5 Great Late-Round Fantasy Hockey Draft Picks: Forwards

Sport: NHL

It is much easier to get sure-fire hits in the early rounds, but what separates good fantasy hockey managers from poor ones is how well you draft in the later rounds or how you can jump on talent starting to produce. We look at some of the top late-round draft picks that will boost your fantasy hockey team this year.

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5 Late-Round Forwards to Target in Fantasy Hockey Drafts
Logan Cooley, Utah Mammoth

Logan Cooley was highlighted as a breakout second-year player last season, and he didn’t disappoint. He put up 25 goals and 65 points in 75 games for the Utah Mammoth and is the clear-cut number one center. Cooley is only getting better, as he is only 21 years old. He will be playing with a combination of Clayton Keller, Dylan Guenther, JJ Peterka, and Nick Schmaltz, all forwards who can produce.

Cooley will be a big offensive threat and play on the top power-play unit, where he had 20 points last season. If you’re looking for someone to also play a bit more physically, he adds that element as well.

Bryan Rust, Pittsburgh Penguins

The Pittsburgh Penguins are projected to be bad again, but there are still a few top-end players on the team who produce and carry the team. Bryan Rust is one of them and once again had an underrated offensive season. The veteran plays with Sidney Crosby and on the top power play.

Rust is always close to a point-per-game and had 31 goals and 65 points in 71 games last season, 18 of those points coming on the power play. He is once again projected to play on the top line with Crosby and Rickard Rakell. It doesn’t seem like anyone is being traded just yet, so nothing should change for Rust in the short term.

Logan Stankoven, Carolina Hurricanes

The Carolina Hurricanes have been on the hunt for a second-line center and didn’t have any luck in the offseason. They did bring in Nikolaj Ehlers, though. So last year’s trade deadline addition, Logan Stankoven, is set for a big role as the Hurricanes’ second line center between Andrei Svechnikov and Taylor Hall. This line is a combination of different types of players that should control the play.

Stankoven split last season between Carolina and the Dallas Stars, but all of the signs are there for a breakout. His increased role, speed, physicality for his size, and he plays a style perfectly fit for Carolina. The 22-year-old had 14 goals and 38 points last season, but that should jump to at least 20 goals and 50 points with other stats to pad his overall value.

Morgan Geekie, Boston Bruins

The Boston Bruins really don’t have a good forward group, but with an opportunity last season, Morgan Geekie broke out and proved his worth. He is once again going to be a steal later in drafts as he plays full-time with David Pastrnak on the top line and on the power play.

The Bruins will have a bit more help on the back-end as they’re going into the season healthy, but Geekie will be leaned on even more without Brad Marchand on the team. Just playing beside Pastrnak, who put up 43 goals and 106 points last year, pops Geekie’s value right up. He finished last season with 33 goals and 57 points and will be a regular on the top power play this time around. I expect similar numbers, if not slightly better, as he hits a lot as well.

Gabriel Landeskog, Colorado Avalanche

Gabriel Landeskog is back in action, but it was only for the playoffs last season. Coming into the season healthy, he will pick right back up where he left off, producing offensively and playing a physical game.

Landeskog was a point-per-game or near point-per-game player for plenty of his career and scored 30 goals and 59 points in 51 games in 2021-22. He also had a goal and four points in five playoff games in his return to NHL action last season. The captain of the Colorado Avalanche is a hitter, will be in the strong top-6, and on the top power play.

Also make sure to check out our 5 Sleeper Goalies for 2025-26 Fantasy Hockey

Later picks in fantasy hockey drafts aren’t exactly easy, but hopefully these five great potential late-round picks can give your team what it needs.

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