D Braydon Coburn, Philadelphia Flyers
Coburn didn’t make much noise throughout the first half of the season, but managed to head into the all-star break riding a four game point streak. The former Atlanta Thrasher currently has 22 points on the year, making him Philly’s second leading scorer on defense. Receiving time on the power-play, Coburn has made the most of his opportunity notching three pp assists in January. Entering the second half of the season, Coburn will be looking to extended his point streak and play a larger role in Philadelphia’s offense.
Fantasy Take: Coburn has been very inconsistent all year but has heated up over the the last four games and may be worth a flier for those in need of a lower-end option at defense.
F Chuck Kobasew, Boston Bruins
In his first full year with Boston Kobasew is off to his best start as a pro, scoring 17 goals and 26 points in 49 games. The forward has benefited from playing with all-star centerman Marc Savard and is giving the Bruins a capable goal scorer they so desperately need. Leading the team with 17 goals, Kobasew has also been productive on the powerplay, scoring five pp goals to go along with four assists. Look for Kobasew to break his previous career high in points and goals in the next few weeks.
Fantasy Take: Kobasew has been a shaky play but is currently heating up, scoring five points in his last four games. Before making a claim for the forward, watch how he performs post all-star break to see if he can continue to be a regular on the score sheet.
F Martin Gelinas, Nashville Predators
Gelinas has come alive this January, scoring half of his points in this month alone. Appearing in 44 games for the Preds, Gelinas has totaled eight goals and 18 points on the year. Enjoying his best game of the season earlier this week, Gelinas scored two goals and added one assist while playing over 16 minutes. Although Gelinas had a rough season up until January, the forward has shown that he can still score in this league and may even be a decent fantasy option in deeper leagues.
Fantasy Take: Gelinas enjoyed a great month, scoring three goals and six assists. Keep an eye on him post all-star break to see if he continues with this pace, or returns to scoreless ways.
D Ryan Suter, Nasville Predators
Suter has been Nashville’s second most productive defenseman, scoring five goals and 21 points. He is currently riding a four game point streak, scoring four points during that span while averaging around 15 minutes of ice time. Although he has failed to pick up power-play points (Suter has only two pp assists this month), the defenseman is still young and continuing to progress as a player. Increasing his point total in each of the first two seasons, Suter is a lock to surpass his 24 points he put up last year and could finish with around 35+ points if he continues to play well.
Fantasy Take: Although Suter may not help your fantasy team this year, he is a good defenseman to look at in keeper leagues. In only his third year in the league, Suter continues to improve as a player and will only get better as the years go on.
For Illegal Curve, I’m Jonny Remis
