Slava Kozlov seems to be a revived player this season thus far.

So we’re about a month in to the season now.  Who’s been the most surprising player?

As far as positive surprises go, I’m going to suggest Thomas Vanek, Alexander Semin and Patrick Marleau.  All three players have had success in the past and were coming off down seasons.  Despite their collective poor showing last year, they were all considered prime bounce back candidates considering their age and talent level.  Vanek’s 12 goals put him on pace for a career high.  Semin’s got an incredible 22 points including 14 goals.  Marleau is back to his point per game ways from seasons past, although playing on a line with Joe Thornton can have a positive affect on one’s career.

For those of us that didn’t draft these guys, we have to strike gold on the waiver wire.  Don’t forget that last year Thomas Plekanec and Mark Streit basically came from out of nowhere (and likely off your free agent wire) to produce remarkable numbers.  Don’t pass on guys like my suggestions this week Niklas Hagman and Ryan Clowe because they don’t have a flashy name or top prospect status.  Successful fantasy hockey waiver pickups are partly about talent but are a lot about opportunity and line mates. 

Each week there are some player suggestions that carry over into the following weeks.  If you haven’t picked them up and haven’t read about them in more detail, check out some of previous Power Play Pickups.  Guys I suggested in recent weeks (who really shouldn’t be available) that are still good bets for production:Bryan Little, Clarke MacArthur, Nikolai Khabibulin, Daniel Girardi and Jaroslav Spacek

Goalies

Kevin Weekes – G – Devils

Last week I neglected to mention Kevin Weekes who officially will play between the pipes in the Swamp for the rest of the season.  After the loss of Martin Brodeur to elbow surgery for the next 4 months the Devils may go out and retain the services of another goaltender.  It would seem likely they do, as Weekes is a career back up goaltender that may not be able to shoulder the physical weight of playing almost every night.  Although I’m not suggesting he’s the pickup of the week or anything, be aware that he’s the starting goalie for now and needs to be on a roster if only for wins.

Brent Johnson – G – Capitals

Johnson is yet another case of a back up goaltender outshining the starter.  Bear in mind Johnson is not someone I think keeps this up all season.  However, those who drafted Jose Theodore in the earlier rounds hoping for big win totals have to be kicking themselves now.  Theodore is a remarkable talent but he’s got some major consistency issues.  I felt he was overrated in the pre-season and am not surprised that I’m recommending Johnson at this point in the season.  As with any reserve bench spots you can muster, try to reserve at least one for the ‘hot’ goalie.  It’s a great way to lower your overall goals against average and a steal a few extra, yet invaluable wins.

Forwards

Ryan Clowe – LW – Sharks

Clowe has been a nice surprise this season potting 9 goals thus far.  He’s getting solid ice time and has been making the most of it.  Clowe’s not lining up with Joe Thornton but has great chemistry with linemate Joe Pavelski who has 10 points so far. Clowe’s current shooting percentage (17%) indicates that he might be due for a bit of a scoring slump.  Right now though, he’s one of the hottest goal scorers in the league and should be snagged in almost all formats.

Slava Kozlov – LW – Thrashers

Suddenly revived, Slava Kozlov has 8 goals and 6 assists on the season.  The Thrashers lost a lot of their offensive firepower over the last two seasons with the departure of Hossa and Bruins center.  Playing with on the second line in Atlanta with fellow Power Play Pickup mentions Bryan Little and Todd White has given Kozlov some early season success.  He’s only a season removed from a 28 goal, 80-point campaign.  I’m not suggesting he’ll maintain this pace, or get to 80 points this season.  Slava’s playing well right now and should be on your roster while he is.

Oscar Moller – C – Kings

Moller almost made last week’s addition of the Power Play Pickups.  He was a point a game player in his junior league career and at just 19 years of age makes for a great keeper league target.  The young Swede has twice tallied 30 plus goals for the Chilliwack Bruins.  He’s met the NHL with mixed success although 7 points in 13 games is a great start.  The Kings are rebuilding so he’ll get a great opportunity with some solid ice time. 

Niklas Hagman – LW – Maple Leafs

Here’s a great example of an underrated player who’s producing right now. How many of you drafted a currently rostered Maple Leaf forward?  Yeah, you likely drafted Mats Sundin, but he’s not a ‘rostered’ Leaf.  Antropov maybe?  Even if you did, you likely did so in the late rounds.  Either way, Hagman is showing some signs of a break out campaign. Hagman has 6 goals and 6 assists with 3 power play points.  He’s not exactly a ‘rising star’, at 29 years old, but he’s getting a solid opportunity to produce given the Leafs lack of forward depth.  Last season he averaged close to 2 shots on goal per game.  So far this season, he’s nearly doubled this by averaging 3.8 shots per game.  His current shooting percentage is relatively average and lower than his career average.  What does this all mean?  He’s not overachieving and is on pace for career highs in points, goals and shots on goal.  At his current pace, he could get you 65 points and that’s pretty good for a free agent pick up at this point in the season.

Defensemen

Braydon Coburn -- D – Flyers

One of my favourite pre-season sleeper defenseman is out there in some leagues.  Coburn is just 23 years old and showed signs of potential fantasy greatness last season.  With 9 goals, 36 points and 74 penalty minutes he made for a great end of game play in leagues that play 4 or more defenseman.  Last season he had a poor October and followed that up with solid play the rest of the season.  He’s currently second on the team in total ice time and when the Flyers start to click offensively, Coburn will make for an even better play.  Get him for the penalty minutes for now and be smugly surprised when his offensive game begins to blossom as the season plays on.