2025 Fantasy Hockey Team Previews | Carolina Hurricanes

2025 Fantasy Hockey Team Previews | Carolina Hurricanes

[Music] Welcome to the DFO Fantasy Show team preview series. I’m managing fantasy editor of dailyfaceoff.com, Brock Zgan, and today we will be covering the Carolina Hurricanes. The Hurricanes have been the NHL’s best regular season team over the last four seasons, winning 66.9% of their games while ranking tied for sixth in goals per game and first in goals against per game. So they’ve been absolutely fantastic for fantasy hockey across the board from the forwards to the goalies to the defenseman and that should continue in 202526. The sports books absolutely love the Hurricanes. They have them as the best regular season team again this year projecting them at 107.5 points which is half a point better than the Panthers, Oilers, and Golden Knights at this point. Now, if we take a look at the projections, there is no shortage of forwards to draw from when you’re drafting the Hurricanes this season. A and honestly, they all come with relatively modest draft cost. Sebastian Aaho is the first one coming off the board right now with a 62.5 ADP. That is the sixth round in 12 team leagues. And Aaho has been remarkably consistent over the years, but he kind of just lacks that elite upside of the other forwards that obviously go in the earlier rounds. But in a sixth round pick, he provides you with plenty of offense. I it he’s available every game, rarely misses time, and he’s a guy that’s going to contribute 30 to 35 goals and 40 to 50 assists really without any questions at all. He’s just that consistent. After a Seth Jarvis and Nikolai Eers are going off the board in the seventh round with picks 81 and 82. So they’re going back to back at the moment. Let’s start with Jarvis, who has triple position eligibility, so really provides a lot of flexibility for your roster. And he’s improved his offensive numbers in each of the last two seasons. He missed nine games last season, but he was on pace for 36 goals and 39 assists. That’s 75 points. He was also on pace for 225 plus shots and 100 plus hits. So, he will cover a lot of different categories. And as I mentioned previously, he’s available uh to play center, left wing, or right wing. So, really provides a lot of flexibility for your fantasy lineup. Eers, meanwhile, seems to always leave fantasy owners wanting a little bit more. A breakout has really seemed like it’s been on the horizon for basically a decade. Yet, he has just a careerhigh of 64 points. Usage in Winnipeg over the last three seasons is really what’s held him back. He hasn’t played over 16 minutes per game since 2022, but he signed with the Hurricanes team that kind of rolls all four lines very similarly to what the Jets did. So, it’s hard to really say for sure that he’s going to see even more usage in Carolina. It’s going to be something that you’re going to have to gamble on and just hope for the best. Staring at them side by side on draft day, I will take Jarvis, but it is obviously still hard to think that Eers has more in the tank. Like, he has more to give. So, there is breakout potential for Eers, but I think Jarvis is just a safer pick. And the fact that he’s got the triple position eligibility uh gives him the edge for me as they currently sit side by side in ADP. Speaking of wanting more for a breakout, Andre Fetchnikov has been a popular breakout candidate for years now, but it’s never really materialized. 2022 was by far his best season, but since then, he’s missed nearly 21% of the games and has averaged just 21 goals and 52 points during those three seasons. If he stays healthy, he is capable, we’ve seen it, of posting 30 plus goals, 65 plus points, 220 plus shots on goal, and 175 plus hits. But he’s only done that once in seven years. So, what are you really banking? Lastly, both Logan Stanovven and Jackson Blake are names to consider at the ends of your draft. If either season expanded role this season, they play they carry plenty of breakout potential. However, Stanovven had just nine points in 19 games for the Hurricanes after the trade, but averaged only 15 minutes per game and spent most of his time on the third line with Jordan Stall and Jordan Martin. Unfortunately, that really looks like the most likely landing spot for him on the depth chart yet again. However, there is potential that he gets shifted to center to serve as their number two center. I think either Stanovven or Jarvis is a likely candidate for that role. That would be the type of move that would increase Stanovven’s usage and make him a real breakout candidate this year. But if he stays with Stalin Martin again, he’ll be likely nothing more than a streaming candidate and and obviously a a short-term pickup if he ever moves up the