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2024-25 Fantasy Hockey Draft Kit

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Inside this guide, you'll find links to all our preseason and pre-draft coverage, including rankings, sleepers, and more. We excerpted a little from each to give you a feel for what to expect. Pieces will be added through the end of September, so check back frequently. 

Enjoy! Good luck! And may your sleepers all pan out!

Fantasy Hockey Top 150 Player Rankings

The Stars have a deep squad, but I tend to regard Jason Robertson as their best offensive player. The winger is still just 25 years of age and has already posted two 40-plus goal seasons. Coming off a depressed year scoring-wise, he’s now available much later in drafts (sometimes well past the 40th player off the board). 

Dallas’ power play was elite last season, and there is no reason to think it will regress this year. Even if he doesn’t reach 40-plus goals again, Robertson should be in a position to improve on his playmaking numbers and increase his offensive production this year. I view him as another good bounceback candidate and a young player you should be targeting if he falls past his current ADP. 

Fantasy Hockey Rookie Rankings

Will Smith should be a vital part of the Sharks top six this season and could be in line to outshine teammate and number-one pick Macklin Celebrini. The former Boston University star posted 71 points (25 goals, 46 assists) in his last year in college and may have an easier time transitioning given his two-way game. 

For fantasy purposes, there will be a rush of people trying to grab Celebrini making his valuation more pricy than it should be on a still fragile Sharks roster. Smith is a player who could be had for cheaper and an easier stash in case he does eventually grab a bigger role and become a viable fantasy producer. 

Fantasy Hockey Goalie Rankings

Most rankings I’ve seen have Igor Shesterkin as their No. 1, and ranking him there is a no-brainer. However, ranking the next five to seven goalies behind Shesterkin is a much more difficult task, and there will be tons of differing opinions on where and how to rank this next tier of goalies. 

I have Jusee Saros listed as my No. 2 for the season, which is higher than most. It’s extremely close between Saros, Swayman, Oettinger, and Hellebuyck but the moves the Predators made this offseason make it quite clear they are looking to make a serious move in the Western Conference. Saros is also still just 29 and while he’s coming off a bit of a down season he still managed to win 35 games last year. 

Given the moves the Predators made, that win total almost seems like the floor for Saros in 2024-25 if he stays healthy. 

Fantasy Hockey Center Rankings

Tim Stutlze had a down season last year from a shooting perspective, as he watched his goal total plummet from 39 in 2022-23 (78 games) to 18 in 2023-24 (75 games). A lot of drop in production just seemed to be natural regression from a puck luck standpoint, as his shooting percentage was a woefully low 9.4% in 2023-24, compared to a very hot 17.1% in 2022-23. 

Stutzle’s still young, so a little road bump shouldn’t deter you from chasing more positive regression for him this year. His true accuracy as a shooter likely sits somewhere in between the marks he posted the last two seasons, and with his ADP having been pushed outside the top 20 centers on some sites for 2024-25, he sets up as both a bounceback candidate and a solid value for drafts. 

Fantasy Hockey Winger Rankings

Even with the loss of Steven Stamkos, I think there is still a decent gap between Nikita Kucherov and the next tier of winger. The addition of Jake Guentzel should keep the Tampa Bay power play humming as a top-5 to 10 unit and allow the shifty playmaker to pile up a ton of assists and ppp again. 

Kuchareov was also within 5 goals of both 2nd and 3rd ranked David Pastrnak and Artemi Panarin last season and I don’t necessarily see either one of those players in a position to dramatically outperform their totals from last year. This is all really a long way of saying that if you have a top pick and the first two or three centers are off the board, don’t overthink things and just grab Kucherov. 

Fantasy Hockey Defenseman Rankings

I like Brock Faber as a potential breakout candidate who could improve on his production from his rookie season where he still managed 47 points in 82 games and landed 16 ppp. The Wild may not be that good, which will hurt his plus/minus, but they also don’t have a ton of options on the blueline — and 34-year-old Jared Spurgeon is recovering from an injury, meaning Faber should dominate PP1 minutes.

I have Faber ranked pretty aggressively at 21. but if everything goes right he’s a player who could still outperform that draft position.

Fantasy Hockey Sleepers for 2024

Morgan Frost is a creative, playmaking center entering his fourth season with the Philadelphia Flyers. He’s averaged around .56 ppg over the last two seasons but has bounced around the lineup a lot, often taking on a lower-six role for games at a time.

When he has been given top six minutes Frost has shown the upside to dramatically improve and potentially even become a point-per-game player. Last year he set career highs with 11 power-play points and 3 power-play goals, and looks set to start the year on the top PP unit for the Flyers, while also playing in between talented rookie Matvei Michkov and 28-goal scorer Owen Tippett.

Frost averaged 1.76 ppg in his last two years of junior and with Sean Courerier anchoring the top line, the undersized center should have a shot to excel against other teams' second units and outperform his ADP this season.

Fantasy Hockey Breakout Players for 2024

Still just 21, Wyatt Johnston is heading into his third full season with the Stars and looks like a player on the verge of posting some big numbers. Despite often playing on the second or third line last season, Johnston managed to post a career-best 65 points, upping his 41-point total from his rookie year. 

A versatile player, Johnston now looks like he’ll be starting the season on Dallas’ first line following the retirement of Joe Pavelski. If we’re being honest, Johnston had already replaced Pavelski in the Stars' top six towards the back half of last season and made his mark in the playoffs where he managed 10 goals in 19 games. However, with the veteran now gone, there should also be more power play time for the third-year player who scored 85% of his points at regular strength last year.

I’d look for him to develop into at least a PPG player this year and end the year as a top-30 fantasy producer.

Players to Avoid in Fantasy Hockey 2024

Now 34, John Tavares is coming off a down-season where he regressed to 0.81 points per game vs the 1.0 ppg he put up in 2022-23. It’s not the end of the world but at this point in his career, you also have to take it as a potential sign that he is slowing down as a scorer.

Unfortunately for him and his fantasy value, the Leafs have also bought into this notion as they are currently trying out William Nylander as the second-line center to start the season. Who knows how long that will last but bumping down Tavares to the third line, into a potential checking line role, is not great for his value. 

With higher-end scorers like Tim Stützle and Roope Hintz, who are still on the upside portion of their careers going around him in drafts, Tavares is a player I’d rather just fade completely in 2024-25.

Power Play Specialists for Fantasy Hockey 2024

Nick Suzuki managed to post career bests in both power-play assists and goals last season, despite being attached to a Montreal team that ranked sixth last in efficiency with the man advantage. I’m not expecting the Canadiens to turn into the Oilers overnight, but there is hope this group will be more efficient in 2024-25 with the man advantage; with the addition of Patrik Laine and Lane Hutson potentially contributing more on the backend as well. 

Regardless, Suzuki is locked into a top power-play role and from a skill perspective is the kind of player we’d expect to flourish with extra space. If Montreal can take a small step forward on offense Suzuki’s power play stats should follow, making him a great specialist to target this season.