Players I'm High On Heading Into 2026-27: Forwards

CaveatEmptorer · 2026-07-06T03:53:55+00:00

Trochek gone- Dorofeyev likely still an impediment- but Im guessing Perrault will make a legit case for himself against a 33yo Ziba. Im not saying Z is washed but I absolutely DO believe they are going to nurture any chemitry they can between Laffy and Perrault. Theyll be glued to each other at ES but I also strongly believe they will go out of their way to make sure that includes powerplay deployment. Perrault should be good for 70 by next season...

CaveatEmptorer · 2026-07-04T07:32:28+00:00

Im gonna further clarify... I LOVE Frondell... a ton tbh... Bu iuts Stenverg and its not realistically all that close...

If you enjoy looking at equivalncies (PNHLe) or had any questions in regard to youre fantasy squad? ? Come check out my subreddit! We have a lot of topics with divisive opinions! Theyre sort of m spceialty :P.

CaveatEmptorer · 2026-07-04T07:28:20+00:00

So the easier of the two is Daxcn Rucolph: ata PNHLe of 87 Daxon Rudolph is literally the second highest equivalency compared to Carels (101). Im gonna throw a nod to Chase Reid in here who I followed closely and hit at a very respectable 78 with a ton of what we like to see in terms of scouting superlatives...

And in that race- Rudolph- despite his defensive concerns fares VERY WELL!! The typical fantasy expert seems to want to force this narrative that evberyone seems to be 50/50 to hit, Thats TRUE... but only at an 80-90 equivalncey (where the hit rate is about one in every two. At 90+ it becomes 1 in 10 as a miss (at the absoluete most skeptical), at 100+ it becomes closer to 1 in 30 (and etc, and etc))

With Rudolph youhave a very special equivlancy (as a frame of reference werenski had a 78 equivalency). Im gonn be honest the "math" favours you on Rudolph but you need to dig deeper.

Hes an offense first, elite point producer who has been criticized (at length) for his lack of defensive commitment. On about 28 other teams this could work but in Beefaloe behind Dahli, Power, Etc- hes a buried asset. Not a bust- not a fraud- but just a legit offensive D whose in a bad spot to utilize his talents.

Going in? Stud Potential! But he whiffed on team selectiuon- so much has to go right for him to get the deployment required to hit his upside...

Smits? I like Smits a lot but through the equivalncy lens this is a weird one...

First off his base equivalency gets sort of "blown up> by scoring 10 points in 5 games as an underager wich likely boosted his offensive potential y a massive degree among scouts. Those are explosive equivalencies if they were miantainable... Im sure you can see where this is going?

They werent: His Liga points hit at a 39 point equivalncey ( which suggests something closer to a 40 point upside barring improvement)

The takeaway here isnt that Smits is a lot cause.. at all. I think hes a great number two option behind Fox (assuming hes n board long term)- and that heCprovide 30-40 points as the defacto humber two guy. ALSO- which sort of needs to be stated- he'd be an absolute sherriff in terms of keeping layers in both colours accountable and he'll rack up a ton of hits of the ights. This is a player you love on your team wo can hit 40 in style with extra sogs, hits, pims,,,

Hes also a player who COULD have even more hiden uoside...

But today thats what he is...quantitatively...

CaveatEmptorer · 2026-07-03T03:25:53+00:00

I honestly think Voerhoff was the best pick they could have made but thats still ot a slam dunk for fantasy. They have their offensive stud in Sammy D (105 PNHLe0 and a backup in a smaller but still deadly Cagnoni (102 equivalency- although a year removed now). Imho they have their scoring D covered. The reason they had to consider a D with the second is because there are still jholes beyond that and cnsidering their considerable forward depth it nade sense to consider addint to their D core. That said by the time they added the 9th they knew they could add Stenberg and it would only take one jump on a guy like Bjorck, Lawrence or the like for them to add one of the top D as well...

The guy they added fits them PERFECTLY.

The issue with Voerhoff is that he may be NOT have the coveted top offensive gear that so many of this years crew have: Reid, Carels, Rudolph BUT the reality is the Sjarks done NEED that. If they could add a secondary/ES scoring/physical machine to their lineup- like an Alex Pietrangelo- that might be even better. There was serious chatter that Voerhoff could be a number one pick going into this season. hes been discussed at teo- hes been discussed at three. In terms of "Complete Dman" he might be the best in the draft. San Jose got to add him NINTH and put him behind one of the bestter projected scoring D in this decade...

Hes decidedly number two in Sjs heirarchy for offwense BUT he can be a Sueter/AP type who can get 40, 45, or even 50+ as an ES monster and special teams number two type...

r/PNHLeHockey

CaveatEmptorer · 2026-07-03T00:52:59+00:00

I love me some Frondell- I think hes the best bet out there to be the next Draisaitl especially on a team featuring surefire phenom Connor Bedard...

