Week 4 of the fantasy hockey season is here already, so let’s take a look at the best available fantasy hockey players to add to your team. The NHL schedule is very balanced this week with the exception of a heavy day on Saturday. You won’t have a difficult time fitting players into your lineups. Moreover, 11 teams play four times in Week 4, so there are plenty of options to maximize your games played. Here are some of the best players that you could find in your fantasy hockey league’s free agent pool.
Tom Wilson, RW – Washington Capitals
Tom Wilson has been getting excellent deployment in Washington. He is averaging over 19 minutes a night and time on the first power play and penalty kill units. After his hot start to the season and track record of providing excellent peripheral coverage, it’s surprising that Wilson is only 65% rostered on Fantrax.
With five goals and six points in seven games, it’s likely his production will see some regression. However, his deployment and peripheral coverage makes him a valuable fantasy hockey player to add.
Mikael Granlund, C, RW – San Jose Sharks
Mikael Granlund has had a resurgence since arriving in San Jose from Pittsburgh in the Erik Karlsson trade, registering a 60-point campaign last season. He has not slowed down this season with four goals and ten points through the first nine games of the season.
Mikael Granlund gets #SJSharks within one with his second power play goal of the night in the third.
Granlund has eight points (3g, 5a) in his past five games played.
— San Jose Sharks PR (@SanJoseSharksPR) October 25, 2024
Granlund has some extra value attached to him with dual position eligibility on Fantrax. In some formats, he could be a top-20 player entering Week 4. Granlund has been averaging 21:40 TOI and 3:41 PP1 time per game. Despite the Sharks poor start to the season, if Granlund continues this production, he will not be available in free agency much longer.
Yegor Chinakhov, LW, RW – Columbus Blue Jackets
Yegor Chinakhov came out of the gates hot to start the season, recording points in his first five games. He sits with three goals and seven points in his first seven games, and is playing 2:43 minutes a night on the first power play unit.
The 2020 first-round pick has 21 SOG so far, with three or more shots in five of his seven games played. After being drafted in just 5% of leagues on Fantrax, Chinakhov is currently rostered in 63% of leagues as fantasy managers have quickly added him to their rosters. The 23-year old’s ATOI has increased by over three minutes since last season, and we could be looking at the start of his breakout season.
Jack Thompson, D – San Jose Sharks
Jack Thompson has seven games played in his NHL career, but has started this season well causing fantasy managers to take notice. He has 3 assists in 4 games, all coming on the power-play, where he has taken over the first unit from Jake Walman.
Averaging 18:13 minutes on ice a game with 3:21 on the man advantage, his deployment has translated into point production. If you need a defencemen this week, Thompson’s upside would make for an interesting fantasy hockey stream.
Petr Mrazek, G – Chicago Blackhawks
As the rebuild continues, The Chicago Blackhawks have not had a great start to the season. However, depending on your league’s scoring settings, Petr Mrazek can be a solid option if you are streaming goalies.
As the volume starter in Chicago, Mrazek should be in line to start three games this week. With a record of 2-5-0 so far this season and a less than stellar overall save percentage, there have still been strong performances from the Czechia goalie this year. In four of his seven games, Mrazek has put up a save percentage of .909 or higher. In three of those four games, he allowed just two goals.
Mrazek played back-to-back nights this weekend with Arvid Soderblom out with illness. This further cements Chicago’s reliance on the goalie. If you need a goalie this week, picking up Mrazek should guarantee you starts while using minimal picks ups.
Joey Daccord, G – Seattle Kraken
Unlike Mrazek, Joey Daccord is not a volume starter, yet. Splitting the crease with Philipp Grubauer, Daccord has been limited to five games so far this year. However, Daccord did just start consecutive games for the first time this season.
Daccord has a 3-1-1 record to start the year with a .910 SV% and 2.95 GAA. Grubauer has struggled with a .881 SV% and 1-3-0 record. Last season, Daccord played 50 games with a 19-18-8 record, with a 2.46 GAA and .916 SV%. It’s possible that Seattle is transitioning to Daccord as their number one goalie. This would make Daccord one of the more valuable fantasy hockey players to add and increase his current 66% rostered percentage.
Honourable Mentions: Cole Perfetti, WPG – Nino Niederreiter, WPG – JJ Moser, TBL – Connor McMichael, WSH – Nick Foligno, CHI – Anders Lee, NYI – Matthew Knies, TOR – Sean Monahan, CBJ – Kirill Marchenko, CBJ
Main Photo Credit: Robert Edwards – USA TODAY Sports
