Fantasy awards at one-quarter mark of 2017-18

We've reached the one-quarter mark of the 2017-18 NHL season, so it's the perfect time to look back at all the biggest fantasy storylines from around the League.
Below are the most valuable players at each position in standard fantasy leagues, as well as candidates for overall MVP, top rookies and more. These selections are based solely on fantasy performance to date, not on expectations for the rest of the season. Yahoo average draft positions are listed for biggest steals, surprises and disappointments.

NOTES: Standard Yahoo leagues include goals, assists, plus/minus, penalty minutes, power-play points and shots on goal for skaters, and wins, goals-against average, save percentage and shutouts for goalies. ... Any player with dual eligibility in Yahoo is listed at his primary position for this season (e.g. Brayden Schenn at center, Claude Giroux at left wing). ... Writers have distinguished between steals and surprises based on which players have exceeded or fallen short of their fantasy expectations.

Pete Jensen, NHL.com Senior Fantasy Editor

MVP: Nikita Kucherov, TBL (Honorable mentions: Steven Stamkos, TBL; Johnny Gaudreau, CGY)
Center: Steven Stamkos, TBL (Honorable mentions: Auston Matthews, TOR; Brayden Schenn, STL)
Left wing: Johnny Gaudreau, CGY (Honorable mentions: Jaden Schwartz, STL; Jamie Benn, DAL)
Right wing: Nikita Kucherov, TBL (Honorable mentions: Vladimir Tarasenko, STL; Blake Wheeler, WPG)
Defenseman: Erik Karlsson, OTT (Honorable mentions: Alex Pietrangelo, STL; John Klingberg, DAL)
Goaltender: Andrei Vasilevskiy, TBL (Honorable mentions: Sergei Bobrovsky, CBJ; Corey Crawford, CHI)
Bounce-back: Jonathan Quick, LAK (Honorable mentions: Claude Giroux, PHI; Nathan MacKinnon, COL)
Steal: Anthony Mantha, DET (Honorable mentions: Vladislav Namestnikov, TBL; Mika Zibanejad, NYR)
Rookie: Mathew Barzal, NYI (Honorable mentions: Brock Boeser, VAN; Clayton Keller, ARI)
Surprise: Dustin Brown, LAK (Honorable mentions: Sean Couturier, PHI; Connor Hellebuyck, WPG)
Disappointment: Brent Burns, SJS (Honorable mentions: Matt Murray, PIT; Oliver Ekman-Larsson, ARI)

David Satriano, NHL.com Staff Writer

MVP: Nikita Kucherov, TBL (Honorable mentions: Steven Stamkos, TBL; Johnny Gaudreau, CGY)
C: Steven Stamkos, TBL (Honorable mentions: Connor McDavid, EDM; Brayden Schenn, STL)
LW: Johnny Gaudreau, CGY (Honorable mentions: Jamie Benn, DAL; Jaden Schwartz, STL)
RW: Nikita Kucherov, TBL (Honorable mentions: Phil Kessel, PIT; Vladimir Tarasenko, STL)
D: Alex Pietrangelo, STL (Honorable mentions: Victor Hedman, TBL; Kevin Shattenkirk, NYR)
G: Sergei Bobrovsky, CBJ (Honorable mentions: Andrei Vasilevskiy, TBL; Jonathan Quick, LAK)
Bounce-back: Anze Kopitar, LAK (Honorable mentions: Claude Giroux, PHI; Mike Green, DET)
Steal: Connor Hellebuyck, WPG (Honorable mentions: Sean Couturier, PHI; Anders Lee, NYI)
Rookie: Mathew Barzal, NYI (Honorable mentions: Clayton Keller, ARI; Brock Boeser, VAN)
Surprise: Brayden Schenn, STL (Honorable mentions: Anthony Mantha, DET; Dustin Brown, LAK)
Disappointment: Brent Burns, SJS (Honorable mentions: Carey Price, MTL*; Joe Pavelski, SJS)

