As part of Fantasy Life's 2024 Fantasy Hockey Draft Kit, Geoff Ulrich has broken down his favorite Power Play Specialists for Fantasy Hockey for 2024:

Last week we released the full 2024 Fantasy Hockey Draft Kit for the season, which included overall ranks for the top 150 players. 

Those rankings are based on factors like volume, opportunity, and recent history; with power play opportunity being a key component. Almost all fantasy hockey leagues award extra points for goals or assists that are had on the man advantage, and some will even sweeten the deal and make power play points more valuable than they are in regular leagues.

Regardless of whether your league gives a regular-sized power-play bonus, it’s important to know which of the top players tend to have the best chance at outperforming with the man advantage this season; potentially giving them added upside that makes them great draft targets.

Before we jump into it today, be sure to check out our positional rankings for the following:

Today, we’re going to focus exclusively on those power-play specialists who have the opportunity to rack you up bonus points thanks to their special team prowess.

Power Play Specialists for Fantasy Hockey 2024

Center

Nick Suzuki, Montreal Canadiens 

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.

Ryan O’Reilly, Nashville Predators 

The Predators ranked just 16th in power-play efficiency last season but it’s reasonable to expect them to be an elite unit this season after adding Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault. O’Reilly should be a huge beneficiary as he’s locked into the top-line center role on both Nashville’s top line and power play unit. 

O’Reilly has never been a massive power-play producer, but he came close to matching his career high of 15 power-play goals last season, ending the year with 14 man-advantage goals and 14 assists. If Nashville’s offense does take a step up, it's reasonable that O’Reilly could approach or surpass some career highs in 2024-25 making him a mid-round player with added fantasy value; especially if you’re league emphasizes special teams scoring.

Wingers

Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning 

I’m just going to state the obvious before we get to some less obvious names. Kucherov led the league with 55 power play points last season and with Tampa Bay reloading on the fly by adding goal-scoring winger Jake Guentzel, it’s reasonable to expect he’ll be top three (at worst) in this category again.  

As I mentioned in our Winger Rankings, Kucherov’s usage and ability to create with the man advantage makes him the clear number-one choice at winger this year and a player with added value in any specialty league where power points get added value.

Seth Jarvis, Carolina Hurricanes 

Jarvis played a vital role for the Hurricanes on special teams last season, posting career-bests of 13 power-play goals and 20 power-play points. It’s reasonable to be a little cautious of a player who took such a huge jump in production (his previous career highs were six power-play points and two power-play goals) but the Canes' only real addition this offseason came on the backend with Shayne Gostisbehere; who should only help Carolina’s overall special teams production. 

Jarvis should produce some great power play numbers again, giving him a nice floor in regular leagues thanks to the power play bonuses and added appeal in specialty leagues. 

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Edmonton Oilers 

The Oilers did add some depth at wing this season but I’d be shocked if either Jeff Skinner or Viktor Arvidsson cut into Nugent-Hopkin's power play time in any significant way. The versatile forward brings an added dimension of familiarity and playmaking that those two do not and his position as an Oilers veteran will make it hard for any demotion to take place unless he really underperforms to start the year. 

Nugent-Hopkins is also likely to be a little undervalued this season in fantasy drafts thanks to a fairly serious drop in production last season (104 points in 2022-23 to 67 points in 2023-24). However, I’d look for him to be closer to a point-per-game player again, partially thanks to both the Oilers' depth and the likelihood their power play starts the season far better than it did last year.

Defensemen

Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning 

Hedman is getting up there in age (33) but he’s not likely to play any less in 2024-25 than he has in recent years. The Lightning shipped out Mikhail Sergachev to Utah leaving them thin on the blueline and without a clear-cut number two defensemen. Hedman’s 31 ppp last season was the third-best mark of his career and even if the Lightning regress in efficiency next season he should still be one of the leaders on defense in this category. 

Evan Bouchard, Edmonton Oilers

Speaking of leaders on defense, the ceiling for the Oilers Evan Bouchard this year cannot be understated. He’s coming off a regular season where he managed 35 ppp and added 14 more in postseason action, in 25 games played.

That sort of efficiency on the man advantage could push him to challenge to be the number one fantasy defenseman this season, and in leagues where power play points are given extra weight, he’s a player you need to grab early and often. 

Shayne Gostisbehere, Carolina Hurricanes 

Gostisbehere has always been a solid power play producer and managed 29 ppp last season with the Red Wings, which was the second-highest total of his career. This year he’ll start the season with the Hurricanes, a unit that ranked second in power play efficiency last season and could boost Gostisbehere’s stats even more. 

He may face a little competition from time to time from Brent Burns, but given where Burns is in his career, expect the Canes to lean on Gostisbehere early and often on special teams.

Miro Heiskanen, Dallas Stars

Heiskanen saw his power play production drop way down in 2023-24 to 26 points (from 41). However, despite losing some special teams volume last season, the Stars' stud blueliner is still just 25 years old and doesn’t have a ton of depth chart competition, making a bounceback in point production seem likely.

I like grabbing Heisanen around ADP (or even slightly before if necessary) as Dallas looks set to allow him to play big minutes and handle most of the man-advantage workload. If the Stars maintain or improve their power play efficiency, he should push to be a top three to five power play producer on the back end with ease.