Every Sunday, we share 21 Fantasy Rambles from our writers at DobberHockey. These thoughts are curated from the past week’s 'Daily Ramblings'.

Writers/Editors: Ian Gooding, Michael Clifford, Alexander MacLean, Puneet Sharma, and Dobber

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The 2025-26 Fantasy Guide is available for download! Projections by team and by point totals, sleepers, drafted players, rookies, goalies, advanced stats, and much more!

The French-language version of the Guide can be purchased here.

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1. The Top 100 Roto Rankings have been updated for September – hopefully in time for your drafts. As has been the case for the past two seasons, we have joined forces with Hockey Bangers to provide the update of the September rankings.

If 100 players isn’t enough for you, check out the full rankings over at Bangers Fantasy Hockey website. Once you become a subscriber and download rankings, you will be able to view rankings for 350 players, projections in each category, and an overall bangers score. 

Today I will provide observations from the rankings in terms of risers, while tomorrow will focus on fallers. Although some players’ rankings have shifted dramatically, no one from last month’s top 75 fell out completely. The one commonality among all of these significant risers is that all players are under the age of 25. I know I like my veterans in fantasy hockey, but it’s important to identify top young players who have a strong breakout probability to stay ahead of the curve.

Matthew Knies

Knies was the one player that I admittedly forgot about in last month’s rankings. At the end of last season, I wrote about how he could be the new member of the Leafs’ core four, as well as how valuable he could be in bangers leagues because of his hits total. With a fairly certain spot on the Leafs’ power play going forward, Knies might be a player on the rise – even more so in leagues that count hits. 

One potential downside for Knies, though, is his shot total. Knies seems to fall into the category of a selective shooter, as he has never averaged two shots per game in either of his two full NHL seasons. He also benefitted from a 19.1 SH% in 2024-25, which tied with John Tavares for the highest shooting percentage on the Leafs. If Knies can find a way to shoot the puck more, then he could maintain a potential 30-goal pace. That might be hard to do when lining up with frequent shooter Auston Matthews at both even strength and at 5-on-5. (sep13)

2. Macklin Celebrini

The ranking of #22 for a second-year player might seem a tad high, but Celebrini appears to be on the fast track to NHL stardom. Bangers has Mack projected for 80 points, which is a leap from his 63-point first season. However, factor in the games missed and Celebrini was on pace for a 74-point season. Now 80 points doesn’t seem so high.

Another reason to like Celebrini is his shot total. No 2024-25 rookie took more shots on goal than Celebrini (236 SOG), who averaged 3.4 SOG/GP. That total was within the top 30 in the league overall, which is impressive for a 19-year-old. In his second season, Celebrini is projected to reach nearly 300 shots – a mark only reached by two players (David Pastrnak and Nathan MacKinnon) in 2024-25. Whether he reaches those lofty heights this season is up for debate, but it only seems to be a matter of time. (sep13)

3. Connor Bedard

It makes sense to project Bedard to reach 70 points in his third NHL season. Bedard reached 62 points in his rookie season (in just 68 games), followed by 67 points last season. His point-per-game pace dropped from 0.9 PTS/GP in his rookie season to 0.82 PTS/GP in his sophomore season, a decline that can be partially attributed to his shots-per-game total decreasing from 3.0 SOG/GP to 2.4 SOG/GP. As was well documented, Bedard did not look happy with the state of affairs in Chicago.

We all know about Bedard’s upside, which means that an offensive explosion might be right around the corner. That’s why estimates in the 70-80-point range might be a bit conservative. The Blackhawks did not make any significant offseason upgrades, unless you think Andre Burakovsky will help Bedard in a major way. For that reason, the cautious estimates might be the most probable estimates. The expectation for Bedard to even reach 70 points is a three-shot-per-game minimum. A fresh start under new head coach Jeff Blashill might help with that, as Bedard’s offense seemed to stall under former coach Luke Richardson’s system, while he didn’t improve under interim coach Anders Sorensen. (sep13)

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4. Dustin Wolf has been the top goalie on our Cap League Goalie Rankings list for a little while now, but come next season he’s now due for a little slip down the list due to his big new extension. For the upcoming year, he’s still the best goalie bargain around on his small bridge contract, and he’ll be looking to build upon his wildly successful rookie season.

One interesting note about Wolf’s 2024-25 campaign, was that he had a fantastic first quarter, and in every successive quarter, his save percentage dropped, and his GAA rose. His quality start percentage dropped almost linearly as well, though funnily enough the number of wins remained almost constant from quarter to quarter. As he gains experience, and with a few full offseasons of training, the drop-off through the season should be less pronounced.

