Los Angeles Kings: A Fantasy Perspective

The motto of any fantasy owner is its not whether your favorite team wins or loses, it’s how the players played the game, especially if they are on your fantasy team. Here is a look at the fantasy impact of the Los Angeles Kings major players.

Note: Players highlighted are those that are 100% owned, across all types of Yahoo fantasy leagues. Custom leagues with deeper rosters will have more Kings among them than those listed here.

G Jonathan Quick:
Avg. Draft Slot (46.3)
Avg. Draft Round (4.5)
Quick didn’t garner much respect on draft day, but his owners love him now. In a majority of leagues he was the 12th goaltender selected, behind fantasy duds Ilya Bryzgalov and Thomas Vokun who were drafted a full two rounds ahead of him. Jonathan is tied for 6th in wins (21), 3rd in GAA (1.93), 4th in SV% (.930), and 1st with a league leading 6 shutouts.

C Anze Kopitar:
Avg. Draft Slot (16.6)
Avg. Draft Round (2.0)
Kopitar leads the Kings in goals, assists, and points. While he is in the top 20 in assists and points league wide, he doesn’t even crack the top 50 in goals. For a 2nd round selection, most fantasy owners expected a lot more production from #11.

C/LW Mike Richards:
Avg. Draft Slot (56.6)
Avg. Draft Round (5.6)
Fantasy owners who have Mike Richards have to be kicking themselves when you consider Blues forward David Backes and Sharks forward Logan Couture were drafted behind him in most leagues. Injuries have hampered his play so far this season, but most owners were expecting the same numbers he put up with the Flyers a season ago.

LW/RW Dustin Brown:
Avg. Draft Slot (85.7)
Avg. Draft Round (8.3)
If you participate in an expanded scoring league, Brown’s hits are a definite plus, however, he hasn’t contributed as most owners would have expected. 13 goals and a mere 27 points are not 8th round worthy. Owners who selected Brown over players like Scott Hartnell and James Neal have been left crying the blues.

RW Justin Williams:
Avg. Draft Slot (134.7)
Avg. Draft Round (12.6)
Justin’s 9 goals are a concern, but his 25 assists and 34 points aren’t bad for a 12th-13th round selection. However, if you look back at your draft, you will see that most Williams owners missed out on selecting 18 goal scorer Tyler Seguin, who comes with the same amount of assists and a better +/- rating.

D Drew Doughty:
Avg. Draft Slot (39.8)
Avg. Draft Round (4.1)
The 3rd defensemen taken in a majority of leagues, owners expected more scoring punch from Doughty. 3 goals at the All-Star break is not what fantasy owners had in mind, especially when they could have drafted Zdeno Chara or Nicklas Lidstrom. Based on his draft slot, Drew has been a major fantasy disappointment.

D Jack Johnson:
Avg. Draft Slot (111.8)
Avg. Draft Round (10.7)
Looking back at who Johnson was drafted ahead of, he has been quite a solid player for a 10th-11th round selection. As usual, his +/- is awful, but most owners can live with that if he can put the puck in the net. Outside of Ryan Suter or Sergei Gonchar, who offer more assists and were drafted behind him, Jack has been a nice 2nd or 3rd defensemen for your team.

If you have any Kings on your fantasy team, have you been surprised, disappointed, or have you got what you expected from them?

Stats from Yahoo Sports – NHL
Fantasy notations from Yahoo Fantasy Hockey – Draft Central


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