Predators' Austin Watson: Building on last year's rookie season

Watson skated just 10:13 in Thursday's 3-1 loss to the Maple Leafs. He failed to register a point, but recorded two hits, two blocked shots and two PIM.

The good news is -- except for sitting out opening night back in October -- Watson has played in every game for the Preds this season, and he's already surpassed his 10-point rookie season last year with 16 points in the current campaign. He's also seeing more ice time (12:25 versus 10:00 last season), and his plus-minus rating has improved from a minus-4 to a plus-12. The bad news is, he's still toiling in relative obscurity on the Preds' fourth line most nights, which leaves him with few opportunities to contribute offensively. Watson has been one of the better players at AHL Milwaukee the past few seasons (127 points in 224 games from 2012-2015), but his NHL career has gotten off to a much slower start. As such, he does not boast a great deal of fantasy value at the present time.