lineup due to injury or what have you. Blake’s path to the top six seems a bit more apparent. He spent a lot of time with Sebastian already last season and finished the year with 12 points, six goals, six assists in his final 14 games. To me, there’s a lot of breakout appeal here, especially if he continues to play north of 17 minutes per game like he did down the stretch last season. The one concern would be that that increase in usage came after the Miko Rant and Train and obviously the addition of Nikolai Eers this off season has the potential to eat back into Blakes’s minute. So, his usage early on is going to be something to keep an eye on, but I think he’s worthwhile to to take with your last pick or pick it up right after the draft. He cost you absolutely nothing at the moment. And then the last four that’s really worth talking about in Carolina is Taylor Hall. He’s best left undrafted at this point and likely won’t be more than like a weekly streamer that hovers around 25% owned all year. But he showed in 31 games to the Hurricanes last year that he can still be a 25 goal, 25 assist player. And that is got value in certain leagues. The Hurricanes blue line has been completely remade this off seasonason. They lost Brent Burns and Demetri Orof and they replaced them with KA Andre Miller and a full year of Alexander Nikeshan. Nikeshan is super interesting entering 2026. His numbers in the KHL were absolutely outstanding and he looked comfortable in his four NHL playoff games last year. Nikesha will also contribute a ton of hits. We saw him have 17 hits in four playoff games to go along with what should be pretty impressive offensive totals. He will probably need to knock Shane Gosses Bear off PP1 to maximize his value, but there is plenty of upside here. The issue is he’s already being drafted in the ninth round as a high-end number three fantasy defenseman. You’re so you’re kind of drafting him at what feels like potentially a ceiling. I think he’s obviously got the ability to to move up into the top 24, but you’re really paying a premium here and you might be able to get similar production from guys like Aaron Ecklad who’s going basically three rounds later than at the moment. Shane Gosses Bear feels like the better value right now and he was a great value last year and he’s quietly ranked 50th among defenseman in points and 16th in goals over the last four seasons. Nobody really has talked about how good Gosses Bear has been in the last couple of years. During that stretch, he’s averaged 11 goals and 37 assists. That’s 48 points and should be a strong value again this year, especially if he’s able to hold on to that top power play unit spot all season long. Between the pipes, there may not be a team more committed to an even split between their goalies than the Hurricanes. When both Frederick Anderson and Petra Kachchov are healthy, they often rotate games right down the middle. That can make them frustrating goalies to own, but they also play behind one of the league’s best defensive teams. So, their goals against average and save percentage is always very strong, and they can be goals against average and save percentage stabilizers for your team in category leagues. Frederick Anderson has struggled with injuries in the last two seasons, but he’s posted a 223 goals against average, a 913 save percentage, and a very strong 68.4 quality start percentage. His early ADP is outrageous. He’s currently going to the 16th round is the 30th goalie off the board. That would obviously be an extremely good value, very low risk, high reward if that ADP sticks. I doubt it will because Dedric Achekov is currently being drafted in the 10th round at ADP of 118. I won’t be surprised if Anderson’s ADP climbs closer to Kachchov. And I agree with it. Like they both to me are strong number two fantasy goalies. Just the only issue is in games where they split time in weeks where they only have three games, you might only get one start out of these guys. So you might have to get a little bit creative. You’re probably going to need to carry a third goalie or at least have a streaming spot to try to get to the minimum starts if you have Anderson or Kachchov on your roster. And I’m now joined by Corey Lavallet of the North State Journal and the Athletic. Cory, thanks so much for joining me today. How are you today? Good. Thanks for having me. Thanks for coming on. We’ve got uh a lot of Hurricanes. You know, that team is so interesting from a fantasy perspective. A lot of really, really good fantasy assets that we already know about. Sebastian Aaho, um you know, Jackson Blake, an upand cominging player. Who is a player that you really think is going to break out in 20 uh 2025 26? I I mean I would really keep a guy on two guys. Uh first of all, Seth