2024-25 top nhl fantasy hockey sleeper candidates

So many of us are a part of a fantasy hockey league, yet so few of us win. If this sounds like you then please check out this article. Draft day is the most important day for building a fantasy hockey league contender and to be one you have to be bold. The most important prediction for a player’s statistical results is how they performed last year but this isn’t the be-all, end-all. We’ve identified some players bound to have breakout years and greatly surpass last year’s totals.

For more fantasy news, check out our top 250 master list, 1 to 100 and 101 to 200 player lists.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Lane Hutson
• Cole Perfetti
• Dawson Mercer
• Logan Stankoven
• Justin Faulk
• Patrick Kane
• Matty Beniers
• Moritz Seider
• Dylan Cozens
• Elias Lindholm
• Dylan Guenther
  

Lane Hutson

If you’ve been to any social media sites lately, You would’ve seen some impressive clips of Lane Hutson. Such as the one of him skating end-to-end during a preseason game or saucing the puck the length of the ice and having it land perfectly on a teammate’s stick. If you’re one of these individuals you might have thought to yourself, ‘Who is this guy?!? I’ve never heard of him before.’ Well, you get better get used to it because this guy is good! His skating ability, hands and surprisingly his head fakes are uncanny. He will memorize if you’re watching him in the stands and he will make you look silly if you’re playing against him.

For fantasy relevance, he may or may not be worth a pick. Offensive defensemen on Montreal’s depth chart is surprisingly loaded. As good as Lane Hutson is he will need to outshine Mike Matheson and Kaiden Guhle which is quite possibly a nearly impossible event. But, to tell you the truth he is that good so idk. What I foresee for Lane Hutson is a slow progression for the year. I see him starting the year skating 15 to 16 minutes a night, sheltered, PP2 minutes only and maybe even the odd scratch here and there. However, towards the end of the year, I foresee him skating 20 to 22 minutes a night and seeing a lot of reps on PP1.

Lane Hutson is worth a late-round draft pick only. If you or someone else snaps up the kid in the first few rounds of the draft, this is a mistake and you should go with someone much more deserving and much more likely to produce results, there’s just too much uncertainty surrounding the two-year Boston University athlete. But if he’s still available come the later rounds, why not take a swing on the young defender?

Cole Perfetti

I’m a big fan of Cole Perfetti because he’s got all the skill and he’s already proven that he can produce in this league. He was the 10th overall pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft and has been playing professionally ever since. He has put up 41 points in 49 career AHL games and his NHL production is on the rise. Some unfortunate injuries have slowed his development but he still strung together 19 goals and 38 points in 71 games last year. While solid I’m only expecting these numbers to improve partially because Cole Perfetti didn’t have the full support of former bench boss Rick Bowness and I foresee that changing under the newly appointed, Scott Arniel.

On this Jets team there’s no reason why Cole Perfetti can’t average 16 minutes a night and score 55+ points next year. I’m not saying that the Jets aren’t a playoff team, they are, but the opportunity for him to earn top-6 minutes is wide open for him. Furthermore, he’s fresh off a bridge deal which I think the Jets will ultimately regret in a few months. There’s no reason why the Jets couldn’t ink him to a Quinton Byfield type deal, a 5-year $31.25 million, but the past is the past and I suspect this will only motivate Cole Perfetti, so look out Winnipeg!

dawson mercer

In a down year last year, Dawson Mercer enjoyed a 20-goal, 33-point season. The year prior he exploded for 27 goals and 58 points. Who is the real Dawson Mercer? Dawson was a first-round draft pick in 2020 and will be 23 right after the season starts in late October. It doesn’t make sense to believe that his 33-point output is a sign of things to come. It’s much more likely he will have a 60-point season than a 33-point season this year. The sky is the limit for Dawson Mercer and there’s no reason to believe he won’t surpass his career-high mark of 58 points.

He is absolutely worth a pick this year in fantasy, although he’s only worth it at the later stages of the draft. Due to his output last year most ranking charts won’t have Dawson Mercer in the top 200, we have him at no.166 this year. He’s young and we’re predicting a 57-point campaign. However, if he were to put 65+ points this year, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised.