Brian Metzer, NHL.com Fantasy Correspondent

MVP: Nikita Kucherov, TBL (Honorable mentions: Steven Stamkos, TBL; Jaden Schwartz, STL)
C: Steven Stamkos, TBL (Honorable mentions: Connor McDavid, EDM; Brayden Schenn, STL)
LW: Jaden Schwartz, STL (Honorable mentions: Johnny Gaudreau, CGY; Claude Giroux, PHI)
RW: Nikita Kucherov, TBL (Honorable mentions: Jakub Voracek, PHI; Phil Kessel, PIT)
D: Alex Pietrangelo, STL (Honorable mentions: John Klingberg, DAL; Erik Karlsson, OTT)
G: Sergei Bobrovsky, CBJ (Honorable mentions: Andrei Vasilevskiy, TBL; Frederik Andersen, TOR)
Bounce-back: Steven Stamkos, TBL (Honorable mentions: Anze Kopitar, LAK; Claude Giroux, PHI)
Steal: Josh Bailey, NYI (Honorable mentions: Dustin Brown, LAK; Jaden Schwartz, STL)
Rookie: Clayton Keller, ARI (Honorable mentions: Mathew Barzal, NYI; Brock Boeser, VAN)
Surprise: Vincent Trocheck, FLA (Honorable mentions: Sean Couturier, PHI; Dylan Larkin, DET)
Disappointment: Brent Burns, SJS (Honorable mentions: Sidney Crosby, PIT; Jack Eichel, BUF)

James Harding, NHL.com Fantasy Correspondent

MVP: Johnny Gaudreau, CGY (Honorable mentions: Steven Stamkos, TBL; Nikita Kucherov, TBL)
C: Steven Stamkos, TBL (Honorable mentions: Brayden Schenn, STL; Anze Kopitar, LAK)
LW: Johnny Gaudreau, CGY (Honorable mentions: Jaden Schwartz, STL; Vladislav Namestnikov, TBL)
RW: Nikita Kucherov, TBL (Honorable mentions: Phil Kessel, PIT; Vladimir Tarasenko, STL)
D: Erik Karlsson, OTT (Honorable mentions: Alex Pietrangelo, STL; John Klingberg, DAL)
G: Andrei Vasilevskiy, TBL (Honorable mentions: Sergei Bobrovsky, CBJ; Connor Hellebuyck, WPG)
Bounce-back: Dustin Brown, LAK (Honorable mentions: Mike Green, DET; Connor Hellebuyck, WPG)
Steal: Mika Zibanejad, NYR (Honorable mentions: Jason Zucker, MIN; Josh Bailey, NYI)
Rookie: Mathew Barzal, NYI (Honorable mentions: Clayton Keller, ARI; Mikhail Sergachev, TBL)
Surprise: Brayden Schenn, STL (Honorable mentions: Sean Couturier, PHI; Evander Kane, BUF)
Disappointment: Brent Burns, SJS (Honorable mentions: Nicklas Backstrom, WSH; Artemi Panarin, CBJ)

First-place votes:

MVP: Kucherov 3 (runner-up: Gaudreau 1)
Top C: Stamkos4 (consensus)
Top LW: Gaudreau3 (runner-up: Schwartz 1)
Top RW: Kucherov 4 (consensus)
Top D: Pietrangelo 2, Karlsson 2
Top G: Bobrovsky 2, Vasilevskiy 2
Bounce-back: Quick 1, Kopitar 1, Stamkos 1, Brown 1
Steal: Mantha 1, Hellebuyck 1, Bailey 1, Zibanejad 1
Rookie: Barzal3 (runner-up: Keller 1)
Surpise: Schenn2 (runner-up: Brown 1, Trocheck 1)
Disappointment: Burns 4 (consensus)

Yahoo ADP, current rank of biggest steals and surprises:

Schenn: ADP: 86.6; Yahoo rank: 4
Mantha: ADP: 166.4; Yahoo rank: 12
Schwartz: ADP: 110.9; Yahoo rank: 14
Namestnikov: ADP: 142.5; Yahoo rank: 16
E. Kane: ADP: 114.1; Yahoo rank: 18
Couturier: ADP: 151.3; Yahoo rank: 19
Brown: ADP: 153.8; Yahoo rank: 29
Hellebuyck: ADP: 178.9; Yahoo rank: 33
Lee: ADP: 169.6; Yahoo rank: 35
Larkin: ADP: 163.0; Yahoo rank: 38
Zibanejad: ADP: 166.7; Yahoo rank: 44
Trocheck: ADP: 169.8; Yahoo rank: 45
Bailey: ADP: Undrafted; Yahoo rank: 56
Zucker: ADP: 165.9; Yahoo rank: 77

Yahoo ADP, current rank of biggest disappointments:

Crosby: ADP: 2.3; Yahoo rank: 47
Price: ADP: 5.9; Yahoo rank: 802*
Burns: ADP: 6.7; Yahoo rank: 203
Eichel: ADP: 12.9; Yahoo rank: 163
Backstrom: ADP: 20.7; Yahoo rank: 131
Murray: ADP: 21.2; Yahoo rank: 152
Panarin: ADP: 31.0; Yahoo rank: 111
Pavelski: ADP: 32.7; Yahoo rank: 206
Ekman-Larsson: ADP: 79.3; Yahoo rank: 235
\Price has missed the past eight games because of a lower-body injury, but was 3-7-1 with a 3.77 goals-against average and .877 save percentage in 11 starts.*