Fantasy Hockey Deep Sleepers: Late-Round Dart Throws with Upside (2026)

August 31, 2026

Brandon's fantasy hockey sneaky bench stashes, sleepers, and late-round draft targets for 2026. Potential league-winners, including Frank Nazar, Isaac Howard, and more.

Hey, RotoBallers! For the first time, RotoBaller will bring you dedicated in-season fantasy hockey coverage for the upcoming 2026-27 season to our scheduled DFS content. Yahoo leagues are open, which means it's time to get to work!

Fantasy managers can blow their league away with sneaky late-round sleepers that perform much higher than their ADP! Grab guys who outperform their ADP while the rest of the league sleeps on them. Below, I’ve identified players at every position who I think are being undervalued in drafts at an ADP of 150 or higher (on Yahoo) and who can help you win your league.

Be sure to follow RotoBaller on X for all of our league-winning content and me @df_solutions. Also, use discount code SOLUTIONS for 50% off any Premium Packages and get access to our Team Sync platform with customized lineup tools, projections, and more based on your league settings. Also, check out our full updated top 250 rankings. Let's dive in!

Fantasy Hockey Sleepers - Centers

Frank Nazar (CHI - C)

Frank Nazar may be the easiest name in this article, and he won’t last outside the top 150 much longer. Connor Bedard is out for at least four months after shoulder surgery, leaving Frank Nazar with more responsibility and opportunity. How much opportunity is the question at hand.

Anton Frondell, who is a new mainstay in what will be his first full season with the Blackhawks, will give Nazar competition for the 1C or top line center position. Nevertheless, Nazar is expected to see heavy minutes in the top six.

In his third season and second ‘full’ season– 66 games –he produced 15 goals, 26 assists, 41 points, 138 shots, 37 hits, and 43 blocked shots. In his 122 games played over his three seasons, he has amassed 28 goals, 40 assists, 68 points, 231 shots, 67 hits, and 79 blocked shots.

Expectations will be high for Nazar and his increased opportunities for this upcoming season, especially with the potential to play on a line with Blackhawks legend Patrick Kane.

Berkly Catton (SEA - C/LW)

The Seattle Kraken are still years away from becoming an offensive juggernaut. However, they already have some pieces to the puzzle, and one is winger and center Berkly Catton. Catton made his professional debut last season, throwing on the sweater 66 times.

His point production did not follow, though. He registered seven goals, 10 assists, and 17 points, along with 78 shots, eight hits, and 30 blocked shots. It did not help either that he never built chemistry with any teammates, hopping around the bottom nine the entire season.

Once again, it was his professional debut, and not everyone thrives in their first year, especially on a rebuilding roster. All you need to do is look back at his Junior hockey to know that he can produce.

In his final two seasons with the Spokane Chiefs of the Western Hockey League (WHL), he produced 116 points and 109 points in 68 regular-season games and 57 regular-season games, respectively. With a year of pro hockey under his belt and a change of coaching staff, Berkly Catton is set up to have a big sophomore year in the top six for the Seattle Kraken.

Fantasy Hockey Sleepers - Wingers

Isaac Howard (EDM - LW)

It will not be surprising if Isaac Howard eventually finds himself drafted in earlier rounds than he is currently. The young winger has been surrounded by hype throughout his junior career, and it makes sense that he won the Hobey Baker Award (best player in NCAA Division I). It was enough hype for the Oilers to trade for him from the Tampa Bay Lightning, sending their best prospect in return.

Despite the hype, Howard flopped in his first year in the NHL. He recorded two goals, three assists, five points, 36 shots, seven hits, and five blocked shots in 29 games. Furthermore, he had several chances alongside both Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. The shortcomings can be written off for the most part, though.

ISAAC HOWARD ONE-TIME BLAST! 💥 pic.twitter.com/pH40dof2ZG

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) September 24, 2025

For many, last season was a disappointment for the Edmonton Oilers overall. They topped it off with a 2-4 first-round loss to the Anaheim Ducks in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Looking ahead to this season, Howard remains one of the Oilers' prized players. He is projected to immediately start at left wing, playing next to McDavid on the top line. With a year of chemistry to build with McDavid and Draisaitl and the off-season to strengthen up, Howard is the late flyer darling that will inevitably crawl up the rankings as the season gets closer.

Danila Yurov (MIN - C/RW)

Danila Yurov is undoubtedly cheating when looking for wingers to highlight. The natural center and hybrid winger also made his NHL debut last season. He produced 12 goals, 15 assists, 27 points, 80 shots, 62 hits, and 43 blocked shots.

Despite the lack of goals and points in general, unlike the players highlighted thus far, Yurov had a 15 percent Shooting Percentage, showing that he waits for quality chances to convert his shots.

It is troublesome, though, given how little he produced, considering the opportunities he had in the Minnesota Wild offense. Yurov started in the bottom six as the third-line center before eventually rotating back and forth between the first and second lines due to injuries. It is a similar story to that of Howard above.

