"Skater Stream" for Week 8
Hot Skaters to Pick Up Off Waivers For Fantasy Hockey
So, in some personal fantasy news, I was accepted into the Keeping Karlsson Ultimate Patreon Fantasy League this past week. I will take over a Tier 6 (the lowest competition tier) team, currently 0-7, so I have my work cut out to make things interesting in my particular league.
However, this isn’t the first time I've played in the KKUPFL. I played the last two years before briefly stepping aside this year, thinking I wouldn’t have time to commit to the league. Fortunately, I had the time, so I joined the waitlist and was matched up with a team after a couple of weeks of waiting.
I mentioned this so that I may distinguish in my posts which players are better in roto/categories scoring formats and which are better in points leagues, which is the format of the KKUPFL. Thus, certain waiver wire pickups I suggest in these “skater stream” posts must be taken in the context of what kind of league a fantasy manager plays in, as some suggestions may not fit in points leagues (and vice versa).
Let’s look at the four “hot” skaters to pay attention to on the waiver wire in week eight.
Alexander Wennberg, C, SJS (3% rostered)
Wennberg has been on a heater over the past couple of weeks. He has four points in his last three games and six in his previous eight games (including three goals and three assists). In that sample, his Shot percentage is 37.5%, his PTS/G is 0.75, and he has three power-play points (PPP), including two power-play goals.
Granted, there is some flukiness in his hot streak, especially when looking at the advanced shot data.
His Corsi is only 46%, and his Fenwick is 44.7%, which correlates with his 989 PDO, which he was expected to do this season with the Sharks. His shot percentage is high during this stretch and has been high for the year at 20%. His SH% was 11.1% with the Rangers and Kraken last year and 12.9% in 22-23 with the Kraken.
Thus, Wennberg may see a regression in his scoring production at some point, resulting in less fantasy value, especially on a San Jose team invested in young talents such as Macklin Celebrini, William Eklund, and Will Smith.
On the other hand, with only a 3% rostered percentage on Yahoo, Wennberg may be worth a stream, especially this week, when the Sharks have three more games (two against Seattle and one against Ottawa). He is on a 44-point pace and averaging 0.54 PTS/G, which would be his best marks in those categories since his 2017-2018 season in Columbus (0.53 PTS/G and 43-point pace).
The 30-year-old Swede also has moved up to the Sharks’ second line with Tyler Toffoli and Luke Kunin. In their 7-2 win over the Kings on Monday, the line produced a goal, a plus/minus of +1, a 57.1% SF%, and 50% CF in 11:36 TOI, which led all forwards in even-strength situations.
Thus, expect Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky to continue using Wennberg in this first line, especially after such a dominating win. That makes the Swedish center a sneaky play, especially in deep leagues.
Will Cuylle, LW, NYR (35% rostered)
The Rangers are struggling right now, with their 5-2 loss against the Blues on Monday being a prime example of their inconsistency this season. On a positive note, their 25 points put them fourth in the Metropolitan Division, so New York can absorb this cold streak for now.
Thankfully for Rangers fans, the 22-year-old Cuylle has emerged as one of New York’s premiere point scorers. That gives the Blueshirt fanbase hope that they have a building block at forward for the remainder of the year and beyond.
The 2020 second-round pick has six points in his last five games and eight in his previous seven games. During the past two weeks, he has accumulated five goals and is averaging 1.14 PTS/G with a SH% of 38.5%. He has produced 13 SOG and collected 29 hits in his last eight contests, making him a darling in banger roto and H2H category leagues.
New York has a lot of competition in the left-wing position, especially with more proven options like Artemi Panarin and Chris Kreider. However, Kreider is off to a cold start with only nine points in 19 games played, and he’s currently on the shelf with an upper-body injury that caused him to miss Monday’s game against St. Louis.
As a result, Cuylle filled in Kreider’s spot on the second line with Mika Zibanejad and Brett Berard against the Blues. The Canadian-born forward produced two goals on three shots on goals and had six hits in 14:51 TOI.
The longer Kreider stays out injured, the more chances Cuylle will get to prove to the Rangers brass that he’s worthy of second-line duty for the remainder of the season.
Kent Johnson, RW, CBJ (12% rostered)
The Blue Jacket right winger has nine points in six games for a Blue Jackets team sitting second-to-last in the Metropolitan Division with 20 points. As a result of the Jackets’ struggles, Johnson has climbed up the depth chart, now sitting on the second line with Adam Fantilli and Kevin Lebanc, according to Left Wing Lock.
A shoulder injury has limited Johnson to only six contests this season, but he’s proven productive when he's healthy.
In addition to having nine points and four PPP, he’s averaging 1.50 PTS/G and 1.83 SOG/G on a SH% of 36.4%. These solid numbers explain why Johnson has seen his PP% increase from 43.7% last year to 57.2% this year and his TOI go up from 13:33 to 16:57.
Ranked 176th in Dobber’s Top 300 players rankings in the preseason, Johnson is putting out pretty abnormal shot metrics.
His SH% is nearly 27% higher than a year ago, but his PDO is down at 940, and he’s only sporting a CF% of 51.5%, which is just 3.5% higher than a season ago. Also, his SOG/G is only 1.8, just 0.3 higher than in 23-24. Thus, Johnson may get a high volume of shots, but they’re not incredibly on target.
Nonetheless, I like Johnson as a sleeper right-wing pickup off waivers, especially since he seems to also benefit from his current line in terms of secondary assists (60%). The Blue Jackets aren’t going anywhere in the Metropolitan, so young prospects like him will get plenty of chances this season.
The only downside is that he doesn’t have any hits or blocks, so Johnson’s offense comes purely from scoring, points, and shots. That profile may make him more valuable in points leagues where banger stats are more suppressed or non-existent.
Olen Zellweger, D, ANA (21% rostered)
The Ducks have 19 points, tied for last in the Pacific with the Sharks. However, they have intriguing fantasy talents on the waiver wire who could see better production with some roster or line changes.
Zellweger, 21, is one of those talents.
He has six points in his last five games, and 10 points in 19 games played this year for Anaheim. He’s not traditionally a shot machine; he only has a 9.1% SH% this year. However, during this six-game hot streak, he has seen a boost with a 16.7% SH%. Furthermore, he’s accurate with his shots, as he is producing a 2.32 SOG/G mark this year, including a 2.0 SOG/G in his last six.
The Canadian defenseman is logging significant Power-Play time with the Ducks, as his PP% is 53.6% this year and 69.4% during this latest hot stretch. The 0.21 PPP/GP isn’t eye-popping, but it’s significant progress from where he was a season ago in his 26-game rookie sample (0.08 PPP/GP). His 1016 PDO and 48.1% CF% are also improvements from 2023-2024, encouraging signs regarding Zellweger’s shot outlook this season.
With first-line PPP duties (according to LWL), improving shot metrics, and solid block numbers (1.00 Blocked Shots/GP), Zellweger is the kind of defenseman who can not just give solid value from the blue line but could also be a long-term option for those fantasy managers who play in dynasty or keeper league formats.
Photo Credit: Jessica Alcheh-Imagn Images