Fantasy Hockey Profile: Gabriel Landeskog

By Rob Kirk on November 22, 2012

Colorado surprised the hockey world by naming 19-year-old Gabriel Landeskog captain of their hockey team. The Calder Trophy winning left wing showed his worth to the Denver faithful with a fantastic all around rookie campaign.

Landeskog showed a surprising amount of grit and toughness, characteristics that aren’t typical of rookies, much less rookies from Sweden. The leadership and feistiness that Landeskog showed the Avalanche brass was enough for them to make him the youngest captain in the NHL.

At 6’1” and 205 lbs., Landeskog is already playing in a man’s body and will only get bigger, stronger and better as he matures. He has shown a nose for the net, and a body for the corners.  He led the Avalanche in shots, plus/minus, goals and hits while finishing third on the team with 53 points in 82 games.

Colorado has been building up the talent on the roster for the past couple of years. The Avalanche have missed the playoffs the past couple of seasons but have put together a collection of young talent that are maturing and meshing  together. They plucked playmaking winger P.A. Parenteau from the free agent pool, to add to the depth of scoring.

The Avalanche look to finally have all the pieces in place to restore some glory to a proud franchise that was dominant for most of the mid 1990’s and early 2000’s. With only three players on the roster over the age of 30, the Avalanche are good, young and hungry. Leading the charge to the postseason will be their young captain.

Another season with the core group will serve Landeskog well as he grows into the role of team leader. A solid selection in the second round of your fantasy draft will serve you well as the Colorado captain excels in nearly every category.