NHL.com: Hartnell a bounce-back fantasy candidate in 2016-17

When drafting your fantasy hockey team, one of the keys is selecting players who aren’t ranked as high because of a subpar season. If you are able to identify these players going into the draft or on the waiver wire, you’ll be in position to reap the benefits if they exceed expectations.

Some players have changed teams, which can help them return to fantasy prominence; others just had atypical seasons. Some players have new teammates, who can potentially boost their statistical production. It’s always a risky strategy drafting players in the hopes of vast improvements, but the reward can be huge.

Here are some bounce-back candidates for the 2016-17 season, along with standard Yahoo category projections. The top 15 have been arranged in order of rank in NHL.com’s top 200. Skaters considered for this list played in at least 67 games; goalies made at least 50 starts.

Nathan MacKinnon, C/RW, Colorado Avalanche (ADP: 52.0; NHL.com: 46)

MacKinnon won the Calder Trophy in 2013-14 with 63 points (24 goals, 39 assists) and a plus-20 in 82 games, but the past two seasons haven’t gone nearly as well. He had 38 points (14 goals, 24 assists) in 64 games in 2014-15 and 52 (21 goals, 31 assists) in 72 games last season with negative ratings and time missed with injuries. The good news is he has maintained a high shots-on-goal volume and gets a fresh start under new Avalanche coach Jared Bednar. MacKinnon’s linemate, Gabriel Landeskog, finished second on the team in points (53) behind Matt Duchene (59) but also is a bounce-back candidate because his totals dipped in all six standard categories.

Stat projection: 25 goals, 38 assists, minus-8, 30 penalty minutes, 17 power-play points, 263 SOG

Pekka Rinne, Nashville Predators (ADP: 34.6; NHL.com: 55)

Rinne finished 15th among goalies in Yahoo’s year-end rankings, making him a big fantasy disappointment. He was 34-21-10 last season, but his goals-against average (2.48) and save percentage (.908) regressed after he was a Vezina Trophy nominee in 2014-15 with 41 wins (tied for second in NHL), a 2.18 GAA (third; minimum 25 games) and .923 SV% (T-7th). Rinne also was a Vezina finalist in 2010-11 and 2011-12. With P.K. Subban expected to boost Nashville’s offense, fantasy owners can expect a return to 40 wins for Rinne, with stronger peripherals than last season.

Stat projection: 65 games, 41 wins, 2.35 GAA, .918 SV%, 5 SO

Duncan Keith, Chicago Blackhawks (ADP: …

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