The difference between the Edmonton Oilers and the Minnesota Wild is the number of injuries the Wild had over the course of the season. This season, Yurov will be given a much larger responsibility.

There have been a few additions and a few departures during free agency, like former teammate Mats Zuccarello. To include, Yurov’s contract expires after next season, leaving him with two years to show he is worth the cap hit. Expect him to, at a minimum, double his numbers from last year.

Fantasy Hockey Sleepers - Defensemen

Rasmus Ristolainen (PHI)

Rasmus Ristolainen, on paper, is going to be a pass for a lot of fantasy managers, especially those without the +/- category in their leagues. The veteran defenseman recorded one goal, 13 assists, 58 shots, 48 hits, and 63 blocked shots last year for the Philadelphia Flyers. It was his +10, though, that made the difference, something that only watching could show.

Ristolainen eventually became an anchor for the Flyers, throwing him into every situation when they needed a reliable force. His lack of offensive production and peripherals in general could also stem from the team's overall lack of offense.

As of the time of writing, Ristolainen is expected to start on the top pairing for the Flyers. Considering the plethora of offensive options in the draft, it wouldn’t be the worst thing if you waited until the final rounds to fill out one or two more defender roster spots. The two-way defenseman will never move the needle, but he will perform well enough to be serviceable each and every night.

Sam Dickinson (SJ)

Last but not least is perhaps one of the more controversial players in the article. Sam Dickinson went into the 2024 NHL Draft with high praise and was considered the next Kris Letang. He was a great two-way defender. The skating was there, the vision, the on-ice IQ, etc, helping the London Knights win another OHL Cup.

Dickinson "disappointed," though, in his professional debut season. The youngster registered one goal, 13 assists, 14 points, 72 shots, 74 hits, and 70 blocked shots. He also never convinced the coaching staff that he should have a role on either power play. Dickinson was also a victim of inconsistent play from the San Jose Sharks and will hope for a better season this year.

San Jose will enter this season with high expectations from many, as they have kept the same roster for the most part as last season and hope to build on it. As of the time of writing, Dickinson is not projected to quarterback either power play or be on either power play in general.

However, that is expected to change, whether it be right after training camp and preseason, or shortly after the season starts. Either way, if a fantasy manager needs a last-minute defenseman flyer with offensive capabilities, Dickinson is the guy.

HOLY SMOKES SAM DICKINSON HAS DONE IT. 🚨🚨🚨

THE GAME IS TIED. #MemorialCup pic.twitter.com/c5omDqvT6A

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) June 3, 2024

Fantasy Hockey Sleepers - Goalie

Sebastian Cossa (UTA)

The goalie situation in Utah is interesting, to say the least. Goaltender Vitek Vanecek walked during Free Agency to the New York Islanders, and the Utah Mammoths traded a first-round pick in 2026 (J.P. Hurlbert) to the Detroit Red Wings for goalie prospect Sebastian Cossa. Cossa was a highly sought-after goalie prospect during the 2026 NHL Draft and rightfully so.

In the AHL, for the Grand Rapids Griffins, he posted a 2.33 Goals Against Average, a 0.915 Save Percentage, and a 26-8-4 record in 39 regular-season starts. Furthermore, that marked his third full season as a professional, improving on each of the previous two.

Unfortunately, he will have some competition from Karel Vejmelka, the go-to starter for the Mammoths. Last season, Vejmelka was the 40th-best goalie in Goals Saved Above Expected Per 60 with a 0.19. He was also the 33rd-best goalie in Goals Against Expected Per 60 and the 32nd-best in Goals Against Per 60.

Cossa will get the opportunity to showcase his skills further at training camp and during the preseason to try and push for a larger role as the second-stringer. Regardless of being listed as the starter or backup, Cossa will get his fair share of chances in the starter’s crease, and if Vejmelka were to get hurt and miss time at all, Cossa will become the unanimous starter for the Mammoths.

Michael DiPietro (BOS)

Michael DiPietro is a late bloomer. Originally drafted in the third round of the 2017 NHL Draft by the Vancouver Canucks, DiPietro never found his footing, averaging a 5.86 Goals Against Average, a 0.795 Save Percentage, and a 0-4 record over four different seasons.

In his 40 starts for the Utica Comets of the American Hockey League (AHL), he posted slightly better numbers, but nothing staggering, and in his one year with the Abbotsford Canucks, he regressed.

It wasn’t until he left the ECHL to go play for the Providence Bruins that he found form. In four years with Providence, he is averaging a 2.11 Goals Against Average, a 0.929 Save Percentage, and a 79-25-10 record in 116 regular season games.

The only issue? This would be a straight stash draft pick and nothing more. Boston Bruins starter Jeremy Swayman had another dominant year. He was the third-best in Goals Saved Above Expected Per 60 and was the ninth-best in Goals Against Per 60.

Will DiPietro get spot starts? Yes. Will he more or less be considered a handcuff in case of a Swayman injury? Also yes. Consider DiPietro nothing but a last-minute draft pick at the end when the rest of your team has already been drafted in deeper formats, as he could see his value grow over the course of the season.

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