Sleeper Watch

Chris Stewart of the Colorado Avalanche is playing the best hockey of his young career and is having a breakout sophomore season. He has 13 points (five goals, eight assists) and +4 over the past nine games, and scored two goals last night. That makes for 19 this season, matching his total production last season in half the games (27/53). He and center Paul Stastny appear to have good chemistry on the ice, and a Wolski-Stastny-Stewart line is formidable, especially when anchored by Liles and Quincey on the power play.

Milan Hejduk is the best-known winger on the Avalanche, but Stewart is primed as his replacement and was a top pick in the 2006 draft (18th to Colorado). Hejduk clearly isn’t going anywhere, but look for Colorado to continue putting Stewart on the Stastny line. Stewart is a natural scorer who led the team in goals in his lone AHL season (25), so expect him to shift his point production in that direction as he has more scoring opportunities; of his 19 points last season, 11 were goals.

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• Marek Svatos by Arlo Vander (posted on 11/25/2005 in Sleepers)

Thomas is a big-time DC sports fan. You can find him in the forums posting as skinsfan.