That means that by the time the $7.5 million cap hit kicks in for the fall of 2026, he may already be a bargain at that number, and the Flames have him locked up at that number until the spring of 2033. He may drop a little on the Cap League Rankings list, but it won’t be very far.

For non-cap leagues, this doesn’t change much for his outlook, though the major contract is very rare for a goalie, as we don’t often see them make this kind of jump in how much they make in one contract over the previous. What that may tell us is that the Flames are looking at those next seven years as being a big part of their next competitive window, so they won’t be looking to completely sell off and bottom-out anytime soon. (sep10)

5. There was an article over the weekend from Mark Spector at Sportsnet regarding Zach Hyman‘s status as he recovers from that wrist injury he suffered in the playoffs. Spector interviews Hyman, who says he is still rehabbing his wrist and that he has yet to start shooting pucks. There is no firm timeline or anything, but considering training camps start next week, it seems likely he doesn’t start the regular season on time, and Allan Mitchell of The Athletic wrote that Hyman may not return until sometime in November.

This is all pretty notable because the Dobber Schedule Planner tells us that through the first four weeks of the season – October 7^th until November 4^th – Edmonton is tied for the most games played in the league with 15. That means Hyman could return 30 days into the regular season and still miss nearly 20% of Edmonton’s schedule, andwe have no idea how healthy his wrist will be once he does return. He seems like a pretty big draft risk right now as a guy often going inside the top-75 picks. (sep11)

6. The Blackhawks and Spencer Knight have agreed to a three-year extension worth $17.5 million that will begin next season. That works out to a cap hit of $5.833 million, which is slightly higher than the $4.5 million he is set to earn this season. Knight was acquired in the Seth Jones trade with Florida last season, and it appears that the Hawks hope that he will be their long-term starting goalie. At age 24, Knight still has a promising future, but he shouldn’t be drafted high in non-keeper formats given the Hawks’ situation. (sep14)

7. Corey Perry‘s injury while skating on Friday turned out to be significant, as he will be sidelined for about 6-8 weeks following knee surgery. A 2024 Stanley Cup playoff hero for the Oilers with 10 goals in 22 games, Perry signed a one-year free agent contract with the Kings on July 1. Now 40 years old, Perry won’t likely make a major impact fantasy-wise, but he should provide some bottom-6 depth for the Kings and perhaps even second-unit power-play usage once he is ready to return. (sep14)

8. Something to keep an eye on if you are participating in early drafts: Mackenzie Blackwood has not skated or taken shots with the Avalanche all week because he appears to be battling a lower-body injury. Last week I listed Blackwood as a player that I thought was being drafted too high in Yahoo leagues with an ADP of 26.5. That ADP has since risen to 25, while Yahoo has ranked him at #21. Although this injury could heal quickly with rest, I am even less likely to draft Blackwood in the first few rounds with this news. (sep14)

9. Marc-Andre Fleury has signed a PTO (professional tryout offer) with the Penguins to play at least one final game with the team that he is most associated with. Fleury is expected to be in the lineup for the Penguins’ home exhibition game on September 27 against Columbus. Since teams often play both goalies during their preseason games, Fleury should see some action in this game, which the Penguins have confirmed in their press release.

Before we assume that the PTO will create a training camp battle between Fleury and Arturs Silovs for the backup goalie job behind Tristan Jarry, Josh Yohe from The Athletic has confirmed that this is more of an opportunity for Fleury to play once last time for the team that he won three Stanley Cups with. This goes one step further than the typical ceremonial “one-day” contract that great players sign with the team where they had their best years, which will allow for a proper sendoff from the fans. More teams may decide to go this route, especially with the stakes of a preseason game not being all that high. (sep13)

10. The five players acquitted in Hockey Canada sexual assault trial can return to NHL on December 1, following serving a league suspension. These five players will be eligible to sign with an NHL team on October 15, about a week after the start of the NHL regular season.

The most notable of these players, at least from a fantasy hockey perspective, is Carter Hart. The former Flyers goalie last played an NHL game in January 2024, so his time off from the NHL will span nearly two calendar years at minimum. Teams who aren’t confident in their goaltending situation, of which there will be at least a few, may consider Hart as a potential add. How much the time off and trial situation affects Hart (and the other players) remains to be seen. On top of that, teams also need to decide whether these players are worth taking a chance on, not to mention deserving of a second chance. (sep13)

11. The Sabres have signed Alexandar Georgiev to a one-year, $825,000 contract. After failing to prove he was the answer in net for Colorado, Georgiev was traded to San Jose last season, finishing his time with the Sharks with a dismal 3.88 GAA and .875 SV%.

