Fantasy hockey season is officially here for the 2025-26 season in the NHL! WOOHOO!
If you have your draft coming up and you need help finding those less-than-star names who could go from middle to late rounds to potential stardom, you’ve come to the right place: A look at some of the sleepers for you to target in your upcoming draft.
This is a mix of forwards, defensemen and goalies who could end up blasting past their ADP to help win your league.
So let’s dive in and help you find some of those diamonds in the rough this season:
Dude isn’t the sleeper-iest given his 33 goals and 57 points last year. But he’s poised for a breakout after last year’s awesome numbers if he’s going to play big minutes and power-play time.
F JJ Peterka, Utah Mammoth
He looked great last season with the Buffalo Sabres and now he’s looked solid in the preseason with his new team. I think he’ll best the 27 goals and 68 points from last season.
He played a lot on the third line last year and was productive. Now? He could play more minutes in the top two. A combo of goals, assists and physical stats like hits could mean he’s a fantasy breakout.
F Ivan Barbashev, Vegas Golden Knights
There’s a good reason why he’s on everyone’s sleeper list: He might be skating with Jack Eichel and Mitch Marner. Boom.
F Andrei Kuzmenko, Los Angeles Kings
Yes, his big season is years behind him. But a fresh start in L.A. could be huge. I’m willing to take a late flier to see what happens.
The kid had 14 goals and 29 assists last year and got a big extension from a Ducks team that might take another step forward this season. I love it.
Steady is a good thing for defensemen. That’s Fowler, who will give you around 40 points a year. Explosive? No. But consistency late in a draft is a good thing too!
G Karel Vejmelka, Utah Mammoth
I think the Mammoth are going to be good this year. And their netminder might be part of that surge.
Same thing. Montreal will win more and he’ll play more.