Getty Images Dobber launched his fantasy hockey website*DobberHockey*back in 2005 and has been providing Puck Daddy with fantasy hockey knowledge since 2009. Steve Laidlaw*is the Managing Editor*for DobberHockey.
It has become cliché to state that there is no longer such thing as a “sleeper”. Yes, it is the information age. Yes, everyone will have heard of every player you have drafted. That said, there is still plenty of value to be mined at the draft table. For our season preview, we will look at players who are being drafted below where their talent level might indicate. All rankings and average draft positions (ADP) are based on Yahoo leagues. Today we look at the wing positions:
Right Wing
Right wing is very shallow this year so you may want to consider taking a top option early on if there is one available. If not, the following guys offer plenty of value at the draft table.
Jakub Voracek – PHI – 15th*ranked RW – ADP 86.9
Voracek has dual wing eligibility, which is reason enough to consider bumping him up your draft board a bit, but since the RW position is thinner we will consider him at this position.
Voracek is coming off a miserable 2015-16 campaign, which saw his shooting percentage cut nearly in half to a paltry 5.2 per cent. Had he shot his career average of 9.5 per cent, Voracek would have finished with 20 goals and 64 points – more importantly, no one would be neglecting his fantasy value.
Voracek also missed nine games last season, which exactly doubled eight-year veteran’s career total for missed games. He is typically an iron man, so don’t expect more injury woes.
Finally, Voracek has put together a robust track record with the Philadelphia Flyers. We know that he is an entrenched top-line forward, skating with Claude Giroux at even strength and on the power play. He has scored 288 points in 363 games in the orange and black, an 82-game average of 65 points, which exactly what you should draft Voracek for. You should also expect 20 or more power-play points and over 200 shots.
Whether you use Voracek at LW or at RW he is a good bet to perform at a second-tier level behind elite guys like Joe Pavelski or Vladimir Tarasenko.
Jordan Eberle – EDM – 13th*ranked RW – ADP 89.8
Eberle is actually going slightly later in drafts than Voracek despite being ranked slightly higher. You should probably treat them as though they are in that same second tier of RW.
All Eberle does is score. His career 0.77 point-per-game average prorates to a 64-point pace. This is what he is and has been for his entire career. The only time he slips is when he is injured, as he did missing 13 games last season.
A 64-point floor is highly intriguing but what makes Eberle really intriguing is the potential to click with phenom Connor McDavid. If McDavid reaches his potential and Eberle gets to ride shotgun there is a potential 40-goal/80-point campaign to be had. Eberle probably won’t get there but his upside makes him a great value pick at his ADP.
Brendan Gallagher – MON – 29th*ranked RW – ADP 152.1
Injury woes kicked the steam right out of Gallagher’s breakout 2015-16 campaign, which is great news for those looking for fantasy draft value. He is going in 100 per cent of fantasy leagues so someone in every pool is finding draft value but it is in your interest to make sure that someone is you.
Gallagher’s 2015-16 season, if pro-rated for 82 games would have been 29 goals and 62 points, which is starting RW production in any fantasy league. Could he have kept it up over 82 games? We’ll never know but it is certainly worth the bet.
Last season was the first time that Gallagher was utilized frequently on the top power-play unit, solidifying himself as a strong net-front presence. This jump in power-play usage allowed Gallagher to score a career high 10 power-play points, despite missing 29 games. Gallagher had already established himself as a strong even-strength scorer before adding this special teams dimension. This elevates his projection to a significant level. Draft Gallagher expecting 55 points with over 250 shots, and potential for even stronger production. A guy with that kind of floor demands to go higher in drafts.
Mats Zuccarello – NYR – 31st*ranked RW – 151.6 ADP
The bad news: Zuccarello is going in 100 per cent of all fantasy drafts. The good news: he is frequently slipping to the 15th*round or later, which is far too late for someone with his talent. Zuccarello scored 61 points last season, tying him for ninth among RW with Mark Stone who is going 45 picks earlier. This is not to denigrate Stone, who is awesome and probably should be going higher himself. Instead it’s to point out the value you could gain with a Zuccarello selection.
It is worth mentioning that Zuccarello’s shooting percentage spiked to 15.7 per cent last season, well above his 11.8 per cent career average. With mere average shooting Zuccarello finishes closer to 20 goals and 55 points. Even with some regression in shooting percentage factored in, Zuccarello still shouldn’t be sliding so far down draft boards.
