Fantasy Hockey 2025-26 – Matt Larkin’s Sleepers
Every fantasy hockey champion needs an edge, and it often comes from unearthing late-round gems. These are the players flying under the radar: undervalued veterans, breakout candidates, and prospects poised to deliver more than their current ADP (Average Draft Position) suggests. All of the DailyFaceoff Fantasy analysts have highlighted their favourite names that might not be at the top of your league’s draft board but could pay off in a big way. By identifying the players who are being overlooked, you can stock your roster with hidden value and gain the kind of advantage that wins trophies.
MORE SLEEPER LISTS:
Brock Seguin’s Sleepers
Beebs Bondy’s Sleepers
Dylan Berthiaume’s Sleepers
Nick Szeman’s Sleepers
Zayne Parekh | Calgary Flames | D | ADP: 115.0
To “chase the next Lane Hutson” almost feels like an insult to Hutson’s historically excellent rookie year. It’s not easy to do what he did. But…Parekh’s 107 points in the OHL last year were the most by a blueliner in 31 years. He’s a truly special offensive talent in his own right. If he can make the Flames, it only makes sense to give him a meaningful offensive role with significant power-play time right away. The Minnesota Wild’s Zeev Buium is probably the better all-around defenseman, but Parekh’s fantasy ceiling is higher. And Matthew Schaefer going first overall provides a nice smokescreen in fantasy drafts; sometimes the second-year prospects are overlooked compared to the shiny new toy.
Karel Vejmelka | Utah Mammoth | G | ADP: 153.0
Beware the Mammoth! They improved from 77 to 89 points last season. They possess some of the best ascending talent in the NHL in Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther. They traded for sniper JJ Peterka and fortified their depth with Nate Schmidt and Brandon Tanev. They still have Clayton Keller playing career-best hockey in his prime. All this information is relevant to Vejmelka’s value. He graded out as one of the better goalies in the league in goals saved above expected per 60 last season. His situation is highly similar to Lukas Dostal’s in Anaheim; both are already good goalies, but their improving team circumstances should bolster their win totals and improve their rate stats. I’m expecting a career year from Vejmelka.
Marco Kasper | Detroit Red Wings | C/LW | ADP: 160.0
As recently as Jan. 7, Kasper was mired in a 15-game pointless streak. It looked like the offensive side of the prospect’s game wasn’t translating to the NHL level. But he scored at a 25-goal, 59-point pace from that point onward, not only breaking out but showcasing versatility, first as Dylan Larkin’s winger and then centering Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane on the second line. Now Kasper is entrenched as a top-six forward. My favorite breakout picks in redraft leagues are often guys who did their damage in the second half and therefore don’t have overly sexy full-season stat lines from the year before. Casual drafters may overlook Kasper, but he could easily deliver 25-plus goals, 55-plus points and 150 hits. The ceiling might be higher than that.
Jet Greaves | Columbus Blue Jackets | G | ADP: 186.0
It’s easy to call Greaves’ unbelievable finish to 2024-25 a flash in the pan. Going 5-0-0 with a .975 save percentage in April obviously isn’t sustainable unless he’s the greatest goalie who ever lived. But instead of asking, “Can Greaves keep up his torrid play?” the wiser question is, “Who is Greaves’ competition?” The Blue Jackets have literal years of sample size with Elvis Merzlikins, during which he’s never pulled away and established himself as a consistent long-term No. 1. Columbus has every reason to give Greaves a shot to run with the job. He has a .924 career SV% across 21 NHL appearances and excelled at the AHL level the past couple seasons, too. If he can start at least half the games for a rising Columbus team, he could be the cheapest top-20 fantasy goalie in redraft leagues this year.
Andrew Mangiapane | Edmonton Oilers | LW/RW | ADP: Undrafted
I understand if people don’t want to relive the Connor Brown disappointment. But consider Mangiapane’s competition for top-six duty. So much hype for Ike Howard and Matt Savoie. They’re exciting prospects, fine, but have we considered for a moment that the Edmonton Oilers might default early on to the more experienced Mangiapane as one of Connor McDavid’s wingers? Mangiapane can also play either side, so his role doesn’t necessarily hinge on Zach Hyman’s health status. It’s much more fun to take the upside rookie, but consider the context. Howard in particular hasn’t played one second of professional hockey yet.
Mackie Samoskevich | Florida Panthers | RW | ADP: Undrafted
The Panthers were so deep last season that they only used Samoskevich for four playoff games en route to their second consecutive Stanley Cup. But with Matthew Tkachuk set to miss the first half of 2025-26, the Cats actually need Samoskevich, and I believe he’ll get a look as the second-line right winger in Tkachuk’s spot. Samoskevich has some dynamic offensive skill and managed 15 goals in 72 games while playing just 13:19 a night last season. He’s primed to break out as a 20-25 goal scorer and is one of my favorite late-round picks.
Jimmy Snuggerud | St. Louis Blues | RW | ADP: Undrafted
The circumstantial evidence tells us a lot about St. Louis’ perception of Snuggerud. He turned pro last spring after a stellar college career and immediately slid into high-value deployment with quality linemates. Snuggerud played more than 17 minutes a game in the postseason. The Blues felt comfortable trading an excellent rookie winger in Zach Bolduc to the Montreal Canadiens for defenseman Logan Mailloux. They clearly feel Snuggerud is ready to be a full-time scoring-line forward. He seemingly carries far less fanfare than some of the other more exciting young prospects in the game, but he’s one of the safer rookies on the board for me, and he comes in a power-forward package that should help banger-league players in the hits category as well.
Shane Wright | Seattle Kraken | C | ADP: Undrafted
The Kraken have slow-played Wright’s development, sometimes maddeningly so. But his deadly release was heralded when he came up as a prospect, and it yielded 19 goals last season in just 14:04 minutes of average ice time. Now finally established as a full-time NHLer, Wright is a deep sleeper for 30 goals if he sees his minutes and his scoring-chance volume rise – because his accurate shot makes him so efficient.