Top 10 Fantasy Hockey Sleepers

Looking for mid to late round defensemen that can put points on the board? Gilbert is your man. 13 goals and 20 assists last year and playing on a better Oilers team this year make Gilbert a guy that could be a nice #3 defensemen on your team. Technically he’d be your #2 but you could get him as your #3, possibly your #4 depending on how your draft goes.

4 - Daniel Paille - LW - Buffalo Sabres
Paille is starting to come into his own and after a 19 goal season last year, you can bank on a 25 goal, 50 point season this year. He doesn’t do much on the powerplay but 3 of his 19 goals last year were shorthanded. The Sabres will give him even more ice time this season and if he can stay on one of the top two scoring lines he’ll make a nice late round pick.

3 - Drew Stafford - RW - Buffalo Sabres
Like his teammate mentioned above, Stafford is another guy thats getting better every year. He could also hit the 25 goal 50 point plateau this season and he gets top six ice time. Stafford is a guy you can get very late in your draft.

2 - David Perron - LW - St. Louis Blues
The only thing that prevented David Perron from scoring 20 goals in his rookie season last year was Blues coach Andy Murray. If Perron would have dressed more often and got more ice time when he did dress, he would have hit 20 goals easy. With the proper ice time and more responsibility, a 30 goal season isn’t out of reach. 25 goals is more likely though given the young roster that the Blues are going to put on the ice this season. Grab Perron in the late rounds and you’ve got yourself a possible steal of the draft.

1 - Dustin Byfuglien - LW - Chicago Blackhawks
Looking for a goal scorer that may even have fantasy value at defense this season, Byfuglien is your man. He came up as a defensmen for the Hawks in November last year and was eventually moved to forward where he ended up finishing with 19 goals on the season. If the Hawks somehow got hit with an injury bug on defense, Byfuglien could be a multi threat player and would become very valuable. Don’t get me wrong there is reason that the Hawks moved him to forward and thats because he’s got the skillset of a power forward. He’s big, he can hit, and he goes to the net. A 30 goal season is possible and there is always that remote chance he may be able to help you on defense before the season is over. Don’t wait to long on this one though or you’ll be the one caught sleeping.

Written by Tim Jung

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