Consider that Zuccarello has been one of the top even-strength scorers from the past few seasons averaging over 2.00 points/60 minutes, tying him for 25th*in the entire league. Zuccarello finally added some special teams punch scoring seven power-play goals, which could help account for his spike in shooting percentage. Zuccarello is a very strong bet for 40-45 even-strength points. Whatever he adds on special teams is gravy. If his new-found role on the power play is solid, he will take a run at another 60-point season.
Sam Reinhart – BUF – 38th*ranked RW – 165.9 ADP
Reinhart has dual eligibility at center but realistically, you’ll only use that in a pinch so consider him a RW. Where Reinhart is ranked makes him a late bench option in 16-team leagues, and often undrafted in 10-team leagues. In fact, Reinhart is currently going undrafted in 56 per cent of all leagues. There is serious value to be exploited here.
While Reinhart struggled early in 2015, he used a bump from under 15 minutes per game to over 17, including heavy usage as a net-front presence on the Sabres’ top power play unit to boost his production in the second half of last season. Reinhart scored 14 goals and 26 points in 39 games during the second half, which pro-rates to 29 goals and 55 points. That may be a bit too optimistic for Reinhart this season but if he were to even hit 25 goals and 50 points that would be considered a major breakout. A 50-point season would also have tied Reinhart with Reilly Smith for 27th*among RW in scoring.
That Reinhart is only turning 21 this season, and is on a young emerging roster bodes well for his upside. He is a strong bet to hit that 50-point figure but if everything breaks right he could reach even higher. Perhaps he or Jack Eichel take a leap in development. Or maybe the Sabres’ weak power play cranks it up a notch with the addition of Kyle Okposo. There is reason to believe with the right sort of breaks, Reinhart could score much higher than that 50-point projection.
Jiri Hudler – DAL – 53rd*ranked RW – 171.5 ADP
As so often happens when a player crashes from the 70-point level to the 40-point level, as Hudler did last season, there is a backlash at the draft table. The conclusion we should come to is that Hudler is neither as good as his 76-point 2014-15 season indicates, nor as bad as his 46-point 2015-16 season indicates. In all likelihood, Hudler will finish somewhere in between.
Particularly interesting about Hudler is that he has been one of the strongest even-strength producers in the league ranking 16th*in points/60 minutes over the past three seasons. That means he is a good bet to score a bunch even if power play time is limited. This is important because as Hudler joins the Stars, he may not receive top unit power play time.
The Stars boast one of the league’s deepest and most prolific forward groups, leading the league in scoring last season. Adding another weapon in Hudler makes them even more dangerous. Hudler could skate nary a minute with Tyler Seguin or Jamie Benn and still be a threat for 50 points. The possibility of filling in on that line is what makes his potential so tantalizing.
Hudler is going undrafted in most leagues, and is going outside the top 50 RW when he is. There is plenty of value to be found in a player with Hudler’s track record who is one injury away from top line minutes with Benn and Seguin. Hudler is worth a late-round flyer even in shallow leagues.
Left Wing
You have to dig a little deeper to find value at the left wing position but before long you start unearthing gems…
Rick Nash – NYR – 22nd*ranked LW – 106.8 ADP
Like so many who have appeared on this list, Nash went from highs in 2014-15 to lows in 2015-16. In Nash’s case he missed 22 games and saw his shooting percentage drop from 13.8 per cent to just 8.2 per cent. Those two factors combined to drop Nash to just 15 goals and 36 points in 60 games, a miserable performance for a highly coveted winger. Of course, the conclusion we should make is that Nash is neither as bad as he was last year nor as good as he was in 2014-15.
Nash has missed 16 per cent of his games in a Ranger uniform, which on average is about 13 games over an 82-game season. So we have to start with around a 69-game projection for Nash coming out of the gate. Unless you are in a points-only league, those missed games aren’t a huge deal. You can fill in the gaps with what you scrounge off the waiver wire.
Nash has averaged over two goals for every five games with the Rangers, so he looks good to approach another 30-goal season though he may come up short. He hasn’t done so well for assists in New York but he should be able to get at least 20 and has potential for far more. Where Nash can really provide value is in his ability to pile up shots having averaged nearly 3.5 shots per game for his entire career. This makes him a threat to reach the 300-shot mark in any season.
There are sexier names but Nash is a proven veteran commodity who offers a fantastic floor of production to fantasy owners.
Maddie Meyer/Getty Images Loui Eriksson – VAN – 26th*ranked LW – 130.7 ADP
This is an interesting scenario where Eriksson overachieved relative to his draft position last season and folks are not taking the bait this time around. Perhaps they should. Eriksson is leaving the friendly digs in Boston where he saw ample first unit power play duties and time on the David Krejci line, which was insulated from opposing top lines by the presence of Patrice Bergeron. However, Eriksson is set to team up with the Sedin twins in Vancouver. They aren’t what they used to be but they can still score at a decent rate at even strength while remaining dynamos on the power play. What’s more, Eriksson and the Sedins are already flashing chemistry on Team Sweden heading into the World Championships.