Logan Stankoven

A lot of things went right for the Dallas Stars last year, as they earned a trip to the Western Conference Finals but, the storyline of their most recent trip to the playoffs was Logan Stankoven. The 2021 2nd-round pick had 14 points in 24 games during the regular season and 8 points in 19 games during the playoffs. He also had 57 points in 47 AHL games. This will be his first full season in the NHL and expect Logan Stankoven to leave a mark.

While he will surely be a star forward in this league, he’s only worth a pick in the later rounds of the draft. Logan is joining a stacked offensive Dallas team. With tons of veteran forwards such as Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin and Matt Duchene. While Jason Robertson, Roope Hintz and Wyatt Johnson are the clear point-producing star forwards. Due to the amount of star power up front Logan has his work cut out for him. Although there is tons of depth on Dallas, there’s no reason to think that Logan won’t be able to surpass some of these aging veterans as the year goes on.

Only time will tell to know for sure, but in the later stages of the draft, it’s not silly to go with a dark horse and select the Canadian-born forward, Logan Stankoven.

Justin Faulk

Unlike the other names on this list, Justin Faulk is not an up-and-comer in this league. He’s 32 years old and has spent 13 years in the league. He is coming off a very disappointing 23-24 campaign where he posted 2 goals and 30 points in 60 games. Of course, injuries did derail him but this is a poor offensive output for the former 50-point defenseman.

Justin makes the breakout candidate list this year because of the season-ending sugery to Torey Krug. Out of all Blues defenseman Torey Krug logged the most PP minutes, so this year, someone new must take his place and the individual is no other than Justin Faulk.

Justin is only 32 years old so a steep decline in production shouldn’t be on the table. This St. Louis Blues no longer employ top-end talent and it seems like they’re going in the way of a rebuild but for now, they’re trying to be as competitive as possible and having Justin Faulk as your team’s PP1 QB isn’t a bad thing.

The American defenseman is a well-rounded fantasy league defender who will be able to provide at least some value in all fantasy categories. So, he’s worth a later-round pick for sure!

Patrick Kane

A thing that I thought wasn’t humanly possible is occurring in hockey circles all across North America. People have forgotten about Patrick Kane. A substandard year in 2022-23 followed by a hip resurfacing surgery the following summer led to Patrick Kane going unsigned during the free agency period and signing a one-year $2.75 million contract with the Detroit Red Wings midway through the year. Quietly Patty Kane posted 47 points in only 50 games played. Unreal for a 35-year-old who came back from a very serious hip surgery.

With a summer of training under his belt now the sky is once again the limit for Patty Kane, just like his glory days in Chicago. If he stays healthy for a full season, he is a point-per-game player, he could very easily get you 30 goals and 80 points this year. You cannot go wrong with selecting the great No. 88 on draft day.

matty beniers

Another young gun who makes this list. Matty Beniers had a breakout 2022-23 campaign scoring 24 goals for 57 points but he followed that up with a 15-goal 37-point campaign last year. It’s tough to say for sure what happened. His ice time was up and his shots on goal were down and so was his shooting percentage but not by a lot. Odd, to say the least. However, the past is the past and you shouldn’t hold Beniers to the numbers he produced last year. Seattle as a whole was disappointing last year and unfortunately, Beniers wasn’t an exception to that. The 2021 2nd overall pick is only 21 years old, so if you expect him to score 15 goals and 37 points again this year, you’re greatly mistaken.

Matty Beniers will be a quality depth forward for your team and is worth the risk. If he has a down year he will score low-50 points. If he performs as he should 30 goals and 65 points is well within his reach. This Seattle team isn’t loaded up front and Beniers might actually be this team’s greatest offensive threat. Is that a good thing if you’re looking to contend for a Stanley Cup? No. But, in terms of fantasy value this year there isn’t a more promising pick on the Seattle Kraken than this young centreman from Massachusetts.

Moritz Seider

Moritz Seider might just be the steal of this year’s draft and if this doesn’t make sense to you, you would be in line with all other fantasy rankings out there. NHL.com has Seider ranked #121. The Daily Faceoff has him at #85, but we’ve got him at #19 and the #4 defeseman overall in the entire league. But why? Well, he’s entering his fourth year in the league, and unless you’re Quinn Hughes or Cale Makar the offensive side of your game tends to take some years to develop and the 2022 Calder Trophy winner is no exception. He’s had two straight years of 42-point campaigns and is due for a breakout, and the most important reason is there is no more Shayne Gostisbehere meaning that there is a hole on PP1 and Seider is the ideal candidate.