At first glance, it might seem as though Georgiev is being signed simply as goaltending depth behind Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Alex Lyon. However, Luukkonen reported to camp with an injury that is being described as a “tweak.” That might not seem like much, but goaltenders have to be completely right in order to effectively perform. Of course the Sabres also have Devon Levi, but it appears that the plan for Levi is to marinate in the AHL in spite of a strong 2024-25 season there (42 GP, 2.20 GAA, .919 SV%).

All of this is to say that you shouldn’t be rushing out to draft Buffalo goalies in single-season leagues. The future might be better with a potential UPL/Levi tandem. However, the Sabres have been in “wait until next year” mode for over a decade. (sep13)

12. This week sees rookie camps start across the league, and though the vast majority of participants will not have fantasy hockey relevance this year (or ever), there are key names that are going to be important for fantasy managers this season. Without getting too deep down the list, let’s get into some rookies that fantasy managers need to keep an eye on between rookie camp and the main camp itself.

For this, I’ll skip the obvious names that are already getting drafted around, or inside, the top-200 picks in the preseason. That includes Ivan Demidov, Zayne Parekh, Zeev Buium, Sam Rinzel, and Yaroslav Askarov. We will also jump some more familiar names like Artyom Levshunov and David Jiricek.

Positions for each player are the positions given by Fantrax.

For prospect rankings, Dobber posted his top-200 prospect forwards and top-50 prospect defencemen in late August.

Michael Misa (C – San Jose Sharks)

The second overall pick from this year’s draft looks primed to make a jump in his first year. He has to earn it, of course, but it’s notable that over the last 20 years in the Ontario Hockey League, Misa’s closest comparable by points per game across their respective age-16 and age-17 seasons is Steven Stamkos:

The big question for me is: when Misa makes the Sharks roster out of camp, where will he slot in? Macklin Celebrini is the team’s unquestioned top centre and Alex Wennberg looks primed for second-line duties. Does the team move Will Smith to centre full time? If they do, Misa would be the fourth-line centre, or move to the wing. If they have Smith on the wing, then Misa is probably the team’s third-line centre. At that point, we’re talking about guys like Philipp Kurashev, Collin Graf, and Adam Gaudette as potential line mates.  

For what it’s worth, the 2025-26 Dobber Hockey Fantasy Guide – available now in the Dobber Shop – has Misa with a nine-game tryout, but he did sign his ELC on Wednesday, so I imagine that will change. If he sticks with the roster, they use him as a pseudo-second-line centre in tandem with Wennberg, and he can get line mates like Smith and Jeff Skinner, Misa can have a 20-goal, 20-assist rookie campaign. But those are a lot of bridges to cross. (sep11)

13. Ryan Leonard (RW – Washington Capitals)

Unlike Misa, Leonard looks to have a roster spot locked up as the Capitals let some veterans walk in free agency and didn’t make a lot of changes. With 29 hits in 17 games between the regular season and playoff in the spring, Leonard has the multi-cat appeal that is very valuable to see in a rookie; he doesn’t need 25 goals and 50 points to be relevant in multi-cat fantasy leagues.

The big issue for Leonard is whether he gets meaningful power-play time. In his nine-game stint in the regular seasons, he earned under 11% of the team’s PPTOI, per Frozen Tools. Even if he takes Andrew Mangiapane‘s spot now that Mangiapane is in Edmonton, he earned under 20% of the PPTOI in that stretch. If the Caps decide to stick with a heavily-used top PP unit, Leonard is probably stuck with third-line, second PP duties, and that means 13-14 minutes a game. He can still push for 20 goals, 40 points, and 160 hits, but given his role, that is his upside, not a baseline. (sep11)

14. Jimmy Snuggerud (RW – St. Louis Blues)

Perhaps the rookie with the most production upside that isn’t getting a lot of preseason hype is Snuggerud. When I graded St. Louis’ offseason, it was mentioned that he was the sixth St. Louis forward by share of even-strength ice time and first by PPTOI share in the playoffs. There was no Dylan Holloway in the lineup, but it still seems likely Snuggerud gets a top-6 role next to either Robert Thomas or Brayden Schenn (my guess is they try things with Thomas first) and top PP time. That is valuable.

