When looking at the NHL standings at this point in the season there really aren’t that many surprises.  Montreal, Pittsburgh, Anaheim and Chicago all lead their division respectively, which doesn’t come as much of a surprise to most experts.  It’s when you unpack all the box scores, and results and individual statistics that you find a few surprises that actually shift the scales from a fantasy perspective.  You can call them sleepers if you want, but in today’s social media bombardment it’s safe to say every player is super ultra hyper covered and there are no real secrets.  In a world of live tweeting and Instagram it has become increasingly easy to keep up with a player’s performance on the ice as well as what they ordered for dinner last night and the last argument they had with their wife.  Check out these players, and if they made their way onto your fantasy team, you’ve experienced tremendous value so far this season.

Jakub Voracek, RW, Philadelphia Flyers

If you predicted that Voracek through 33 games would be leading the league in points you might consider quitting your day job to play the stock market.  Voracek who is entering his 7^th season and was a 7^th overall pick by the Columbus Blue Jackets so the skill set has been there.  His peripherals however are through the roof and with 14 goals and 30 assists he is on pace to smash all of his career highs.  On pace to score 30 goals the Flyers likely acquired him to be more of a serviceable player rather than the guy that their offense would run through.  Don’t be ashamed if you missed this, there wasn’t enough out there that would convince anyone that his ceiling would be more than 24 goals.  The easy prediction is that the Czech national will level off at some point, but it really seems as though the Flyers have struck gold pairing Voracek with Claude Giroux.  The two have become an unstoppable force which explains Voracek’s unusually high plus/minus of +15.  The Flyers are still average at best, but fantasy owners don’t care about that.  There’s no reason to sell high because you’ll be hard pressed to get fair value.  Feel good about holding him, because we all know that you got him for a deal on draft day.
 

Mark Giordano, D, Calgary Flames

It’s nice to see Giordano, who has battled injuries in the past play in 36 games so far this season.  The 9 year veteran leads the league in points with 34 and assists with 24 while also leading the league in goals with two other players with 10.  These stats aren’t blowing anyone away just yet, but they are coming out of nowhere as Giordano is on pace to obliterate his scoring average from any of his past 8 seasons.  If Giordano stays healthy and that’s a huge if he should finish in the top 3 in scoring amongst defensemen.  He’s no Al MacInnis but that’s decent offense and great value if you have him on your fantasy team.
 

Pekka Rinne, G, Nashville Predators

The Finnish born Rinne is putting up super star numbers and the Predators who sit at 2^nd in their division can attribute their success to the best stopper in the league.  Between the pipes, Rinne is killing it, leading the league with a 1.79 GAA, while also leading in save percentage at .934 and most importantly wins with 22.  Since Rinne is on pace to play more game the he played in the last two years combined it can be assumed that his production has come as a pleasant surprise if you own him in your fantasy league(s).  He’s not going to be become a sieve overnight, so feel free to trade whatever goalie you have sitting on your bench if they have value.  Rinne is on a Vezina pace and if his ratio stats continue to trend the way they have been this could be one of the greatest seasons by a goalie ever.  Patrick Roy and Martin Brodeur had 3 combined seasons with a GAA under 2, and a save percentage above .920.  I wouldn’t count on this continuing, but it sure would be historic if it did.