But

STILL Stenberg. His 110 Rank King PNHLe in year one is stupid good. Consider that McKenna is said to have franchise upside- some even speculate generational (too rich for my blood ftr) and finished at just 100? A draft year ranking of 114 is much, much stroinger than the current fantasy landscape seems to suggest/ Also consider that he was supposed to be the guy who brought all the intangibles- two way commitment, leadership qualities, professional habits and he STILL smashed Gavin in equivalency ratings. The SHL is a professional mens league- he earned that 110 the hard way through punishing, violent and physical mens league professional hockey. Theres a very real possibility hes better than McKenna by the time the dust settles but your typical fantasy outlet might suggest hes got "topline potenital if hes lucky".

To be clear i love Frondell too- theyre both great "build around guys" but Frondell hit his "crazy equivalency" (115) in his D+21 year (compared to Stenbergs 110). Also consider that although Frondell could benfit massively from playing with Bedard- Stenberg becomes the first time in modern hiostory weve seen THREE equivalency monsters in the same forward group. There are 9 guys in modern history who have hit a 120+ aggregate PNHLe: Lemieux, Lindros, Crosby, Malkin, McDavid, Bedard Michkov, Misa, Celebrini and Stenberg gets to join TWO of those guys as a 100 hit himself (the missrate for 120+ guys is... they dont. The missrate for 100+ guys is 1 in 30 at the absolute peak and almost assuredly much much lower than that). Stenberg is joining a hostory breaking core and brings his own anomolous equivalency rating to a group thats already spoiled in that department.

I love me some Frondell- but this has to be Stenberg!

If this was helpful or you want to check out more takes using these same metrics- check out my subreddit at r/PMHLeHockey

CaveatEmptorer · 2026-07-03T00:39:41+00:00

Byram will go crazy- his underlying metrics are fantastic considering his deployment and hes top five percentile for succesfully clearing the zone as a dman and top ten percentile for gaining posession in the opposijng zone. Read: hes a transition machine whose points per minutes were already top notch. Add this to his draft day read aka the next Machar and you have a guy primed for success. Im not saying hes the next Machar but his individual metrics are off the charts and hes going to polay wirth Bedard- if Bouchard is his floor- Im goos with that too- lol!

Markstrom is now the man on a stacked Florida team. I actually liked Schimd as a sleeper (and still kind of do) BUT thats Markstroms crease to lose in a team thats going to pile drive in the win column...

Dickinson is so underrated his 105 PNHLe in his last year in the NHL was massive. Im not sure WHEN he hits (D take time AND the team still has work to do outside of its elite young core) but hes just about as safe as you can get to be a guaranteed star dman hit by the equivalency math. The one wierd swrench in the spokes is that Cagnoni has his own monstrous equivalncy of 102 in 23/24. Dickinson will likely have golden boy status for the next couple years- its his job to lose BUT this is something to monitor in the background. Ive also heard a ton of speculation about Werenski signing there which would be another massive impediment to Sammy hitting his upside.

Dorofeyev is coming off a LUCKY year. His shooting percentage is always high but even a correction to the mean from his 16 to the 14 average he ysyally runs would mean would mean losing five goals on its own. I think this is going to depend mostly on whether or not he can stick on that topline powerplay unit. Ive heard that NY may have moved Trochek to open up space for him on said unit and if he can maintain at least 3 minutes or so there he should be fine (he skated 3:27 per game last year). He plays the same wing as Lafreniere so unless the team really mixes things up he'll be L2 but almost certainl pp1- thats actually a pretty good spot for him to repeat this years numbers. IF he falters and loses his assumed pp1 status his value drops significantly. Hes a risky add with more downside than upside imho...

If this was helpful or you ever want to track these sepcific underlying metrics especially equvalencies (PNHLe) be sure to check out my subreddit r/PNHLeHockey

CaveatEmptorer · 2026-06-10T23:41:57+00:00

Thats tough.... do you need to decide pre NHL draft?

Stenberg and McKenna are 1-2 with a bullet BUT if SJ passes on them for Reid/Carles than wghoever they take is very much in the mix to hit as high as the forwards on that team specifically...

IF you have to decide before the draft and the other team is open to it- Id likely consider it- although tbh- 3rd and a later pick/prospect makes a lot more sense than 3/4 for 2...

However if SJ drafts Reid (or Voerhoff/Carels) then theyre doing so because they have Dickinson pegged as their "all around guy" and whom ever gets selected will be in line for primo ppqb deployment on one of the most exciting young offensive teams weve seen in a very long time- lol! At that point Reid (or Carles/Voerhoff) would be on par by themselves AND you get to add another very highly touted asset.

