Breakouts on the blue line don't always announce themselves the way forwards do. Instead of sudden scoring spikes, defenders can rack up value quietly through ice time, power-play deployment and underlying physical stats that translate to fantasy points. Not every blueliner breaking into the fray is going to be anything close to a Cale Makar , but spotting when a young defender is ready to step into an expanded role can give you a real edge in drafts.

Last season, our breakout model leaned on age and experience thresholds, but it's now refined to target players likely to make a true fantasy impact, not just fill in for injuries. Using the same approach as with forwards , interquartile ranges for age and experience at first sustained career FPPG above a historical median help us pinpoi

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