Plant my flag list: Greg Wyshynski's 10 must-draft players

1 month ago 8

Greg WyshynskiSep 22, 2025, 03:00 AM ET
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"Please don't draught my guy."

We've each been there, right? Pick by pick, NHL players are coming disconnected the board, but you person that 1 hidden MVP successful the queue that you judge nary 1 successful your draught knows is an ATM for phantasy points. Finally, you're connected the clock. You cheque the committee conscionable to beryllium definite and past marque a enactment that you cognize volition powerfulness your squad to triumph and marque the different phantasy owners rage with jealousy implicit your perceptiveness and ingenuity.

The 10 players discussed present are the ones connected whom I works my rhetorical emblem for the 2025-26 NHL season. Some of them are evident calls. But immoderate of them are "please don't draught my guy" players that you tin queue up close present for glory.

As noted, my selections are based connected however I judge the players volition execute this play and however they'll rack up the points successful the ESPN Fantasy modular phantasy crippled scoring:

Skaters: Goals = 2 points, Assists = 1 point, Shots and Hits = 0.1 points Blocked shots and Special-teams points = 0.5 points;

Goaltenders: Wins = 4 points, OT losses = 1 point, Shutouts = 3 points Saves = 0.2 points, Goals against = -2 points.

Here's the Plant My Flag database for 2025-26. May each your picks crook retired to beryllium large ones!

Nikita Kucherov, F, Tampa Bay Lightning

Most phantasy hockey projections person the aforesaid 5 oregon six forwards ranked adjacent the apical -- Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Auston Matthews, David Pastrnak and Kucherov. Draft immoderate of them, and you're doing beauteous bully for yourself ... but I'm a Kucherov antheral for a mates of reasons.

While helium has led the NHL successful assists for 2 consecutive seasons, it hasn't travel astatine the disbursal of his extremity scoring. Kucherov had 44 goals successful 2023-24 and different 37 past season. He has had 3 consecutive seasons of astatine slightest 265 shots connected goal. No 1 has tallied much power-play points (99) implicit the past 2 seasons. There's nary crushed to judge that consistency is going to wane, fixed the unit that inactive surrounds him successful Tampa Bay, from Victor Hedman (66 points) connected the bluish enactment to Kucherov's linemates Jake Guentzel and Brayden Point. Their enactment averaged conscionable implicit 4 goals for each 60 minutes of even-strength crystal clip they played.

He's an violative instrumentality and a durable 1 astatine that, missing lone 5 games implicit the past 3 regular seasons -- and since Russia isn't participating successful the Olympic hockey tourney means he'll get a midseason breather, too. While Kucherov doesn't precisely person to beryllium his worthy to anyone, support successful caput that he's entering the past 2 years of his contract.

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