Every fantasy hockey champion needs an edge, and it often comes from unearthing late-round gems. These are the players flying under the radar: undervalued veterans, breakout candidates, and prospects poised to deliver more than their current ADP (Average Draft Position) suggests. All of the DailyFaceoff Fantasy analysts have highlighted their favourite names that might not be at the top of your league’s draft board but could pay off in a big way. By identifying the players who are being overlooked, you can stock your roster with hidden value and gain the kind of advantage that wins trophies.
MORE SLEEPER LISTS:
Brock Seguin’s Sleepers
Beebs Bondy’s Sleepers
Matt Larkin’s Sleepers
Nick Szeman’s Sleepers
Andrei Svechnikov | Carolina Hurricanes | LW/RW | ADP: 103.0
Forever a fantasy darling for his ability to fill categories across the box score, Svechnikov is falling out of favour in early drafts this pre-season. The former 2nd-overall pick in the 2018 draft endured an underwhelming 2023-24 campaign. He spent the majority of the season bouncing up and down the Hurricanes’ lineup, only seeing limited cameos alongside Sebastian Aho on the top line. The result was a dip in shot volume that led to just 20 goals across 72 games, but he remained a force in banger leagues, finishing with more than 140 hits for the fourth consecutive season.
There are rumours on the Carolina beat that head coach Rod Brindamour could look to use Seth Jarvis down the middle at times this season in an effort to strengthen the depth of their lineup. That would leave a full-time position on Aho’s wing vacant, a spot Svechnikov would be an obvious choice to fill.
This would, of course, do wonders for Svechnikov’s offensive upside. Carolina averaged a whopping 38 scoring chances per 60 when Aho and Svechnikov were together last season, a significant increase over the 28 they averaged when Svechnikov played away from Aho. Despite last year’s utilization leading to some disappointing raw production, Svechnikov’s well-rounded contributions still make him a safe bet to return value on his ninth round ADP. If he can finally cement himself atop Carolina’s lineup at 5v5 and the power-play, then he will be an absolute steal on draft day.
Mark Stone | Vegas Golden Knights | RW | ADP: 134.5
Speaking of ADPs being bogged down due to perceived injury risks, Mark Stone enters the fantasy pre-season with an ADP of 134.5. Admittedly, Stone has one of the poorer injury records in recent years, and at age 33, he isn’t getting any younger, but he remains as productive as ever when he is on the ice. He is averaging 24 goals and 57 assists per 82 games over each of the last two seasons, and is reportedly healthy coming into training camp.
The Golden Knights’ second-ranked power-play was a steady source of production for Stone last season, and you can expect it to be as lethal as ever following the addition of Mitch Marner. Stone could see less time with Eichel at 5v5 as a result, but still has a great potential running mate on the second line in Tomas Hertl. The Golden Knights averaged 32 scoring chances per 60 both when Stone played with and without Eichel, so he should remain productive regardless of who he is saddled with. He certainly carries as much injury risk as any player in the league, but those concerns are more than baked into his 12th-round ADP.
Mathew Barzal | New York Islanders | C/RW | ADP: 145.0
All players carry some degree of injury risk – that’s just the nature of a sport as physical as hockey. Of course, players plagued with recent injuries tend to hold a bigger bias on fantasy draft boards, and that’s exactly the case with Mathew Barzal this pre-season. The Islanders’ elite playmaker was limited to just 30 games last season thanks to a pair of long-term injuries. An upper-body injury forced him to miss six weeks in November and December, before a knee injury ended his season prematurely on February 1st.
There were rumours Barzal could have returned towards the end of last season if the Islanders hadn’t already played themselves out of a playoff spot, and those reports seem to be confirmed by Barzal’s comments this week. That bodes well for his status heading into the 2025-26 season, as he is expected to open the campaign with a clean bill of health.
The last full season Barzal played in 2023-24 saw him tally 23 goals and 57 assists for an even 80 points in 80 games. He does possess a below-average shot at best – he is just a 10.2% career shooter – but he remains an elite source of assists and produces enough shot volume to reliably break the 20 goal plateau when healthy. Simply put, players with an easy path to point per game production should not be available in the 13th round. Draft him with confidence.
Marco Kasper | Detroit Red Wings | C/LW | ADP: 160.0
A former eighth overall pick in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, Kasper impressed in his rookie season a year ago. The 20-year-old tallied 19 goals and 18 assists in 77 games, and posted just under two shots a game despite being limited to an ATOI of 15:27. It’s worth pointing out that Kasper’s role grew throughout the season. He finished the year centring Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane on Detroit’s second line. And over his last 18 games, Kasper’s ATOI climbed all the way to 17:43, and all he did with that extra ice time was rack up nine goals and five assists while averaging 2.5 shots a game.
That is notably a 41-goal, 22-assist pace across a full 82-game season. Now, he did shoot 20% over that stretch, so I would say he is far from a lock for 40 goals this season, but he should continue to grow as a staple of the Wings’ attack. Kasper can also play the wing, which leads to the possibility of skating alongside Dylan Larkin on Detroit’s top line. The two were very productive in over 290 minutes of 5v5 time together last season, averaging 13 high-danger chances per 60. Buried with a 14th round ADP, Kasper is absolutely worth a roll of the dice towards the end of your draft. If he can find his way onto the top power-play unit, we could be looking at one of the true breakout stars of the 2025-26 season.
Owen Tippett | Philadelphia Flyers | LW/RW | ADP: 163.0
Limited to just 16 minutes a night last season, Tippett still managed to produce across the board in extended formats. The raw production was disappointing at best with just 20 goals and 23 assists to show for his efforts across 77 games, but the 26-year-old winger still managed to rack up 189 shots and 115 hits in his reduced role.
When you are hoping for an uptick in utilization to boost a player’s fantasy upside, it always bodes well to have a new coach in town. Tippett plays the type of heavy game that seems perfectly suited to new head coach Rick Tocchet, giving hope that he could solidify his role as a top-six winger for a Flyers team that lacks any sort of depth up front. Tippett still isn’t the most attractive fantasy asset in leagues that only reward goals and assists, but do not overlook his value in formats that take shots and hits into account. Currently being drafted all the way back in the 14th round, if Tippett sees that uptick in ice-time we’re hoping for and gets anywhere close to the 289 shots he tallied two seasons ago, he will be an incredible return on investment on draft day.