Fantasy Hockey 2022/23 Week 5 Waiver Wire Report

Welcome to my 2022/23 Week Five Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire Report for those competing in head-to-head categories or rotisserie leagues. There are both standard and deep league acquisition targets. This report focuses on the best options among those who are likely to be available in your league as opposed to the universally owned players. There are 10 recommendations in total, 2 goalies, 2 defensemen, and 6 forwards. Some of these are only short-term targets, while others you may want to keep permanently.

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Best Standard League Adds (25% to 65% Yahoo ownership):

1) Joel Eriksson Ek, Min, (55% Yahoo ownership): The Minnesota Wild have a dream streaming schedule this week, playing mostly on light nights against weak west coast opponents. Eriksson Ek centers the second line and top power play, scoring 9 PTS in his first 11 GP (adding 39 shots and 15 hits). EE is always a favorite streamer of mine when Minny plays extra games, because he’ll always help you out in shots and hits too. The Flyers also have some struggling goaltenders among their 4-game slate, and Travis Konecny has scored 6 PTS in his last 5 GP.

2) Vitek Vanecek, NJ, (54% Yahoo ownership): Vitek Vanecek is on a heater in New Jersey, winning his last 5 games with a .940 SV%, and is still widely available. MacKenzie Blackwood is injured again, so Vanecek is in line to get most of the starts for what looks to be a really strong Devils team. The goalie that I added was Stuart Skinner, as the Oilers will play 4 games this week, and Skinner has been alternating starts with Jack Campbell. Skinner has posted a .944 SV% in 5 GP. The bad news is, Edmonton plays 4 road games against Washington, Tampa, Carolina, and Florida, so use at your own risk.

3) Brock Nelson, NYI, (48% Yahoo ownership): Brock Nelson is off to a hot start, scoring 13 PTS in his first 12 GP. Nelson is playing on the second line with Anders Lee and Anthony Beauvillier, both of whom received an honorable mention on this report. Lee and Nelson also play on the top power play unit, as Beauvillier is more of a deep league target. In his last 7 GP, Anders Lee has scored 7 PTS (4 on the power play) with 21 shots and 14 hits. In a categories league, Lee might be a better choice than Nelson who does not hit much.

4) Tyson Barrie, Edm, (64% Yahoo ownership): The Oilers will be playing 4 games (mostly on busy nights) and Tyson Barrie is currently quarterbacking that potent Edmonton power play. The defenseman has scored 5 PTS in his last 7 GP, with 3 of those on the power play. You may also want to try Ryan Pulock in New York (4 PTS in his last 8 GP), who will be facing some more appealing opponents (Igor Shesterkin notwithstanding). Pulock is also a better peripheral stat option, if you’re in a categories league with hits and blocks.

5) Jake DeBrusk, Bos, (54% Yahoo ownership): Jake DeBrusk has earned himself a spot on the top line in Boston with Bergeron and Marchand, scoring 4 PTS in his last 5 GP with 16 shots and 10 hits. The Bruins will be playing St. Louis, Calgary, Buffalo, and Vancouver with the potential for some high scoring matches. His teammate Taylor Hall has scored 8 PTS in his last 8 GP playing on the second line with Pastrnak (along with the second power play unit) and is a quality option if you can find him on waivers.

Honorable Mentions: Stuart Skinner, Ryan Pulock, Taylor Hall, Anders Lee, Travis Konecny, Andrei Kuzmenko

Last Week: Brandon Montour, Gabe Vilardi, Carter Verhaeghe, Alex Nedeljkovic, Martin Necas

 

Best Deep League Adds (under 25% ownership):

1) Dylan Strome, Wsh, (25% Yahoo ownership): Strome was featured here last week, delivering 3 points in his 4 games. If you added him a streamer last week, you should let it ride. The Capitals will be playing Mon-Wed-Fri-Sun with the bad news being they’ll possibly face Andrei Vasilevskiy twice. Strome is playing second line and top power play with Alex Ovechkin, providing plenty of opportunity for residual scoring. You could also go with Conor Sheary, who plays on the top line with Ovie and Kuznetsov.

2) Calen Addison, Min, (21% Yahoo ownership): Addison started the season on fire, but has cooled off as of late, scoring just 1 point in his last 7 games. He’s still listed on Minnesota’s top power play and as mentioned above they’ll have an ideal streaming schedule this week against juicy opponents (LA, Anaheim, Seattle, San Jose). Addison has the potential to pop off. You may also want to try Matt Grzelcyk in Boston, who will also be facing some teams that are struggling defensively and plays 2nd unit power play.

3) Frederick Gaudreau, Min, (4% Yahoo ownership): As previously mentioned, Minnesota has a fantastic schedule and Gaudreau centers the top line with Kaprizov. The start to his season hasn’t exactly been impressive, scoring just 4 PTS in his first 11 GP. But if you’re in a deep league, Freddy is 96% available and there is a perfect storm coming to potentially bank some big Kaprizov residuals. Gaudreau is also eligible at every forward position, so you can use him anywhere in your line-up.

4) Scott Wedgewood, Dal, (18% Yahoo ownership): Jake Oettinger is injured in Dallas, with Scott Wedgwood filling in admirably. No word yet on when exactly Oettinger will return, but Dallas does play 3 winnable games, making Wedge one of the more desirable deep league goaltending options (especially for those Oettinger owners out there). If you are looking for a high volume play, Karel Vejmelka in Arizona will have a busy schedule and has been decent the last 2 weeks, posting a .928 SV% in 4 starts.

5) Ilya Mikheyev, Van, (5% Yahoo ownership): The Canucks are finally starting to pick up steam, and Mikheyev is deployed on the 2nd line with Kuzmenko and Pettersson, as well as the 2nd power play unit. Vancouver will play 4 games this week, and the dual-wing eligible winger has scored 6 PTS in his last 6 GP with 13 shots and a +7. Ilya’s linemate Kuzmenko has been heating up (9 PTS in his last 6 GP) if you can find him on waivers, though he’s currently owned in too many leagues to qualify for my deep league recommendations. He was a finalist for my standard league picks.

 

Honorable Mentions: Conor Sheary, Anthony Beauvillier, Lawson Crouse, Matt Grzelcyk, Karel Vejmelka

Last Week: Filip Hronek, Dylan Strome, Jeff Skinner, Stuart Skinner, Trevor Moore