Fantasy hockey pickups: Season debuts and immediate scoring upside for these forwards

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  Sean AllenNov 10, 2025, 12:00 PM ET

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  Sean Allen is a contributing writer for fantasy hockey and betting at ESPN. He was the 2008 and 2009 FSWA Hockey Writer of the Year.

The fantasy hockey week gets underway at 7 p.m. Eastern on Monday, as the New York Islanders host the New Jersey Devils and the Nashville Predators visit the New York Rangers.

After that matchup, the Predators will head to Sweden — and their trip will throw some curveballs into roster-lock times later in the week for daily managers. The Predators and Pittsburgh Penguins will square off for two games in Stockholm: a 2 p.m. Eastern puck drop on Friday and a 9 a.m. start on Sunday that will have fantasy managers setting alarms.

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The story for the Stockholm series might be more about who is not playing, with the Penguins infirmary looking bloated and the Predators’ best player (Roman Josi) on the sidelines. In the meantime, let’s see which players you can pick up to boost your fantasy squad this week.

Every Monday, we’ll mine the waiver wire for lesser-rostered performers who have the potential to help fantasy teams in a variety of leagues. We’ll also present several strong streaming candidates for the immediate week ahead.

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Forwards

Tyler Bertuzzi, LW, Chicago Blackhawks (2.09 FPPG, 66.3% available): Maybe we should just rename this column “Bedard Watch.” For the second straight week, Connor Bedard’s linemates are the story for fantasy managers. Last week, Andre Burakovsky had settled in with Bedard alongside Ryan Greene. An injury to Frank Nazar during Friday’s game prompted the move of Bertuzzi to take over Greene’s spot, and the success continued for Bertuzzi, who was already coming off a hat trick last Wednesday. All told, the result has been massive points for Bedard and six total goals for Bertuzzi across the past three games.

We’ve seen this kind of success before from Bertuzzi in a top-line role, even though the 2021-22 season might feel like a lifetime ago. The Bedard-Bertuzzi-Burakovsky line has four goals at 5-on-5 in just 36:35 total time together. It’s unclear if Nazar’s return will split Bedard and Bertuzzi up again, but there is always the power play which, as we’ll discuss in the defense section, has its own success story to tell.

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Tyler Bertuzzi capitalizes on the power play

Tyler Bertuzzi capitalizes on the power play

Mats Zuccarello, RW, Minnesota Wild (0.95 FPPG, 78.9% available): Making his season debut on Friday, Zuccarello spent all of both games with Kirill Kaprizov and Marco Rossi at 5-on-5. He and the line were outscored 2-1 at even strength and controlled just 43.5% of shot attempts, but Zuccarello also took over a top power-play role (from Vladimir Tarasenko), putting him in position to rediscover fantasy success.

Cole Perfetti, LW, Winnipeg Jets (0.60 FPPG, 86.0% available): Also making his season debut this week, Perfetti slotted into the lineup exactly as expected — second-line wing and top power-play unit. It’s that power-play time with Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor that should eventually pay dividends.

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Zach Hyman, RW, Edmonton Oilers (52.9% available): From recent debuts to expected ones, the scuttlebutt suggests Hyman could return by the end of the week. You can bet there’s a spot waiting for him alongside Connor McDavid and a near-guaranteed role on the top power-play unit. Last season was a disappointment after his 50-goal campaign in 2023-24, but Hyman still deserves universal rostering for his upside.

See also:

• Corey Perry, RW, Los Angeles Kings (2.37 FPPG, 80.8% available)

• Ivan Barbashev, LW, Vegas Golden Knights (1.95 FPPG, 61.9% available)

• Eetu Luostarinen, LW, Florida Panthers (1.59 FPPG, 96.9% available)

• Ben Kindel, C/RW, Pittsburgh Penguins (1.64 FPPG, 91.5% available)

Defense

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Artyom Levshunov, D, Chicago Blackhawks (1.32 FPPG, 96.9% available): The Blackhawks finally pulled the plug on Sam Rinzel as the power-play quarterback and they haven’t had any regrets. With Levshunov running the point, the top unit scored five goals across the past three games, matching the total produced by a Rinzel-led group over the previous 13 contests. With Teuvo Teravainen, Burakovsky, Bertuzzi and Bedard alongside him, the Levshunov unit has averaged 2.74 shots per two minutes of power-play time (5:50 total) en route to those five goals. Levshunov himself has collected four power-play points in that span.

