position will be. But even if Johansson lands on the second line his value is still solid. In a shortened season most young players will see increased minutes and secondary lines will be more heavily relied upon. 48 games in 99 days will take its toll on all players and especially those star forwards who get twenty plus minutes of ice time per game. In contrast MoJo was on the end of about seventeen minutes of ice time per game last year, expect that to bump up regardless of the line he is playing on. He won’t give you many penalty minutes but expect his shots, power play points and his overall offensive production to increase as he establishes himself this year.