Fantasy Hockey High-Stakes Draft Strategy

Before we get going with my Fantasy Hockey High Stakes Draft Strategy piece here in this 2023-24 Fantasy Hockey Draft Guide, I want to share an opportunity to not only draft with me but take me down! I’ll be hosting a live stream on our FTN Network YouTube page Saturday, October 7 at 9 ET.

Grab a tasty beverage and come hang out as I walk through my fantasy hockey strategy and talk about my favorite targets, sleepers and breakouts for the upcoming 2023-24 NHL season. I’ll have tips, answer questions and promo codes courtesy of NFHC.

Fantasy Hockey High Stakes Draft Strategy

Like every fantasy sports league, it’s extremely important to know the scoring settings. The separation between real life and fantasy is much larger in hockey than it is in other sports. You often hear the phrase “he’s better in real life than in fantasy,” and that couldn’t be more true in fantasy hockey.

Fantasy Hockey Rankings: https://www.ftnfantasy.com/nhl/fantasy-hockey-rankings

Targets: https://ftnfantasy.com/nhl/2023-2024-fantasy-hockey-preview-top-targets

Sleepers: https://ftnfantasy.com/nhl/2023-2024-fantasy-hockey-preview-sleepers

Breakouts: https://ftnfantasy.com/nhl/2023-2024-fantasy-hockey-preview-breakouts

Busts: https://ftnfantasy.com/nhl/2023-2024-fantasy-hockey-preview-busts

Old Faces, New Places: https://ftnfantasy.com/nhl/2023-2024-fantasy-hockey-preview-old-faces-new-places

Best Ball: https://ftnfantasy.com/nhl/2023-2024-fantasy-hockey-best-ball-strategy

My fantasy hockey rankings are dedicated to leagues like this, which account for power-play points, shots, hits and blocks. As you’ll see, goals are weighted more than assists and you get extra points for special teams goals as well as shots on goal. It seems simple enough, but target shooters who play on power plays. If they throw their body around or get time on the penalty kill to rack up a few blocks, that’s a bonus. I find what you lack in grit up front at the forward position, you can make up for on defense.

Here’s the scoring in NFHC leagues.

Below are a few players who are better in this format than your typical H2H category format. They are listed in order of fantasy points per game from last season.

Forwards

Alex Ovechkin, WAS
Brady Tkachuk, OTT
Tim Stutzle, OTT
J.T. Miller, VAN
Zach Hyman, EDM
Evander Kane, EDM
Travis Konecny, PHI
Tom Wilson, WAS
Booner Jenner, CBJ
Valeri Nichushkin, COL
Filip Forsberg, NSH
Joel Eriksson Ek, MIN
Adrian Kempe, LA
Vincent Trocheck, NYR
Rickard Rakell, PIT
Sam Bennett, FLA
Owen Tippett, PHI
Drake Batherson, OTT
Lawson Crouse, ARI
Brayden Schenn, STL
Ivan Barbashev, VGK

Only Connor McDavid, David Pastrnak, Nathan MacKinnon, Leon Draisaitl and Auston Matthews had more fantasy points per game than Ovechkin. Ovi is getting up there in age but still has it as he chases down Wayne Gretzky’s goal scoring record. There aren’t too many forwards who can put pucks on the net like he does, not to mention the physical play he brings to the game. This is as low as I’ve ever had him ranked, but he’s still a very strong target should he slip to the end of the second or early third.

Defensemen

Mikhail Sergachev, TB
Alex Pietrangelo, VGK
Jacob Trouba, NYR
Jeff Petry, DET
Michael Matheson, MTL
Darnell Nurse, EDM
Justin Faulk, STL
Seth Jones, CHI
Adam Larsson, SEA
Radko Gudas, ANA
Gustav Forsling, FLA
Neal Pionk, WPG
MacKenzie Weegar, CGY

I haven’t been pumping Matheson’s tires because he plays for the Montreal Canadiens. He was legit good when healthy, as he finished inside the top 10 over the last two months of last season. He finished 16th in fantasy points per game at defense and is getting drafted on average as the 31st defenseman off the board. Here’s more about him in my fantasy hockey sleepers piece.