Jarvis, especially if he moves to the middle. I know that faceoffs can be a a thing for fantasy players. So, uh if he makes the move to the middle, there’s also a possibility that’ll be Logan Stanco moving to the middle. Um or they both stay on the wing, but I know that’s something. And if he moves to the middle, I think Jarvis has a chance to be even more impactful than he already is. Um and then Alexander Nikishian, I mean, I think, uh they’re really really excited about him. They have high high hopes. Um, we’ll see how he adapts, but it was really impressive just four playoff games how much how many big strides he took just in a few games was uh even surprised them. Yeah, those are two super interesting names. Jarvis first, what do you think the likelihood is that he actually moves to the middle this year? Well, I I don’t know that you can be a a Stanley Cup contender legitimately if if Yas Perry Pokem is putting up 30 or 40 points. Uh, if he even hits that in the middle. Um, so they’re, you know, they’ve tried they’ve tried to go and get, um, impact players to play up front. Um, you know, they’ve they’ve landed a couple wingers that didn’t work out. You know, Jake Gensel obviously played well here and didn’t resign and then the the whole Miko Rantin situation. Um, but, you know, Jarvis has already finished in the top 12 in Selki voting two years in a row. We can debate whether or not us writers know what we’re talking about when it comes to that, but I think uh if you talk to Rod Brymore and you talk to other players, you know, people really really think he’s a a really good 200 foot player. So, I don’t think moving to the middle is a huge huge problem for him. Um we’ll see what they do. They love him on the wing, you know, but with the addition of Nikolai Eers, uh you have another another weapon and they’re they’re stacked on the wings. You mentioned Jackson Blake, we’ve got Andre Spetchnikov. Taylor Hall was resigned. um you know, Logan Stanovven, if he stays on the wing. Um you know, they’ve got a they got a lot of assets on the wing. And if you don’t move one of those guys to the middle, then you’re going to end up with somebody probably playing on the fourth line. That shouldn’t be not the worst problem in the world, but can you keep everyone happy? Yeah, absolutely. And you mentioned, what can you expect for him in his first full season? I mean, when you look at his KHL numbers, they just absolutely jump off the page at you. And obviously the departure of Brent Burns now opens up an opportunity for him to grab some power play time probably I would imagine on the second unit to start. What are your expectations for him this year? Yeah, I mean I do I think you’re right. I think that you know Shane Gaspar will still be given you know the job of quarterbacking the top power play at least to start. Um I mean some of the goalies have already told me he’s got maybe the heaviest shot on the team. So I think there’s a an opportunity there for him to be a threat from the point. Uh his one point in the playoffs was a just a ridiculous backhanded no-look pass to spring Logan Stanovven against the Panthers in the only game the Hurricanes won. He’s got a vision. He’s also a fierce a fierce hitter. Um which is an element they’ve lacked a little bit. I I I’m excited about the kid. Just listening to the you know what the team has said about him. I think you know the ceiling’s high. At the same time we’ve seen what’s happened with newcomers to the Hurricanes on defense. you know, uh, Brent Burns took a little while to to adjust. Demetri Orof took a little while to adjust. Uh, Shawn Walker did a really good job last year coming in and stepping right in. He was fine. Um, but it it takes time playing in the style they do of, you know, kind of, you know, one-on-one and, uh, really aggressive at the blue line to keep pucks in, things like that. So, if he can adapt to that as quickly as he seemed to in the playoffs, then I think the sky’s is the limit. One player you also mentioned already was Andre Fetchnikov. He’s been a popular breakout pick for years now, and it’s actually crazy to think that we’re going on year eight already for Svetchnikov, but so far only a career best of 30 goals and 69 points. What do you think the true ceiling is of Andre Fetchnikov? Like, should fantasy players stop expecting a massive breakout and kind of maybe accept a player that’s probably just a 30 goal, 65 point player, or do you think there’s more in the tank still? I I mean, I think there’s more there. The question is is can he can he put it all together? Um, he had a really tough year last year. there’s no doubt that he was very inconsistent. Um, you know, he wasn’t happy with his season. I don’t think the team was thrilled. Uh, and then he got in the playoffs and