RADIO
As the most populous position in fantasy hockey, there are a significant amount of wingers that are grossly overlooked in fantasy drafts – you have your game-changers such as Alex Ovechkin and Nikita Kucherov; your established premiere producers in Vladamir Tarasenko and Phil Kessel; your up-and-comers like Clayton Keller and Kyle Connor; the mega hyped rookies with Andrei Svechnikov and Brady Tkachuk – and a whole lot in between. With those four classes demanding the attention of most fantasy owners, it’s easy to see why talented wingers sometimes fall through the cracks.
Allow us to reintroduce you to the dynamic players you might have temporarily forgotten – players that will undoubtedly return some serious value for any fantasy owner looking to take home that championship payout.
Jason Zucker (MIN - LW/RW) - ADP 138.8
Despite putting together a career season of 64 points (33 goals, 31 assists) last season, Zucker is surprisingly not getting the love he deserves. The former first-round NHL draft pick was just one of 14 wingers to hit the 30-goal mark and displayed great value across all categories with his 16 power play points, 222 shots, 44 penalty minutes, and 94 hits. Entering his fourth, full NHL season, the California native’s game should only continue trending up. He’ll likely spend most of the year on the Wild’s top line and top power play in 2018-2019. Given his current ADP of 139.9, Zucker should reward his fantasy owners all winter.
Kyle Palmieri (NJD – RW) - ADP 161.5
Palmieri is a winger on the list perhaps getting undervalued due to missing significant time due to injury last season. The 26-year-old is coming off another successful season for the Devils, in which he posted 44 points (24 goals, 20 assists) in just 62 games. If he played a full 82-game season, Palmieri would have posted a more than respectable 32-goal, 58-point campaign. The undersized winger has emerged as a premiere power play producer as displayed by him eclipsing at least 18 points on the man advantage in each of the last three seasons. Expected to open the season alongside Taylor Hall and Nico Hischier, Palmieri should prove to be a dangerous scorer once again in 2018-2019.
Mark Stone (OTT – RW) - ADP 162.5
This one is quite simple: Mark Stone is criminally undervalued heading into the 2018-2019 season. There’s no denying that right-winger might be less attractive due to his team shipping out key offensive contributors (Erik Karlsson, Mike Hoffman) over the offseason, but a player with Stone's offensive pedigree should never fall to the 13th round of fantasy drafts. Baffling. The 26-year-old is coming off a point-per-game season, having posted 62 points (20 goals, 42 assists) in 58 games. He’s a lock on his team’s first line and top power play unit with fellow talent Matt Duchene. It should be recognized that Stone might finish as a minus player on some nights, but his strong play on both sides of the rink will limit that. Don’t make the mistake that other owners seem to be making this preseason and ensure to grab Stone at this unbelievable discount.
Anders Lee (NYI - LW) - ADP 165.6
How often can you find a 28-year-old left winger coming off a 40-goal season in the 14th round of fantasy drafts? There's no denying that Lee's value suffered from the departure of longtime linemate and league superstar John Tavares. However, Lee is entrenched in the Islanders’ top six forward group and should find himself in his similar net front role on the team's top power play unit (seventh in the NHL in power play goals last season). Aside from his scoring ability (62 points in 2017-2018), Lee's production spans nearly all categories, as showcased with his 22 power play points, 208 shots on goal, and 102 hits last year. Don't fall asleep like the rest of your league and allow Lee to return serious late round value in 2018-2019.
Chris Kreider (NYR – LW) - ADP 171
Kreider checks in as an excellent sleeper for the 2018-2019 campaign after missing significant time last season due to a rib injury and resulting blood clot. The issue, one in which Kreider has fully recovered from, translated to the power forward posting just 37 points (16 goals, 21 assists) in 58 games, missing most of January and February. Prior to the injury, Kreider had established himself as a top 50 player in all fantasy leagues counting hits, registering more than 20 goals, 50 penalty minutes, and 150 hits in each of his last three seasons. Fully healthy and playing on the Rangers’ top line with Mika Zibanejad, Kreider should be able to hit the top 100 fantasy players. His scoring potential combined with his elite category coverage makes him an easy bet to finish the 2018-2019 season higher than his ADP.
