Fantasy: 5 unheralded players who will benefit from playing with a star

There is more to fantasy than evaluating the skill of individual players. Overall team success, coaching, and perhaps most importantly, the quality of linemates all play a major role in determining one's fantasy value.

Here are five unheralded forwards who will benefit from playing on a star-studded line this season:

LW/RW Travis Konecny, Flyers

Konecny's inclusion is a mix of his top-line status and his projected growth as a player. Heading into his third NHL campaign, the 21-year-old spent the bulk of the last season on the Flyers' top line with Sean Couturier and Claude Giroux and potted 24 goals, 13 more than in his rookie year.

He finished the campaign on an especially encouraging note:

Stat	1st half	2nd half
GP	40	41
G	5	19
A	9	14
P	14	33
SOG	74	103
ATOI	13:17	16:30

The production and ice time increase were largely due to his promotion to the team's first line, and he has earned the right to stay there. The former first-round pick is highly skilled and plays with intensity and ferociousness despite his small stature.

He could score 30-35 goals and finish with around 60 points in a full season with Couturier and Giroux.

LW Zach Hyman, Maple Leafs

Hyman spent the bulk of his first two NHL seasons playing alongside Auston Matthews and William Nylander, but Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock plans on lining him up with John Tavares and Mitch Marner this season.

The 26-year-old was a serviceable offensive player last year, but his 15-goal, 40-point season wasn't quite enough to put him on the fantasy radar in most leagues. However, he accomplished that feat with limited time spent on the man advantage.

James van Riemsdyk and Leo Komarov are both gone, which opens up space on the Leafs' power play. Babcock may look to Andreas Johnsson and Kasperi Kapanen to fill the vacancies, but Hyman could get a shot if those options don't work.

Hyman can likely be selected in one of the final rounds and should be taken if available. It's entirely possible he scores 25 goals this season, and while they may not be the prettiest, they'll count just the same.

C/RW J.T. Miller, Lightning

If playing with Tavares and Marner is Park Place on a Monopoly board, then skating alongside Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov is Boardwalk: prime first-line real estate for Miller.

He's more heralded than most players on this list, totaling 58 points last year and 56 in the season prior. However, he should smash both of those totals this campaign. Of his 58 points a year ago, 18 came in the 19 games after being traded to the Lightning and playing with Stamkos and Kucherov, and nearly half of his goals (10 of 23) came in Tampa.

Miller will need to be drafted before the middle rounds, but his 35-goal, 70-point potential is worth the price.

RW Ty Rattie, Oilers

With only 49 career NHL games under his belt with minimal production, Rattie is easily the most unheralded player on this list. However, in the final 12 games last year, he scored five goals and added four assists while primarily flanking Connor McDavid on the Oilers' top line.

His spot alongside McDavid isn't guaranteed, but with the way he finished last year and the lack of wingers Edmonton added in the offseason, the top-line job is seemingly his to lose.

Rattie was a prolific scorer in junior and produced in the AHL, so it's possible the 25-year-old is just a late bloomer. He's worth a pick in the final round, as McDavid's presence gives him 25-goal potential.

RW Tom Wilson, Capitals

Wilson's breakout 14-goal, 35-point season resulted in a six-year contract with a $5.17M average annual value, and there are two men who played massive roles in his big payday: linemates Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov.

Wilson will get a chance to line up beside the two superstars once again this season. It's realistic to expect him to score 20-25 goals for 40-50 points, considering he was still playing in the team's bottom-six for the first couple of months last year.

Power-play time remains unlikely, but considering he's bound to be among the league leaders in PIMs and hits, he's still worth a late-round pick as long as one of those categories is included in your league.

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