ESPN Fantasy Hockey Blog

Posted by Sean Allen, Special to ESPN.com

Apparently nobody told Nikita Filatov that he was no longer playing in the World Junior Championship.

Columbus' Filatov, whose slick hands made him a fantasy favorite coming out of last year's draft, recorded a hat trick in the Blue Jackets' 4-2 win over Minnesota on Saturday. Filatov scored eight goals while leading his Russian team to a bronze medal (which could have easily been a gold medal if not for Canada's Jordan Eberle) at the world under-20 championship. To play a little bit of catch-up, here is what I wrote June 26, 2008, in a review of the 2008 NHL draft for ESPN Fantasy. Filatov was my No. 1 choice for fantasy impact during the 2008-09 season.

"I know Steven Stamkos was expected here, and I think he'll have the most long-term impact, but for this coming season only, I like Filatov's situation better. Scouts say they haven't seen hands like Filatov's come through the draft since Nikolai Zherdev, and the difference between Filatov and Zherdev is attitude. Whereas Zherdev had to be convinced to come to North America, then had that whole stink over serving army time in Russia, and still is said to be tough to coach, Filatov is dying to cross the pond, is easy to coach and speaks English well already. The potential to work with Rick Nash or even Zherdev himself makes Filatov a good bet to contribute the most next year from this draft class. Like drafting him in real-life, though, there is always risk with the lack of a transfer agreement from Russia. But until I hear definitively that he will not be coming to play in North America this coming season, Filatov will be the one I am taking a risk on in 2008-09."

Obviously, in hindsight, the reference to working with Zherdev is a little dated, and the transfer agreement was no impediment to Filatov coming to the NHL. Beyond those points, though, I still like the rest of the paragraph. I mean, Filatov has now tied Stamkos' season goal total despite having played in 34 fewer games.

So now that he is here to stay, can Filatov be a true fantasy impact player? Well, one might wonder if Nash's absence had anything to do with Filatov scoring three goals. The short answer is no. Filatov skated with veteran center Michael Peca and fellow rookie Jakub Voracek, two players Nash has rarely lined up with this season. None of Filatov's goals came on the power play either. Those two things are a pretty clear indication that Filatov would have been able to manage a hat trick even had Nash played in the game.

Go ahead and grab Filatov now, if your league is like one of the 81-plus percent of ESPN leagues in which he is still available. Another 20 goals over the final 40 games of the season is probably just a basement for Filatov's prospects, and he could end up with 30 more points by season's end. That would give him a fighting chance to be the points leader among the 2008 draft class this season, a title currently held by the Coyotes' Mikkel Boedker and his 18 points.

There are a few exciting tidbits coming out of the Predators' camp. Steve Sullivan played a little more than 12 minutes in his first game since Feb. 2007 as the Preds topped his former Chicago team, 4-1. We'll need to see Sullivan a few more games before we can see if he is going to be someone to own this season, but a pre-emptive pickup is a good idea if you can afford the roster space. He will eventually end up on a new-look second line featuring J.P. Dumont. That's because the new-look top line in Nashville has found terrific chemistry. Jason Arnott, Martin Erat and converted center David Legwand have looked great since being placed together, with 10 combined points in two games. They might get broken up Sunday as Arnott nurses a lower-body injury, but they'll be back together soon. The bottom line from all these moves: Dumont becomes droppable, Legwand is someone to pick up and Sullivan should be monitored. … Nashville's Pekka Rinne stopped 34 of 35 shots he faced in the win. If you are in a deep league, it's time you picked him up. You'll be saying "Dan Ellis who?" in another month. … Speaking of hot goalies you can use, Andrew Raycroft is 7-0 in his past seven starts after a 5-3 Avalanche win over Pittsburgh. It looks like goalie coach Jeff Hackett is finding success with Raycroft like he did last season with Jose Theodore. … Wojtek Wolski logged his third straight two-point game as he continues to log minutes at center for the top line (with Ryan Smyth and Milan Hejduk). Owned in just 46 percent of ESPN leagues, Wolski makes for a great pickup while Paul Stastny is out. … Ty Conklin made 21 saves as Detroit beat Buffalo 3-1. Conklin is now 15-5-1 with a 2.32 goals-against average and .919 save percentage. Meanwhile, Chris Osgood is 14-2-4 with a 3.02 GAA and .883 save percentage. Who would you keep turning to? Yeah, that's what Wings coach Mike Babcock thinks too. … Montreal escaped with a 5-4 win over Washington thanks to a last-minute unassisted goal from Sergei Kostitsyn. That gives the Habs 23 goals in their past four games. I'll refer you to Friday's blog entry by Tim Kavanagh for more. But I will add that the long-awaited "Kostitsyn brothers line" is now in full effect. Robert Lang, Andrei Kostitsyn and his brother Sergei have managed 20 combined points in the past four games. All three are terrific targets going forward. … Goalie Brian Elliott made his first start this season for the Ottawa Senators. Unfortunately, the Senators' scoring woes continued, and Elliott and Co. lost to the Rangers 2-0. Elliott is the Sens' best choice between the pipes for the remainder of the season and is a decent gamble for struggling fantasy teams looking for a cheap option off the free-agent wire. If some personnel changes happen in Ottawa, they do have the talent to field a winning team, and Elliott would benefit down the home stretch this season. That said, if no coaching or philosophy changes take place, he'd be just as worthless as Alex Auld and Martin Gerber going forward. … Yeah, yeah, Mats Sundin scored his first goal for the Canucks in a 4-2 loss to San Jose. But lest we forget that he spent the first two games having logged zero shots on goal, and for the second straight game he was sitting in the penalty box when the game-winning goal by the other team was scored. OK, maybe that's a bit harsh. Sundin's line assignments are actually looking pretty good, and he might be on the verge of putting up some big numbers if they stay consistent. His even-strength linemates include the speedy Mason Raymond and veteran sniper Pavol Demitra, and on the power play, Sundin is working with stars Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin. … David Krejci had yet another three-point night and Michael Ryder scored twice to lead Boston past Carolina, 5-1. Did we say Ryder would have a 30-goal season? Um, we meant 35. … Zero goals for fantasy purposes were recorded in Phoenix's 1-0 shootout win over Dallas. It does count as Marty Turco's first shutout of the season, though. Quick, sell high! … Speaking of which, Jonathan Quick's run of good luck ran out with a 5-1 Kings loss to the Devils. Bench him and see if he can rebound from this outing next week, or if Erik Ersberg takes back the workload. … Speaking of the Devils, Brendan Shanahan returns to the team that drafted him after reportedly agreeing to terms. It's not the most fantasy-friendly place he could have landed, but there is room for him amongst the team's top six forwards. That said, Shanny's skill set at this point closely resembles that of sniper Brian Rolston, who has been relegated to checking-line duty in New Jersey. Pick up Shanahan if he is available, but his outlook isn't as bright as Sundin's. … Jeff Carter now has sole possession of the NHL's goal-scoring race after potting goal No. 28 and 29 in a 4-1 Philadelphia victory over Toronto. … Twelve goals were scored in Florida as the Panthers topped the Thrashers 8-4. The line of Ville Peltonen, Gregory Campbell and Radek Dvorak managed to combine for three goals and five assists. In fact, they have combined for 18 points in five January games. A defensively responsible trio, they are a combined plus-30 on the season and could help deep-league owners looking to fill out their lineups.

Sean Allen is a fantasy baseball and hockey analyst for ESPN.com. You can e-mail him here.