he was their best player for the first two rounds. Uh, nobody played well against Florida. So, I you know, I don’t think you want to mark that against him. You know, Florida was a machine. Uh, is a machine. And, um, you know, but the potential is there, right? And you know, like we’re talking about, if Seth Jarvis moves to the middle, a top line of Sebastian Aaho, Nikolai Elers, and Andre Speschnikov has a little bit of everything you want. Um, he’s still he is a a man among boys out there. He is a big strong guy. Um, and you know, great attitude and great work ethic. You just you’d love to see him have a really really big season. I don’t know that he’ll ever score 40 because he he envision everyone wants to compare him to Alex Ovuchetkin and he always said, “I’m more like a Genkus nets off. I want to I want to pass the puck. Um, so he has a great shot and stuff, but he’s a little bit of a pass first guy. So, I don’t know that we’ll ever see him as a 40 goal guy. But, uh, I I could see him being a point per a point per game guy. I think he has that potential. The question is, can he put it all together? Can he stay healthy? Speaking of staying healthy, Frederick Anderson has been an issue for him over the years. And after the Four Nations face off last year, it was a dead even 50/50 split between Anderson and Kachchov when they were both healthy. Do you expect that to continue to 2526? They seem pretty committed to that 50-50 split and then kind of just riding the hot hand come playoff time. Do you expect it to be like 41 starts each if they’re both healthy? Not not even just 50/50 split. They literally alternated every game. It nobody nobody played backto back. Um yeah, and I think that’s probably the plan. The question is can Anderson stay healthy and and really can Kachchov stay healthy? He’s had his issues too. Um the thing with Kachchkov is he he has ability to get really hot and and be a a great goalie for stretches of, you know, eight, 10, 12 games. He just has never strung it together over a half a season or anything. Anderson, meanwhile, I don’t know that anybody would ever say he gets hot, but he is so steady and consistent. Um, you know, if you look at some of the the goalie analytics numbers, he’s not a guy who covers the puck a lot. He’s big and he blocks shots. uh they have a good defense, so you know, you hope that those those rebounds get cleared. Um but he’s not the type of guy who’s going to go and, you know, save your your week on fantasy because he he has four shutouts. That’s just not who he is. Um but yeah, I think that the plan is they probably will alternate. Uh you have Kaden Primo now, too, which is something to keep an eye on. Uh a little more stability as as a number three than what they’ve had. You know, they they had to go out and get get guys the last couple years. They got Spencer Martin, they got Dustin Tokarsski literally off the scrap heap last year. Um, you know, and those guys did fine. But I think Kaden Primo, uh, a little bit like Frederick Anderson, right? Big big guy, um, in net. So, uh, that that one was interesting to me. I’m just surprised they didn’t trade him for Skyler Bindore since the, you know, Rod Bindmore, Keith Primo trade. Yeah, absolutely. The It’s interesting just with how good the Hurricanes are defensively. their goalies are always so well insulated and and both are are strong fantasy commodities, but Rod Brymore is kind of the the one coach that fantasy players hate because every all of his lines get balanced ice time, their goalies split dead even and it’s really hard for for players to kind of step up in Carolina, but they’re always so consistent and so reliable. Uh that’s all I’ve got for you today, Cory. Thank you so much for joining me. Uh best of luck this season. We look forward to your coverage of the Hurricanes. Thanks. Let’s enjoy the the summer for just a couple more weeks. Yes, absolutely. before the grind starts. Have a great day. Thanks, man. Hey hockey fans, if you enjoyed that video, then make sure you hit the subscribe button right here on the Daily Face Off YouTube. We have you covered for everything you need. Exclusive interviews on the sheet with Jeff Merrick, all the latest hockey news on Daily Faceoff Live, and you can always get your morning started with Johnny Lazarus and Colobby Conn on Morning Cup of Hockey. Don’t miss a minute. Hit that subscribe button.

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Brock Seguin takes a deep dive into the Carolina Hurricanes breaking down the 2025 Daily Faceoff Fantasy Projections and analyzing which Cane you should target and who to avoid in Fantasy this season. He’s joined by Cory Lavalette to talk about who could break out, Andrei Svechnikov & MORE!

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