We’re midway through Week 16 of the fantasy hockey season, with the home stretch just an arm’s length away.
The waiver wire is about to become as important as ever as it remains the foremost of ways to improve your team for a championship run.
Let’s dive in and see which names are worth a look this week with the future always in mind.
NHL Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire Advice (Week 16)
(Rosterships courtesy of ESPN)
Joey Daccord (G – SEA) | 59.5% Rostered
We prefer to keep our waiver wire advice to players rostered in fewer than 50% of ESPN leagues, with our advice tailored toward deeper leagues. However, we’ll make an exception here for Kraken netminder Joey Daccord, who is still rostered in under 60% of leagues.
His rostership is criminal for how well he has played. After getting into just 19 NHL games over the past four seasons, Daccord has burst onto the scene with a 2.33 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage across 30 games (27 starts) this season. He has started 17 of Seattle’s last 19 games, and you can scoop him up just in time to potentially start against the lowly Blackhawks on Wednesday night.
For good measure, his 15.87 goals saved above average ranks third among 67 qualified netminders, according to Hockey Reference. The Vezina Trophy will go to either the Jets’ Connor Hellebuyck or the Canucks’ Thatcher Demko, the only two goaltenders ahead of Daccord on that list.
Again, we’re at less than 60% rostership here, folks. Criminal, I tell ya.
Grab Daccord now, as he has put a full-time claim on the No. 1 job in Seattle with authority.
Samuel Ersson (G – PHI) | 11.8% Rostered
What? Two goalies on the same list? There’s a first time for everything, I suppose.
It would be ethically wrong to leave Flyers goalie Samuel Ersson off this list just because Daccord is present. While the Kraken goaltender is the superior option, Ersson makes a fine option for goalie-needy fantasy managers, even if for the short term.
Fellow Flyers puck-stopper Carter Hart has been granted a leave of absence from the club for undisclosed personal reasons. The scope of the situation with Hart is unclear, but what is clear is that Ersson is set for a heavy workload in his teammate’s absence.
He has endured back-to-back rocky starts, surrendering four goals in each outing, including four on just 19 shots (.789 Sv%) Tuesday night at home against the Lightning. Still, he has held down a quality 2.44 GAA and a decent .905 Sv% across 23 games (21 starts) for a surprising Flyers team, going 12-7-3 in the process.
I will caution this: The upcoming schedule is not ideal. The Flyers’ final two opponents before the All-Star break are the Red Wings and Bruins, the league’s sixth and seventh-ranked offenses. They come out of the break to take on the Panthers and Jets, ranked eighth and third, respectively, in the league’s overall standings. Getting two points in these four games against quality offensive teams won’t be easy.
Nonetheless, he will start at least three of these four games, with all four possible considering the break and a lack of a back-to-back situation across the board. That’s enough to warrant a look for rosters needing goaltending help, should Daccord be unavailable.
Wyatt Johnston (C – DAL) | 19.2% Rostered
If you tuned into the Stars’ 5-4 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night, you would have noticed an awfully impressive trio of Jason Robertson, Roope Hintz and Wyatt Johnston leading the way for Dallas.
Johnston chipped in three helpers on the night, giving him seven points in five games since being promoted to the Stars’ top line. The 20-year-old has yet to be promoted to the top power-play unit, but it’s certainly a possibility now that the connection with Hintz and Robertson, both members of PP1, is blatantly obvious.
In five games since being put together on a line, the trio of Jason Robertson, Roope Hintz, and Wyatt Johnston have combined for 8 goals and 20 points.
— Josh Bogorad (@JoshBogorad) January 24, 2024
Let’s not forget that Johnston tallied an impressive 24 goals and 41 points across all 82 games as a 19-year-old rookie in 15:29 of average ice time per game in a middle-six role last season. He is up to 16:38 of ice time per game this season, with 13 goals and 31 points in 47 games – a 54-point pace – and a nice increase in his sophomore season. He has skated at least 17:15 on the top line in each of his last four games, notching five points in that time.
It sure looks like everything is coming up Johnston at the moment. He could be the hidden gem you need upfront to get you over the top.
Cam Atkinson (RW – PHI) | 17.1% Rostered
This isn’t Cam Atkinson’s first appearance in a waiver wire piece this season, but his production more than warrants reiteration.
The veteran forward missed all of last season, which is undoubtedly baked into his silly 17.1% rostership. He does nothing for you in leagues that count hits, with just nine on the season. He is also an ugly minus-13 on the campaign. However, he continues to get plenty of pucks on goal with 147 shots across 47 games, or 3.13 shots per game, a slight increase in his career’s three shots-per-game pace.
He’s on an absolute heater right now with five goals and 10 points over his last six games, firing 23 shots on goal in that time, nearly four shots per game. He’s done so in a lesser role that includes second-line minutes and second-unit power-play duty, but he’s been able to contribute across the board, even grabbing four penalty minutes over his last two contests.
He’s not a perfect player, but the shot volume is fantastic, and he is still shooting just 8.8% on the season, far below his 11.1% career mark, giving him some leash to stay hot moving forward.
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