RADIO
Welcome to the new Daily Fantasy Hockey weekly waiver wire report. Each week I will be updating some of the players we should targeting on the waiver wire to help us build a championship fantasy hockey team. The recommendations will focus on, for the most part, standard Yahoo Hockey leagues with the following stat categories:
- Goals
- Assists
- Powerplay Points
- Short Handed Points
- +/- Rating
- Shots on Goal
- Hits
- Faceoffs Won
- Goalie Wins
- Saves
- Save %
- Goals Against Average
- Shutouts
Only players who are under 50% owned in Yahoo Fantasy Hockey will be considered for the waiver wire report. If you have specific questions about how a player fits your league settings please hit me up on Twitter(@Jager_Bombs9)
Let us now take a look at this week's low owned waiver wire options:
Fantasy Hockey Sleepers and Waiver Wire Pickups at Defense and Goaltender
Defense
Mattias Ekholm (NSH, D) 14% Owned
Since Seth Jones was traded to Columbus, Ekholm has seen an increase in fantasy production. This stems from an increase in ice time, especially on the powerplay. Before the trade he averaged close to :30 with the man advantage and in his last 10 games has seen closer to 2:30 which is a huge increase. The production is starting to come as he has recorded eight points in his last nine games. The Swedish D man is in his second full season in the NHL and has already passed last seasons totals in close to 30 less games.
Alec Martinez (LA, D) 32% Owned
He has progressed nicely in his career and is playing a key role for the Kings this season in a Top 4 defense role. In 52 games this season he has recorded 19 points with nine of those coming with the man advantage where he is averaging 2:00 a game. If you are in a league that counts blocks and hits his value will be much higher as he has 122 blocks and 107 hits on the season.
Mathew Dumba (MIN, D) 10% Owned
Digging a little deeper for 12+ man leagues and dynasties, Dumba makes a nice value pickup. In his last 10 games he has picked up five points with four of them coming with the man advantage where he averages close to 1:45 a game. He can hurt yo a bit with the +/- as he is still honing his defensive game but if you need a player with offensive upside who gets the PP ice time take a shot with Dumba.
Goaltenders
Joonas Korpisalo (CBJ, G) 13% Owned
Unless you're playing in a very shallow league you will find there is not a ton of goalie options on the waiver wire in fantasy hockey. Korpisalo has provided nice fantasy value for the Blue Jackets in the absence of Sergei Bobrovsky and Curtis McElhinney with injuries. In his previous seven starts he has gone 4-1-2 with a .939 save percentage. McElhinney has been travelling with the team lately and should return soon but the Jackets #1 Bobrovsky is set to miss at least another couple weeks.
Cam Ward (CAR, G) 38% Owned
He is fully back from the concussion injury that forced him to miss five games at the end of January. He returned as the backup for one game and after Lack gave up four goals to the Flames has now made two straight starts. He made 33 save on 36 shots in a win vs. the Jets followed by a loss to the Canadiens in which he made 33 saves on 34 shots. The Saskatoon Saskatchewan product seems to have found his form and should see the majority of the starts going forward. He isn't going to get you a ton of wins but due to the high amount of shots the Canes give up he provides value in the saves and save % category.
Also Available - Louis Domingue (ARI, G) 34% Owned
