Edmonton Oilers season snapshot fantasy honors

With the NHL pausing the 2019-20 regular season on March 12 due to the concerns surrounding the coronavirus, NHL.com is taking stock of each of the League's 31 teams.

Today, a fantasy recap of the Edmonton Oilers at the pause:

NOTE: Rank for most-valuable fantasy player is based on standard-category production to date.

Fantasy MVP: Leon Draisaitl, C/LW (rank: 3) --He leads the NHL with 110 points (43 goals, 67 assists) in 71 games, 13 more than the next-best total, by Edmonton Oilers teammate Connor McDavid (97 in 64 games). The only NHL player since 1999-00 with a higher points-per-game average than Draisaitl (1.55; minimum 70 games) in a single season was Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov last season (1.56). Draisaitl was also a top-tier fantasy forward in 2018-19 but has played less frequently with McDavid at even strength in 2019-20, instead developing chemistry with forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and right wing Kailer Yamamoto.

Draisaitl leads the NHL in assists and power-play points (44), and he ranks fourth in goals and 20th in shots on goal (218). The only reason Draisaitl trails Boston Bruins right wing David Pastrnak (first) and Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (second) in the standard-league rankings is because he's minus-7, compared to Pastrnak at plus-21 and MacKinnon at plus-13. The Oilers have Draisaitl and McDavid (sixth) among the top six overall fantasy players.

Biggest surprise: Kailer Yamamoto, RW --Recalled by the Oilers on Dec. 28 after being named an all-star in the American Hockey League, Yamamoto has been arguably the best midseason fantasy pickup in the NHL. He scored a goal in his season debut against the New York Rangers on Dec. 31 and has become a fixture in Edmonton's top six with 26 points (11 goals, 15 assists) in 27 games. He's plus-17 (eighth in NHL) and has 24 even-strength points (16th) in that stretch. Yamamoto's emergence on Draisaitl's wing has allowed McDavid and Draisaitl to play at an elite level on separate lines.

Unsung hero: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, C/LW --Overshadowed by Draisaitl and McDavid in fantasy, Nugent-Hopkins quietly is tied for 37th in the NHL in points (130 in 147 games) and 18th in PPP (50) over the past two seasons combined. Nugent-Hopkins has had a higher points-per-game average (0.94) this season playing with Draisaitl than in 2018-19 (0.84), when he had an NHL career-high 69 points playing mostly on a separate line from Draisaitl and McDavid. Drafted on average outside the top 100 overall in fantasy leagues, Nugent-Hopkins has become a fringe top-50 player in standard leagues.

Listen: Video: EDM@NSH: Yamamoto beats Rinne in tight for goal