Between the regular and postseason, Snuggerud posted 15.27 shot attempts per 60 minutes, which was fourth among Blues forwards:

In his 14 NHL games, he skated 16:16 per game. If he takes 15.3 shot attempts per 60 minutes, lands 45% of them on net, and skates that level of TOI, he can manage close to 160 shots. That puts a 20-goal season well within range, and he had 13 hits in 14 games, too. This is a guy who is staring down a 20-goal, 50-point, 160-shot, 60-hit, 40-block season. Not bad for multi-cat leagues. (sep11)

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15. Let’s take a look at some top line forwards in the league that are worth targeting for stacking purposes:

Carolina Hurricanes: Andrei Svechnikov – Sebastian Aho – Nikolaj Ehlers

The Hurricanes’ top line offers a compelling fantasy stack without being the typical elite first-round targets. Sebastian Aho (ADP:62.5) remains the steady centerpiece, a consistent point-per-game option who contributes in every situation and provides a reliable floor. Andrei Svechnikov (ADP: 103) when healthy, combines elite shot volume, physicality, and goal-scoring ability, and as crazy as it is he is just 25, still giving him room to grow.

Nikolaj Ehlers (ADP: 82) adds a fresh element to the line. He is a fast winger who drives play in transition and generates chances off the rush. While the line has not yet been tested in game situations with the team just yet, the Hurricanes acquired Ehlers to contribute at the top level so you can expect to at least see him start the season on the op line. Svechnikov on the other hand has seen time on the second and sometimes even the third line depending on matchups, something to keep in mind. (sep8)

16. Utah Mammoth: Clayton Keller – Logan Cooley – Dylan Guenther

The Utah Mammoth present an interesting stack this season, headlining Clayton Keller, Logan Cooley, and Dylan Guenther. Not much of a sleeper line anymore but Keller has become one of the NHL’s most consistent scoring wingers, flirting with point-per-game production even on weaker rosters. Now in Utah, surrounded by better talent and entering year two with a full top-line role, he could easily approach a 90-point season. His elite puck skills and shot volume make him the clear anchor, and with an ADP of 38.5 on Yahoo!, he is a strong early third-round target in 12-team leagues.

Logan Cooley is the player most likely to unlock this line’s upside. After a solid rookie campaign, he has the skill and vision to become a true top-line center, driving play and creating opportunities for Keller and Guenther. Dylan Guenther flashed genuine goal-scoring ability last season, and now in a more prominent role with top-line minutes and power-play exposure, he has the chance to produce at a breakout level.

Both Cooley (ADP 166) and Guenther (ADP 126) are very attainable targets, giving this stack real value in drafts. Utah’s schedule lines up nicely, with plenty of off-night coverage that makes them a strong fantasy play all season long. (sep8)

17. Montreal Canadiens: Juraj Slafkovsky – Nick Suzuki – Cole Caufield

This Montreal trio isn’t on the level of elite stacks, but it has all the ingredients for a breakout fantasy unit. Nick Suzuki (ADP 47) has developed into a steady point-per-game center who contributes in every situation. He has become the standard for Montreal’s young core and keeps delivering even when the team around him hits rough patches. Cole Caulfield is the pure finisher of the group. He scored 37 goals last season and has clear potential to reach 35–40 goals again. With an ADP of 56, he offers top-half fourth-round value for a player capable of 70 points and significant goal-scoring upside.

Juraj Slavkovsky 89.5 ADP is not really a sleeper pick but he has not yet fully broken out. After posting two consecutive 50-point seasons, he showed flashes of chemistry with Suzuki and Caulfield, and another step forward could turn this line into one of the league’s most improved. He is right at the 200 games breakout threshold and lining him up with these two young stars adds upside. This top line stack is evolving, which is part of what makes it so appealing. (sep8)

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18. The concept of arbitrage is an important one in any fantasy sport. Its roots are from finance, but for fantasy sports drafts the concept is simple: where can I find value by drafting a player who has a similar outlook to another player but is being drafted lower? For example: if someone thinks that Moritz Seider and Charlie McAvoy are going to have similar seasons in their fantasy format, and Seider has an ADP of 45^th overall where McAvoy is 75^th overall, it makes much more sense to draft McAvoy than Seider. Though that might seem obvious, there are several arbitrage opportunities every season.

Today, we’re going to start a three-part series on drafting arbitrage with a focus on skaters. To shake things up a little, we will start with defencemen today before moving to wingers and centres next week.

Projections being used are my personal projections. In these projections, every player is projected for 82 games played, so if there are injury concerns about a player, that is factored afterwards. Goals, assists, power-play points, shots, hits, and blocks are the fantasy categories used for skaters. (sep12)

19. Arbitrage #1:

Mikhail Sergachev (ADP: 55.3) and Jackson LaCombe (ADP: 93.3)

I briefly wrote about Sergachev a few days ago, stating that in a draft I did back in mid-August, he went at pick 116 in a draft on Underdog Fantasy. A few weeks later, he went at pick 98. In a draft I did on Tuesday night, he went at pick 104. It seems as if his ADP has moved up at least a round on that site, and he’s going as the 14^th defenceman on FanTrax.

