Week 15 of the NHL fantasy hockey season is upon us. We’re into the meat and potatoes of the season as contending clubs look to separate themselves from the pack while the bottom-feeders could be looking toward the future.
Regardless of where your squad is in the standings, the waiver wire remains an ongoing tool to improve your team on a daily basis.
With that in mind, let’s check out some names worth adding for now and into the future!
NHL Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire Advice (Week 15)
(Rosterships courtesy of ESPN)
Antti Raanta (G – CAR) | 5.6% Rostered
We’ll get our weekly goalie out of the way out of the gate as Raanta holds some notable value given the ongoing situation in the Hurricanes’ crease.
It’s been a mess in goal all season in Carolina as Frederik Andersen remains sidelined with blood clots. Raanta got the No. 1 job following Andersen’s diagnosis but fell flat on his face to the point where the club waived him and sent him to the minors. At that point, youngster Pyotr Kochetkov took over and was decent before getting concussed against the Ducks last week.
So, we’re back to Raanta. While the job is his, for now, he has actually quietly been much better of late. He yielded four goals in a loss to the Kings his last time out but still sports a healthy .919 save percentage across his last three appearances, including a 38-save effort in a 3-2 overtime win over the Penguins on the weekend.
The overall numbers are ugly, but they’re irrelevant right now. The bottom line is the crease is Raanta’s for now, and given his improved play, he is certainly worth a look for clubs in need of help between the pipes.
Jamie Drysdale (D – PHI) | 17.4% Rostered
The next two spots on this week’s list are dynasty league darlings, beginning with new Flyer Jamie Drysdale.
You might have heard of the high-profile swap of forward prospect Cutter Gauthier and Drysdale once it was known Gauthier wanted out of Philly. Flyers general manager Daniel Briere did well in landing the former No. 6 overall pick considering he was going to lose leverage by the minute.
Drysdale came to Philly and recorded a power-play assist in his first game. He would notch an even-strength helper in his second game in Flyers colors before getting sick and missing the club’s next two games. Staying on the ice has been the main problem for the young rearguard so far, as he underwent season-ending shoulder surgery last season, an ailment that forced a late start this season.
He sits with seven points in 12 games on 24 shots on goal. He also has nine hits and six penalty minutes on the campaign. It’s a small sample, and perhaps it’s best to look at his encouraging 32-point season as a 19-year-old rookie in the 2021-22 campaign. For context, superstar Rasmus Dahlin recorded 40 points at age 19. It appears Drysdale may not be too far off from stardom.
He’s an elite power-play defenseman and should take over the Flyers’ top unit in no time. Hop on now before it’s too late.
Brock Faber (D – MIN) | 25.8% Rostered
While Drysdale has yet to grab a top-unit power play role in Philadelphia, Brock Faber already has that job in Minnesota.
The 21-year-old has notched two goals and 21 points across 43 games on the season, with five of those points coming on the man advantage. A half-point-per-game pace at age 21 as a defenseman is certainly impressive. However, arguably even more impressive is his 24:47 average ice time per game, the 10th-highest in the entire NHL in between Dahlin and Pittsburgh’s Kris Letang. He’s logging more ice time than Roman Josi, Quinn Hughes, and Victor Hedman, just to name a few.
Now, he doesn’t shoot the puck a ton (yet), with just 66 shots in his 43 contests. However, if blocks are relevant in your league, he has a hefty 83 of those on the season, good for 31st alongside the oft-mentioned Dahlin. Add in his 14 penalty minutes, 30 hits, and solid plus-four rating on a Wild team with a -18 goal differential, and you have some solid cross-category production.
The long-term outlook is elite. However, don’t shy away in redraft leagues, as he is logging major minutes in a No. 1 role on this Minnesota blueline. Right now, he has the upper hand on Drysdale but both young blueliners are excellent long-term looks.
Joel Farabee (LW – PHI) | 35.1% Rostered
Drysdale’s new teammate in Philly, Joel Farabee’s recent stretch has put him back on the fantasy radar.
The 23-year-old has notched three goals and five points over his last five games, giving him 15 goals and 34 points across 44 contests. He’s just five points behind the 39 points he posted across a full 82 games last season, while he has already matched last season’s goal output. He has also put 98 shots on goal, a 2.22 shots-per-game pace, notably superior to his 1.91 career mark. Not elite, but an improvement.
Obviously, we have a player firmly in the midst of a breakout season. He’s going to shatter previous career highs across the board. He has just four points on the power play but just recently moved onto the No. 1 unit, where his production should increase on the man advantage. Add in a plus-11 figure on a surprisingly improved Flyers team, and you have a nice peripheral category working in your favor with this player.
What’s interesting in all of this is the fact Farabee’s 15:43 of ice time per game is a significant decrease from his 17:01 mark from last season and career-high 17:35 from the 2021-22 campaign. Less has been more this time around, as John Tortorella’s lines are constantly in the blender.
While you don’t know where he is going to line up on any given night, the new look on the No. 1 power play helps and it truly hasn’t mattered where he’s been at five-on-five.
The hot streak is nice, but Farabee has been far better for much of the season, so he is worth riding with as he enjoys a career year.
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