Metrics like on-ice shooting percentage indicate that Eriksson is a prime candidate for regression but considering what the Sedins did for Radim Vrbata a couple of years ago should make you think twice. Eriksson is a stronger player than Vrbata and could even help to elevate what the twins are capable of.

This line of thinking assumes that Eriksson will indeed get top line billing but at the point in the draft where Eriksson is going, this is a bet worth making. He is a solid bet to reach the 60-point mark once again.
Jonathan Drouin – TBL – 28th*ranked LW – 135.0 ADP
Drouin showed out as an elite offensive forward once the Lightning were forced to use him as such. It stands to reason that he is primed to emerge as one over the course of a full season. You can question whether or not he’ll get the opportunity to break out as the Lightning remain loaded. They also continue to be a team that evenly divides the power play time between its first and second units. Whether this is a positive for Drouin remains to be seen. What we cannot question, however, is his talent. Drouin is definitely ready to score at a high level.
Drouin looks like a great candidate to be this year’s emergent talent much like Evgeny Kuznetsov and Artemi Panarin last season. They both played for stacked clubs and broke out anyhow. Going outside the top 100 picks, Drouin offers major upside for those willing to take the risk.
Mike Hoffman – 30th*ranked LW – 141.3 ADP
Hoffman has scored 56 goals over the past two seasons, with only 10 of those coming on the power play. He is an elite even-strength scorer ranking seventh in the league in points/60 minutes over the past two seasons. What he has managed without consistent use on the power play warrants a draft position higher than where he is currently going and considering what he could do if he started seeing top power play unit deployment makes him a high upside selection as well.
His floor is another run at a 30-goal/55-point season with over 200 shots and he has already proven he can do far more damage. No one is outright sleeping on Hoffman, but they might need some smelling salts or something.
Jaden Schwartz – STL – 29th*ranked LW – 145.5 ADP
Schwartz, is one more player coming off injuries who should likely be going higher. Since landing in the NHL full time, he has scored exactly three points for every four games played, which prorates to 61.5 points over an 82-game season. Schwartz has been injured enough that we won’t project him for the full 82 games but even in 75 games he has a good shot at hitting the 60-point mark.
He receives plenty of time on the Blues’ top power play unit and also frequently skates with Vladimir Tarasenko at even strength. Exposure to an elite performer like Tarasenko is what gives Schwartz big upside but even if he doesn’t skate with the dynamic Russian he can still produce amid a deep Blues lineup.
Ondrej Palat – TBL – 37th*ranked LW – 172.5 ADP
Palat is a huge bargain. He is going even later than Drouin and has slipped off the radar enough where he is going undrafted in 30 per cent of leagues. After opening his career with a 59 and 63 points in his first two seasons as part of the vaunted “Triplets” line, Palat took a step backwards thanks to injuries and some offensive struggles. He still managed 40 points in 62 games though, which is a decent per-game rate of scoring.
Palat does not do much damage on the power play as he is limited in this capacity but he is an elite scorer at even strength ranking ninth in the league in points/60 minutes at even strength over the past three seasons. That ability to score at even strength gives him a high floor for performance. He isn’t a sexy pick as the lack of power play time ultimately limits his upside. You probably won’t get a 70-point season out of Palat. He is a strong bet to score over 50 once again as he and linemate Tyler Johnson look to rebound from injuries.
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Overall, if you look at the wing positions you’ll note that the left side is much deeper. You could easily get the same value out of LW going outside the top 100 as you are from LW going in the top 80. Guys like Zach Parise, Daniel Sedin and Alex Steen are proven veteran commodities but you can get similarly proven commodities later in the draft. If you are stuck facing down a LW vs. a RW at the draft table, it may behoove you to go after the RW as that position will be tougher to fill based on the Yahoo! rankings. Of course, every draft is different but there is simply more talent to choose from on the left side.
As far as the right side goes, it could pay dividends to reach for guys like Voracek, Eberle or Gallagher a couple of rounds higher than their current ADP indicates they are to ensure you have some solid RW talent in the lineup.
Hopefully, these tips help you heading into your draft(s) this fall. Stay tuned for more season previews of draft bargains at the defense, center and goaltending positions over the following weeks.
Steve Laidlaw is the Managing Editor of DobberHockey. Follow him on Twitter @SteveLaidlaw