3 Sabres players who will be the ultimate sleepers for your fantasy hockey team
Yesterday, we covered three Sabres players who will boost any fantasy hockey team, especially if they’re taken in the later rounds. Today, I wanted to continue that trend, but instead to talk about a few sleepers who will be available in the final round or two of your fantasy draft.
If you play in a larger league, you may see one of the three mentioned below go a little earlier, so make sure you keep tabs on them as your draft hits its second half. Let’s begin with one player who, if it wasn’t for a couple of serious injuries last season, may have found himself taken early this year in many fantasy hockey drafts.
Jack Quinn
Few players suffered through more misfortune than Jack Quinn in 2023-24, as two lower-body injuries limited him to 27 games. Throw in the fact that the Blue and Gold rarely found positive consistency when they had the puck, and it shouldn’t surprise you too much of what the results for Quinn were - 19 points and nine goals in 27 games.
Still, Quinn found his rhythm often when he had a chance to, and it shows when you adjust the totals shown above to 82 games - 57-58 points and 27 goals. Quinn was poised to make the jump last season, so in Year 3 of his NHL career, that jump could intensify.
Dylan Cozens
There isn’t a single Sabre who didn’t take a step back offensively in 2023-24, but Dylan Cozens was the one who suffered the most, or at least among players who were healthy for most of the season. Cozens looked more like his 2021-22 version than what we saw in 2022-23, which limited him to just 47 points and 18 goals.
But Cozens, known for his sheer work ethic, isn’t someone who will look fondly on what he failed to accomplish last season. Look for a different version of him to take the ice this season and fantasy hockey owners who are wise enough to realize what Cozens brings will be rewarded well if they take a chance on him.
Bowen Byram
So far, Bowen Byram looked like an excellent pickup, and he’s someone who will quarterback the Sabres power play behind Rasmus Dahlin. That said, he’ll get chances to score in multiple situations, but like Jack Quinn, the question is whether he can stay healthy.
If the answer is yes, there’s a chance we’ll see Byram’s output rest around 0.5 to 0.6 points per game. It wasn’t something he managed last season, but nine points and three goals in 18 games gave Byram an outstanding start in his Sabres career and one that will build rapidly if he makes the jump this season. Few will consider him in their fantasy drafts, and again, the wisest owners will take him late.
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