While LaCombe’s ADP has also gone up, the difference is LaCombe’s ADP remains much lower than that of Sergachev. With that in mind, here are my projections for those two players:

We can see how close these guys are in terms of production by my projections. Additionally, the Dobber Draft List has LaCombe with 12 goals and 39 assists with Sergachev at 11 goals and 42 assists, so they’re pretty close in the Fantasy Guide as well. (sep12)

20. Back in May, I wrote about LaCombe’s breakout season, how a lot of the tracking data showed an excellent puck-moving defenceman, and that he’s still underrated. There may be concern that he hasn’t really proven anything yet since he started last season in a depth role before earning his way to a top role 1-2 months into the campaign. On top of that, there is a new coach in Anaheim who may have a different view of him compared to other blue liners on the roster.

All that said, I do believe that LaCombe is currently Anaheim’s best offensive defenceman, he’s good enough defensively that he won’t get his even-strength ice time regulated like Shayne Gostisbehere or Dougie Hamilton, and that he’ll quickly earn the trust of the new coaching staff. Let’s be honest here: Anaheim’s blue line currently consists of aging (declining) veterans in Jacob Trouba and Radko Gudas with young, unproven talents like Olen Zellweger, Pavel Mintyukov, and Tristan Luneau. LaCombe has proven more than the other young defencemen, and is in his prime unlike Trouba and Gudas. He has the best qualities of the two groups.

The concern is the power play. LaCombe might lose his top spot to Zellweger at any point and Anaheim’s power play has been bad for years. He may lose his role, but I believe he keeps the top PP duties for the majority of the season and gets second unit duties if he’s demoted. A modest improvement from the Ducks’ power play overall still isn’t enough to crack 20 power-play points, but he should crack 15.

While there is concern about the Anaheim power play, what about Utah? They have Clayton Keller, Dylan Guenther, and Logan Cooley guaranteed top PP minutes, and let’s assume they want to have JJ Peterka on the top unit as well. If they have Sergachev, that leaves them with one centre on that quintet, and it’s Cooley with his career 41.5% faceoff success rate. Does the team want one centre who is bad at faceoffs, or is this a team primed for a 5-forward power play to ensure a second centre? Or do they just leave Peterka on the second unit? All I’m saying is I don’t think it’s cut-and-dry that Sergachev is guaranteed PP1 minutes all season, either.

There is risk with LaCombe, but no matter what, he should have better peripherals than Sergachev, and that can help mitigate a bit of that risk. Considering he’s going about three rounds lower than Sergachev, it’s a risk worth taking. (sep12)

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21. Last week, two of my Ramblings covered some early ADP thoughts, starting with players I think are good values like the Triple Ds: Dylan Larkin, Dylan Guenther, and Dylan Holloway. The second Ramblings covered players I don’t think are good values, including Mikko Rantanen and Shea Theodore.

Today, I want to continue looking at ADPs but look later in the drafts. While missing on early picks is a quick way to a 10^th-place finish, hitting on late picks is how fantasy championships are made. For that reason, let’s look at ADP data from Underdog Fantasy – a points system that includes goals, assists, power-play points, shots, hits, and blocks – and from FanTrax, which includes all kinds of leagues. Let’s see where we can find some values after pick 120, which is outside the first 10 rounds of a 12-team league.

Mason McTavish (Anaheim Ducks)
Underdog ADP: 153.9
Fantrax ADP: 174.3

Over the last four seasons on a 60-minute basis, McTavish has the same goal rate as Tim Stutzle, a higher assist rate than JJ Peterka, and a higher shot rate than Seth Jarvis. In that span, here are the comparable forwards to McTavish by rate of goals, assists, and shots:

While Holloway is also a very good draft value this year, McTavish is going about 1-2 rounds later than Peterka on Underdog, and about six rounds later than Peterka on Fantrax. On top of the production, the last two seasons have seen McTavish average over 180 shots and over 80 hits every 82 games played. There are good peripheral counts to go with the production.

Perhaps the reticence around McTavish is his contract status (still unsigned), a new coach in town and McTavish’s role under the new regime, or the uncertain quality of the team around him. That is understandable to a degree, but we’re talking about a player between picks 150-200, not inside the top-100. With McTavish’s late-season surge (25 points in his final 28 games), a (hopefully) improved team around him, and passing the 200-game threshold last year, this is a draft pick worth the risk. (Sep9)

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Have a good week, folks!

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