If Seider’s usage remains the same he is still a mid-to-late draft pick because he’s capable of scoring 40+ points, 150+ hits and 150+ blocks so he is a good all-around fantasy defenseman. Detroit has spent the past two years developing Seider’s defensive game. The offence was and still is there, and this year they won’t be able to keep this horse in his cage. He’s a top-tier draft choice and due to the several last years of mediocrity its doubtful any other rankings will have him as high as us, so take a risk on the German defenseman, you won’t be disappointed.

Dylan Cozens

Dylan Cozens makes this list because of a disappointing 2023-24 NHL regular season. Where he posted 18 goals and 47 points. The year prior he exploded offensively for 31 goals and 68 points in 81 games. Not too bad for the 7th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.

It would be unwise to think last year was anything but a blip in the radar for Dylan Cozens. The guy is an offensive weapon. Who has been scoring goals and producing offensively his whole life. Remember, this guy put up 16 points in 7 games during the 2021 World Junior Championship which is just absurd and in a down year he still scores 18 goals and nearly eclipses 50 points. Plus he is only 23 years old. His offensive ceiling is as high as any young gun in the league today, Get Pucks Deep has Cozens ranked as #59 on our NHL Fantasy Player List so he is worth a mid-round pick at the latest. Don’t be foolish and think last year was any sort of indication of how he will perform this year. Buffalo is on the rise and so is Dylan Cozens!

elias lindholm

He is the one name on this list, which is probably the least bit surprising. After a great run in Calgary which featured a career-high 82 points in 82 games during the 2021-22 season. Elias was traded to Vancouver near the deadline and struggled to perform in the regular season. He put up 12 points in 26 games for the Canucks. However, he was leaned upon heavily in the playoffs and didn’t disappoint scoring 10 points in 13 games. He played well enough to earn himself a 7-year $54.25 million contract with the Boston Bruins. In Boston, Lindholm is the undisputed #1 centreman on a perennial Stanley Cup playoff team. He will surely be centering Brad Marchand and/or David Pastrnak all year long so he’s sure to improve upon his 45-point output from the year before.

My projection for Elias Lindholm is similar to what happened to Ryan O’Reilly in the past two years. During the 2022-23 season, Ryan split his time between St. Louis and Toronto and never really clicked offensively. He finished that year with 29 points in 53 games played. However, the following summer, he signed a four-year contract with Nashville and fit in with his new team like a glove. St. Louis was on the decline and Toronto was offensively loaded but with Nashville, they needed offensive help and Ryan O’Reilly obliged. He finished the year with 69 points in 82 games played!

Elias Lindholm is absolutely worth a mid-round pick in this year’s draft. We have him rated 80th overall because he can do a bit of everything. Boston doesn’t have immense talent up front, outside of David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand, Elias Lindholm is the biggest offensive threat and will be leaned upon heavily to bring this team back to the Playoffs for the 9th straight year.

Dylan Guenther

There weren’t a lot of bright spots on the Arizona Coyotes team last year. However, one of the only bright spots might’ve been Edmonton-born Dylan Guenther. He exploded for 35 points in 45 games played and was one of the more noticeable players down the stretch for the now-Utah Hockey Club.

Under new ownership, Utah seems poised to take a big step forward this year and the rise of Dylan Guenther will play a big part in that. Coupled with Logan Cooley. They’re two highly skilled offensive-producing forwards leading Utah’s charge, so expect these two to only be behind Clayton Keller and maybe Nick Schmaltz on the offensive depth chart. Opportunity and time on ice will be in abundance for Dylan Guenther this year. We have him ranked at #90 on our list so during the mid-stages of the draft, if he’s available, make sure to grab him!

Honourable Mentions (In No Particular Order)

Max Pacioretty, Kirby Dach, Adam Fantilli, Kyle Connor, Martin Necas

References

• Source 1
• Source 2
• Source 3
• All-Pro Reels via hockey game cc2.0
• Jenn G via Beniers Warmup cc2.0
• Jenn G via Kraken v Flames cc2.0

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