Would it surprise you if I told you Radko Gudas had more fantasy points per game than Quinn Hughes last season? I’m not saying to draft Gudas over Hughes, I’m just saying don’t overlook defensemen who hit and block shots. I’m also not suggesting Trouba is better than Fox, but he was much more valuable than him last season in this format. The bonus addition to defensemen scoring helps separate a grinder from a scorer. I tend to ignore the defensemen in drafts, because I like to target goal-scorers early and often, as well as a goalie with my first few picks. However, the boost in scoring bumps defensemen up. Try to get one you think will finish in the top 10.

Here’s where Hughes and Fox finished last season.

Jon Carlson and Alex Peitrangelo are going well outside the top 12 at the position. I’m in on the bounce-back for Victor Hedman, but I prefer Mikhail Sergachev. It was Sergachev who averaged a career-high 2:33 per game on the PP. Meanwhile, Hedman’s six-year streak of 3+ minutes per game on the power play ended. He also played two fewer minutes per game overall and touches fewer categories than Sergachev. It’s possible Hedman takes his spot back, they rotate or Sergachev just keeps it. Either way, they’re both fine targets. I would expect Jon Cooper to continue to ease off Hedman where he can.

Here are some values I see in terms of ADP:

Jakob Chychrun, OTT
Alex Pietrangelo, VGK
Zach Werenski, CBJ
Vince Dunn, SEA
Seth Jones, CHI
Michael Matheson, MTL
Drew Doughty, LA
Justin Faulk, STL
Sean Durzi, ARI
Gustav Forsling, FLA
Rasmus Sandin, WAS
Neal Pionk, WPG
Radko Gudas, ANA
Jared Spurgeon, MIN
Kaiden Guhle, MTL

Goalies

You often hear the term voodoo or volatile when people talk about the position. They’re not wrong, but that doesn’t mean you should ignore them. I want to leave my draft with at least three goalies. There are more and more tandems and committees out there, which is why I think grabbing one of the elite goalies early in drafts makes sense. I prefer to grab one of the first few I have mentioned below, then I live in the value range for my second or third.

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You get .15 points for a save, but this isn’t like DFS where you’re looking for goalies on bad teams just to get the save bonus (no bonus here). 40-plus saves are nice (six points), but if they let in four goals, they likely won’t get the win, which puts them at two points.

Top Goalies To Target Early

Ilya Sorokin, NYI
Igor Shesterkin, NYR
Jake Oettinger, DAL
Alexandar Georgiev, COL
Juuse Saros, NSH
Ilya Samsonov, TOR
Filip Gustavsson, MIN

Value

Joonas Korpisalo, OTT
Adin Hill, VGK
Akira Schmid, NJ
Logan Thompson, VGK
Phoenix Copley, LA
Devon Levi, BUF
Cam Talbot, LA
Elvis Merzlikins, CBJ

If They Fall

Tristan Jarry, PIT
Frederik Andersen, CAR
Jacob Markstrom, CGY
Ville Husso, DET

Late Round

Pyotr Kochetkov, CAR
Joel Hofer, STL
Martin Jones, TOR

Conclusion

I like to target shooters instead of pass-first players. Players like Artemi Panarin, Johnny Gaudreau and Chandler Stephenson don’t really do it for me. The only way I’d consider those players is if I was looking to complete stacks or if they fell in drafts.

Gaudreau (ADP 1.96) averaged 1.96 fantasy points per game last season, and there are roughly eight players going after him that averaged at least 2.5, including his teammate Booner Jenner (ADP 145) who averaged 2.67. I’m not saying Jenner is a better player than Gaudreau, but he’s the better value. The Blue Jackets are one of the most improved teams, so the price on Johnny Hockey is fair, he’s just an example.

Don’t be afraid to draft players who are popular in bangers leagues (here) who will provide a bit of grit for your team. Remember players who hit, shoot and block are very valuable, especially at defense.

Get yourself a top-10 goalie and leave with three.

Good luck!!

We’ll be active all year long on the waiver wire, so make sure you check in for weekly waiver wire articles. If you’re looking for more targets, sleepers, busts and breakouts, be sure to check out the rest of the draft guide!