Frozen Fantasy: Fearless Predictions

Making predictions is a love-hate thing. I sometimes think rolling a dice would produce more accurate results.

But it's still fun. A lot of fun.

So, here goes. This is my preseason – OK, early season – list of award winners. Let's debate them!

Carey Price will win the Vezina as the best goalie. And he'll get the Habs into the postseason. He was a super-beast last season when Shea Weber was healthy. Shea is healthy. Just saying.

Seth Jones will take home the Norris. He'll compete with Victor Hedman and Brent Burns.

Auston Matthews stays healthy, flirts with 60 goals and brings the Rocket Richard trophy to Toronto. His shot is like no one else's.

Connor McDavid will nab the Art Ross and Hart trophies. Again. But he won't get to 120 points.

Joel Quenneville will get the Jack Adams as top coach. And his Panthers will scare the snot out of the big three in the East (Tampa Bay, Toronto, Boston).

Antti Raanta and Darcy Kuemper will share the William Jennings hardware. And carry the Desert Dawgs through at least one playoff round.

MacKenzie Blackwood will snag the Calder in a super-close vote over teammate Jack Hughes and the Avs' Cale Makar. I just think Blackwood is going to go all Jordan Binnington this season.

The Canes will play the Bolts for the Eastern Conference Championship, but will come up short.

The Avs will take on the Golden Knights in the West and slay that dragon. And then lift Lord Stanley.

And Nathan MacKinnon will earn the Conn Smythe.

Now let's take a look at who caught my eye this week.

Dennis Cholowski, D, Detroit (3 percent Yahoo! owned) – The Wings play Saturday night and 21-year-old Cholowski will be the team's QB when they hop the boards for their first power play. And that's on a unit with Dylan Larkin, Anthony Mantha and Taro Hirose. The Wings will struggle overall this season and Cholowski's plus-minus is going to suffer, perhaps even more than his minus-20 from last year. But that doesn't matter if your league doesn't count that stat. He's definitely on my watch list.

Louis Domingue, G, Tampa Bay (0 percent Yahoo! owned) – Hear me out. Yes, he lost his back-up job. Yes, he cleared waivers and is stuck in the AHL. But there are a few teams, including the Leafs, that just don't trust their backups. And Domingue did win 21 games last season, many in a long stretch when Andrei Vasilevskiy was out. He is natural trade bait and could end up in a city where he gets 20-25 starts. I have him tucked into a spot on my watch list. You should, too.

Nikita Gusev, LW, New Jersey (37 percent Yahoo! owned) – You often hear Gusev was the best pro player not in the NHL. Well, the four-time KHL All-Star is finally here and he sniped a goal in his very first game. The NHL is finally ready for skilled 5-foot-9 guys, but he's a long way from home and the comfort of Russian ice. I want him to succeed. Gusev's hockey IQ has been likened to that of his buddy Nikita Kucherov. And his KHL production is actually staggering – Gusev led the KHL last year with 82 points in 62 games in 2018-19 and 215 in 173 over three seasons. I think he could be a star in the making, so he should be owned in more than two of every five leagues. This may be the only time you can get him cheap, so stash away.

Zack Kassian, RW, Edmonton (8 percent Yahoo! owned) – Is this finally Kassian's year? He scored a goal and added an assist Wednesday playing alongside Leon Draisaitl. And Kassian could also see time beside Connor McDavid. Both are pinch me opportunities. And both should result in points. Lots of them. Couple that with another 100-100-200 season (shots-PIM-hits) and there's plenty of fantasy value here in custom formats. That is, if he can keep his crap together. He's solid, at least for now.

Colin Miller, D, Buffalo (9 percent Yahoo! owned) – Miller possesses a big shot and brings passing, skating and defensive skill to a team desperate for an upgrade on the blue line. He'll chew big moments, stabilize the back-end and get time on the second power-play unit - at least until Brandon Montour comes back at the end of October. Sounds like a fantasy win to me. Honestly, Miller's production from Vegas' debut season of 2017-18 – double-digit goals, 41 points including 17 on the power play, 165 hits and 177 shots – foreshadow his potential. He's worth adding, especially if you've already been hit with injuries.

Ilya Mikheyev, LW, Toronto (4 percent Yahoo! owned) – Mikheyev was courted hard by numerous teams after his outstanding 2018-19 KHL season and rightfully so, at least from what I've seen so far. He's uber fast and equally responsible – he's always between the puck and the net. Every time. Mikheyev also works extremely hard, something coach Mike Babcock adores. The soup-loving winger (not kidding) already put in a goal and an assist, and he looks like the perfect fit on the Buds' third line. No, there's no power-play production in his future. But he's a penalty killer with speed, so you just know he'll steal a few points there. Nab him if you need an obscure, yet productive 35-40 point forward.

Tanner Pearson, LW, Vancouver (5 percent Yahoo! owned) – Pearson isn't sexy. He isn't much at all. But he's averaged 163 shots over the last four seasons and already has 11… in one game! Pearson is lining up beside Adam Gaudette on the Orcas' third line and the two seem to have developed some chemistry. This team is going to be fun to watch and Pearson could slide up to the second line if Josh Leivo fails to deliver. Watch him in standard leagues, but snap him up if you count shots and hits. Pearson also averaged 118 hits over those same four seasons. And he topped 40 points twice in that span. Pearson can be had for cheap.

Mike Smith, G, Edmonton (26 percent Yahoo! owned) – Smith moved north this summer, trading one shade of orange for another. Now in the Oil Patch, it's a make or break for the aging vet. Smith performed well enough in the preseason to earn the opening game, where he delivered a solid win. Mikko Koskinen was thought to be the lock in the blue paint, but short term, Smith is leading the way. Goalie points are hard to find, so he's worth stashing. Just beware the porous D – the already thin blue line lost Adam Larsson opening night.

Reilly Smith, RW, Vegas (40 percent Yahoo! owned) – Smith never really gets any love. I'm not sure why. He has put up four, 50-plus point seasons in the last six. And that includes three 20-plus goal campaigns. Maybe it's the last name. I dunno. But he's now on two of my squads. Talent is talent. Smith is the kind of player that leagues are won on.

Nick Suzuki, C, Montreal (9 percent Yahoo! owned) – This brainiac surprised everyone and made the Habs out of camp. As a 20-year-old. Montreal thought he'd be spending 2019-20 growing up in the AHL, but his combination of smarts, skill and speed could keep him in bleu, blanc et rouge for 82 games. Right now, Suzuki is on the second line AND second power-play unit. His ownership will be suppressed until he gets right-wing qualification. But that should come soon enough. I wouldn't even be surprised to hear his name in Calder discussions.

Back to predictions.

I think I already want to change them LOL.

Who are your award winners? C'mon out on the limb with me.

Until next week.