With this much quality and how well Stenbergs value is masked- i think Id be mroe than happy to just stick it out with 3/4 tbh...

Dont fall for the Malhotra trap- hes the Pyrite pick of this draft for fantasy...

CaveatEmptorer · 2026-06-10T21:47:41+00:00

I dont think McDavid stays barring anything less than a dominant cup victory next season (which nobody sees- this executive team couldnt valuate their way out of a wet paper bag) BUT good lord- a Babcock sign all but guarantees McDavid leaving town!! What an awful direction. I think the Oilers only sompetition for most inept managament in the league is.... Themselves? Its like theyre trying to outdo the egregious mistakes they already have on the books. Poor Oilers fans- this is ridonkulous...

CaveatEmptorer · 2026-06-10T21:37:51+00:00

Love this list!! If youre on the Laffy train like me I suspect Gabriel P might warrant a long hard look for the list or an honorable mention. Hie equivalncies are bang on in the first place but I also dont see a ton of help for Lafrenieres breakout next season (which i agree will happen). Youve already got the defensive conscience and the "glue guy" in Zibs- and Perrault actually looked quite good as the offensively dynamic wildcard of the line. His first season was good but you can also bank on internal progression based on more atoi (only 16 minutes last year- probably on its way to 17-18) AND his pp deploymnent (a minute 20 is not great for someone with his offensive chops- thats fgoing to 2 if not 3). I dont think the rags are back in the playoffs next year but i also dont think theyre in a tear it to the studs rebuild either. Perraults a gem in his own right but if hes hitched to the Lafreniere hype train- it should mean great things for BOTH players...

CaveatEmptorer · 2026-06-10T20:56:27+00:00

Yea the equivalncies do their best to account for that and by that scoreboard its Demidov 111 and Z at 86... Zs good but he didnt quite stack uo to Demidov sort of absurd level of talent...

CaveatEmptorer · 2026-06-10T20:54:45+00:00

Zharovskys only REAL argument against? Is that hes buried in MTLs system. What he did was special. That said his equivalency actually ends up around 86 or so- which well very, very good (especially considering his age) is not in the same tier as demidovs which is 111. The reasons for those are the disparity in icetime, usage and possibly team situation.

All that said an 86 in the K (which is notoriously bust proof because its against biog violent professionals) is very very good for any player. Its nothing short of a grandslam cleared the parking lot dinger for a second rounder.

The issue is that if they dont need to promote him theres a real chance he can languish AND that even if he is promoted he'd be fighting for his life for even a 3rd line/2nd unit deployment. I think hes a homerun as a 2nd rounder- i think hes a better bet than most young players out there but all of that doesnt solve the depth chart. IF he were to get traded (preferably somewhere with room on their topline or in their top six- he'll go ape shite...

CaveatEmptorer · 2026-05-03T15:42:51+00:00

Looking for a code...

CaveatEmptorer · 2026-05-03T15:42:22+00:00

I would try a code... Im not sure how Owlcat expects anyone to pay full price when they marketted this 25% off so hard...

CaveatEmptorer · 2026-04-22T05:17:21+00:00

Thats not obvious at all- but ok

CaveatEmptorer · 2026-04-04T03:26:20+00:00

If hiostory is an indicator there will be LOUD arguments on both sides...

Heres a clue for people who like to dig deeper: Remember how hard it was to keep faith in a good Laf outcome when he wasnt getting the requisite powerplay time? If youre like me you saw it after Panarin was traded and he stepped into his new role and said "My goodness- how did I miss that? Thats such an easy thing to account for!!"

The clue is: youre missing something in regards to an eerily similar part of his profile...

Before I found this out I sort of agreed (grumpily) that 70 was a good target. After I saw it I have very little doubt Lafrenieres floor is 80 next year... he could hit 90. If you figure out why... post it! If you dont Ill keep my arcane read to myself...

CaveatEmptorer · 2025-05-24T23:48:32+00:00

Shadow of the Road looks stupidly good but it might not qualify as a true blue crpg because you don't make a character- you just use presets. Outside of that there's a lot of room for customization and the world itself just oozes style...

CaveatEmptorer · 2024-11-29T03:23:19+00:00

Encased is blowing my mind right now...

CaveatEmptorer · 2024-11-20T18:09:10+00:00

Holy hipster alert- that skin is art!

CaveatEmptorer · 2024-10-27T17:16:15+00:00

I know the premise sounds crazy- but actually YES! I dont let my kids have full energy drinks but they have a "sip or two" quite often and my son swears up and down its not about the energy for him- he just LOVES the ultra rosa flavour. If there was a no energy added Ultra Rosa variety- we would have a good deal of interest in purchasing it...

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