Bowen Byram, D, Buffalo Sabres (1.31 FPPG, 90.7% available): It’s not ideal that the Sabres’ top power-play unit didn’t even register a shot on goal in 1:02 against the Hurricanes on Saturday, but Rasmus Dahlin’s personal leave should give Byram an extended run on that unit. He’s a solid short-term replacement for Dahlin and a worthwhile medium-term option for managers seeking blue line help.

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Bowen Byram scores winner for Sabres in shootout

Bowen Byram scores the lone goal in a shootout to give the Sabres the win over the Capitals.

See also:

• Justin Faulk, D, St. Louis Blues (2.26 FPPG, 43.9% available)

• Cam York, D, Philadelphia Flyers (2.15 FPPG, 60.6% available)

• Simon Edvinsson, D, Detroit Red Wings (2.02 FPPG, 32.3% available)

• Olen Zellweger, D, Anaheim Ducks (1.37 FPPG, 96.9% available)

Goaltenders

Pyotr Kochetkov, G, Carolina Hurricanes (7.00 FPPG, 80.6% available): There’s room for Kochetkov to settle into a 50-50 timeshare with Frederik Andersen. The Hurricanes are one of those teams that generate enough wins for two goalies to remain fantasy relevant. Kochetkov jumped out to a team lead in fantasy points from the crease thanks to a shutout in his season debut.

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Jet Greaves, G, Columbus Blue Jackets (1.57 FPPG, 92.7% available): Greaves appears to have a firm grip on an equal timeshare with Elvis Merzlikins of late. This week is particularly interesting: if the 50-50 rotation continues, Greaves will face the Oilers twice. On paper, it’s not a terrible matchup — the Oilers rank ninth with 2.26 fantasy points allowed to opposing goalies — but there’s still risk if they rebound after Saturday’s 9-1 loss.

Jesper Wallstedt, G, Minnesota Wild (3.40 FPPG, 97.4% available): Keep an eye on Wallstedt, as Filip Gustavsson’s hold on the starting job faced some pressure this week. Wallstedt picked up consecutive starts over the weekend, winning on Friday and earning a shutout on Sunday. He hasn’t been tested as much as Gustavsson, so it’s unlikely the script will flip immediately, but his usage bears watching.

Short-term streamers

Arturs Silovs, G, Pittsburgh Penguins (2.91 FPPG, 81.3% available): Tristan Jarry isn’t expected back until after the Stockholm trip. While the Penguins might give rookie Sergey Murashov one of the two starts in Sweden, the games aren’t on back-to-back days, making it viable to roll Silovs out for both. The Predators are a very favorable matchup, ranking fourth with 2.89 fantasy points allowed to opposing goalies.

Editor’s Picks

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Evander Kane, LW, Vancouver Canucks (1.51 FPPG, 46.1% available): Spotted on the ice with Elias Pettersson and Conor Garland as the Canucks try new line combinations, Kane is also an option for streamers to stack. The Canucks and Oilers are the only two-team combination that covers all seven days this week for daily-lineup leagues. So pair Kane with, say, Jack Roslovic for maximum action from a single roster spot.

Emil Heineman, LW/RW, New York Islanders (1.87 FPPG, 80.4% available): The Islanders are also a solid streaming option, as they face the fewest average opponents playing on the same night (10.5) among teams with a four-game schedule. Heineman, for his part, has been quietly collecting fantasy points thanks to a modest role in the top six.

Akira Schmid, G, Vegas Golden Knights (3.08 FPPG, 75.3% available): With no indication that Adin Hill will return imminently, Schmid should draw at least two favorable matchups this week as the Golden Knights face three teams that rank among the top 10 in fantasy points allowed to opposing goalies. The Panthers, Blues and Wild all fit that bill, with a fourth game against the Islanders mixed in. The Blues and Wild contests form a back-to-back set, and Carl Lindbom has been rotating starts, so Schmid is better suited for daily formats than leagues that lock lineups for the week.

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Akira Schmid robs Bruins with save

Akira Schmid robs Bruins with save

Will Cuylle, LW, New York Rangers (1.77 FPPG, 34.5% available): Cuylle isn’t exploding offensively this season, but he’s holding his own for fantasy value. His FPPG rises to 1.96 over the past 10 games, and he’s still skating regularly with J.T. Miller and Alexis Lafreniere.

Denton Mateychuk, D, Columbus Blue Jackets (1.78 FPPG, 96.7% available): Mateychuk returned to the top pairing on Saturday after a one-game absence, extending his scoring streak to three games. With a four-game schedule this week, he’s proving very reliable when sharing the ice with Zach Werenski. He has 2.20 FPPG across his past 10 games.

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