Sean AllenApr 21, 2026, 03:00 PM ETClose- Sean Allen is a contributing writer for fantasy hockey and betting at ESPN. He was the 2008 and 2009 FSWA Hockey Writer of the Year.
Whether you're still basking in a fantasy hockey championship victory or wallowing in the agony of defeat, it's never too soon to start planning for next season.
These way-too-early rankings for 2026-27 are built on a projection model that analyzes each player's statistical trends over the past four seasons, weighted toward recent performance, and benchmarks them against comparable players at similar ages and ice time. For skaters, that means projecting goals, assists, shots, hits, blocked shots, and power-play production scaled to a full season. Goaltenders are projected using a blend of individual rate stats and team-level shot and save projections, then ranked alongside skaters using a value-above-replacement approach so their standing reflects genuine roster scarcity rather than raw point totals.
A lot will change between now and opening night in October. The playoff run matters, free agency will shuffle the deck and the NHL draft will introduce a new wave of prospects -- a couple of whom already appear on this list based on comparable rookie seasons from players who came before them.
More: Dynasty rankings | Fantasy hockey awards | Stanley Cup Playoffs bets
1. Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers, C1 2. Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche, C2 3. Macklin Celebrini, San Jose Sharks, C3 4. Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning, RW1 5. Evan Bouchard, Edmonton Oilers, D1 6. Nick Suzuki, Montreal Canadiens, C4 7. Matt Boldy, Minnesota Wild, LW1 8. Wyatt Johnston, Dallas Stars, C5 9. Martin Necas, Colorado Avalanche, RW2 10. Kirill Kaprizov, Minnesota Wild, LW2 11. Jason Robertson, Dallas Stars, LW3 12. Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche, D2 13. Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning, G1 14. Seth Jarvis, Carolina Hurricanes, RW3 15. Dylan Holloway, St. Louis Blues, C6 16. Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs, C7 17. Juraj Slafkovsky, Montreal Canadiens, LW4 18. Jake Sanderson, Ottawa Senators, D3 19. Connor Bedard, Chicago Blackhawks, C8 20. Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets, G2 21. Mark Scheifele, Winnipeg Jets, C9 22. Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers, C10 23. Tage Thompson, Buffalo Sabres, C11 24. Dylan Guenther, Utah Mammoth, RW4 25. Sam Reinhart, Florida Panthers, RW5 26. Zach Werenski, Columbus Blue Jackets, D4 27. Matthew Schaefer, New York Islanders, D5 28. Moritz Seider, Detroit Red Wings, D6 29. Leo Carlsson, Anaheim Ducks, C12 30. Jack Hughes, New Jersey Devils, C13 31. Brandt Clarke, Los Angeles Kings, D7 32. Jackson LaCombe, Anaheim Ducks, D8 33. David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins, RW6 34. Jake Oettinger, Dallas Stars, G3 35. Kyle Connor, Winnipeg Jets, LW5 36. Brandon Hagel, Tampa Bay Lightning, LW6 37. Mackenzie Blackwood, Colorado Avalanche, G4 38. Mikko Rantanen, Dallas Stars, RW7 39. Jake Guentzel, Tampa Bay Lightning, LW7 40. Adam Fantilli, Columbus Blue Jackets, C14 41. Cutter Gauthier, Anaheim Ducks, LW8 42. Lucas Raymond, Detroit Red Wings, LW9 43. Jack Eichel, Vegas Golden Knights, C15 44. Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo Sabres, D9 45. Ilya Sorokin, New York Islanders, G5 46. William Nylander, Toronto Maple Leafs, RW8 47. Quinn Hughes, Minnesota Wild, D10 48. Robert Thomas, St. Louis Blues, C16 49. Dylan Larkin, Detroit Red Wings, C17 50. Tim Stutzle, Ottawa Senators, C18 51. MacKenzie Weegar, Utah Mammoth, D11 52. Jimmy Snuggerud, St. Louis Blues, RW9 53. Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers, C19 54. Filip Forsberg, Nashville Predators, LW10 55. Alex DeBrincat, Detroit Red Wings, LW11 56. Cole Caufield, Montreal Canadiens, LW12 57. Kirill Marchenko, Columbus Blue Jackets, LW13 58. Logan Thompson, Washington Capitals, G6 59. Darren Raddysh, Tampa Bay Lightning, D12 60. Rasmus Andersson, Vegas Golden Knights, D13 61. Artemi Panarin, Los Angeles Kings, LW14 62. Matthew Tkachuk, Florida Panthers, RW10 63. Bryan Rust, Pittsburgh Penguins, RW11 64. Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa Senators, LW15 65. Aliaksei Protas, Washington Capitals, C20 66. Adrian Kempe, Los Angeles Kings, RW12 67. Clayton Keller, Utah Mammoth, LW16 68. Lane Hutson, Montreal Canadiens, D14 69. Logan Cooley, Utah Mammoth, C21 70. Tom Wilson, Washington Capitals, RW13 71. Alex Laferriere, Los Angeles Kings, RW14 72. Igor Shesterkin, New York Rangers, G7 73. Alex Tuch, Buffalo Sabres, RW15 74. Filip Gustavsson, Minnesota Wild, G8 75. Rickard Rakell, Pittsburgh Penguins, RW16 76. Miro Heiskanen, Dallas Stars, D15 77. Cole Hutson, Washington Capitals, D16 78. Noah Dobson, Montreal Canadiens, D17 79. Sebastian Aho, Carolina Hurricanes, C22 80. Mark Stone, Vegas Golden Knights, RW17 81. Anton Frondell, Chicago Blackhawks, C23 82. Nico Hischier, New Jersey Devils, C24 83. Ivan Demidov, Montreal Canadiens, RW18 84. Vincent Trocheck, New York Rangers, C25 85. Simon Edvinsson, Detroit Red Wings, D18 86. Gavin McKenna, TBD, LW17 87. Mattias Samuelsson, Buffalo Sabres, D19 88. Ryan O'Reilly, Nashville Predators, C26 89. Jeremy Swayman, Boston Bruins, G9 90. Michael Misa, San Jose Sharks, C27 91. Egor Chinakhov, Pittsburgh Penguins, RW19 92. Charlie McAvoy, Boston Bruins, D20 93. Adam Fox, New York Rangers, D21 94. Mika Zibanejad, New York Rangers, C28 95. Colton Parayko, St. Louis Blues, D22 96. Anton Lundell, Florida Panthers, LW18 97. Nick Schmaltz, Utah Mammoth, RW20 98. Brock Faber, Minnesota Wild, D23 99. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Buffalo Sabres, G10 100. Matthew Knies, Toronto Maple Leafs, LW19 101. Drake Batherson, Ottawa Senators, RW21 102. Alexander Nikishin, Carolina Hurricanes, D24 103. Mitch Marner, Vegas Golden Knights, RW22 104. Mikael Granlund, Anaheim Ducks, LW20 105. Matt Savoie, Edmonton Oilers, C29 106. Josh Morrissey, Winnipeg Jets, D25 107. Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins, C30 108. Alexis Lafreniere, New York Rangers, LW21 109. Bo Horvat, New York Islanders, C31 110. Owen Tippett, Philadelphia Flyers, RW23 111. Jakub Dobes, Montreal Canadiens, G11 112. Jet Greaves, Columbus Blue Jackets, G12 113. Brock Nelson, Colorado Avalanche, C32 114. Anthony Cirelli, Tampa Bay Lightning, C33 115. Pavel Dorofeyev, Vegas Golden Knights, RW24 116. Jakob Chychrun, Washington Capitals, D26 117. Brad Marchand, Florida Panthers, LW22 118. Beckett Sennecke, Anaheim Ducks, RW25 119. Jesper Bratt, New Jersey Devils, RW26 120. Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals, LW23 121. Quinton Byfield, Los Angeles Kings, C34 122. Karel Vejmelka, Utah Mammoth, G13 123. Morgan Geekie, Boston Bruins, C35 124. Matvei Michkov, Philadelphia Flyers, RW27 125. Vasily Podkolzin, Edmonton Oilers, RW28 126. Dylan Cozens, Ottawa Senators, C36 127. Will Cuylle, New York Rangers, LW24 128. Scott Wedgewood, Colorado Avalanche, G14 129. Dustin Wolf, Calgary Flames, G15 130. Gabe Perreault, New York Rangers, RW29 131. Gabriel Vilardi, Winnipeg Jets, C37 132. Matt Coronato, Calgary Flames, RW30 133. Porter Martone, Philadelphia Flyers, RW31 134. Andrei Svechnikov, Carolina Hurricanes, LW25 135. Travis Sanheim, Philadelphia Flyers, D27 136. Mikhail Sergachev, Utah Mammoth, D28 137. Ryan Leonard, Washington Capitals, RW32 138. Shane Pinto, Ottawa Senators, C38 139. Joel Hofer, St. Louis Blues, G16 140. Thomas Chabot, Ottawa Senators, D29 141. Jake Walman, Edmonton Oilers, D30 142. Dylan Strome, Washington Capitals, C39 143. Roman Josi, Nashville Predators, D31 144. Alexander Romanov, New York Islanders, D32 145. Will Smith, San Jose Sharks, C40 146. Marco Rossi, Vancouver Canucks, C41 147. Frank Nazar, Chicago Blackhawks, C42 148. Sergei Bobrovsky, Florida Panthers, G17 149. Martin Fehervary, Washington Capitals, D33 150. Tyson Foerster, Philadelphia Flyers, RW33 151. Matt Duchene, Dallas Stars, C43 152. Zayne Parekh, Calgary Flames, D34 153. Jack Quinn, Buffalo Sabres, RW34 154. Tomas Hertl, Vegas Golden Knights, C44 155. Alex Wennberg, San Jose Sharks, C45 156. Ivar Stenberg, TBD, LW26 157. Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks, C46 158. Sam Bennett, Florida Panthers, C47 159. Darcy Kuemper, Los Angeles Kings, G18 160. Dougie Hamilton, New Jersey Devils, D35 161. Thomas Harley, Dallas Stars, D36 162. Philip Broberg, St. Louis Blues, D37 163. J.T. Miller, New York Rangers, C48 164. Jesper Wallstedt, Minnesota Wild, G19 165. Matvei Gridin, Calgary Flames, RW35 166. Zach Benson, Buffalo Sabres, LW27 167. Elias Lindholm, Boston Bruins, RW36 168. Juuse Saros, Nashville Predators, G20 169. Pavel Mintyukov, Anaheim Ducks, D38 170. Anthony Mantha, Pittsburgh Penguins, RW37 171. Jonas Brodin, Minnesota Wild, D39 172. JJ Peterka, Utah Mammoth, RW38 173. William Eklund, San Jose Sharks, LW28 174. Justin Faulk, Detroit Red Wings, D40 175. Ivan Barbashev, Vegas Golden Knights, LW29 176. Ben Kindel, Pittsburgh Penguins, RW39 177. Cam York, Philadelphia Flyers, D41 178. Nikolaj Ehlers, Carolina Hurricanes, LW30 179. Jackson Blake, Carolina Hurricanes, RW40 180. Mathew Barzal, New York Islanders, C49 181. Parker Kelly, Colorado Avalanche, C50 182. Blake Coleman, Calgary Flames, RW41 183. Artyom Levshunov, Chicago Blackhawks, D42 184. Seth Jones, Florida Panthers, D43 185. Alex Newhook, Montreal Canadiens, C51 186. Josh Doan, Buffalo Sabres, RW42 187. Filip Hronek, Vancouver Canucks, D44 188. Kiefer Sherwood, San Jose Sharks, LW31 189. Pavel Zacha, Boston Bruins, C52 190. Yan Kuznetsov, Calgary Flames, D45 191. Darnell Nurse, Edmonton Oilers, D46 192. Erik Karlsson, Pittsburgh Penguins, D47 193. Simon Holmstrom, New York Islanders, RW43 194. Braden Schneider, New York Rangers, D48 195. Zach Hyman, Edmonton Oilers, RW44 196. Zack Bolduc, Montreal Canadiens, C53 197. Joey Daccord, Seattle Kraken, G21 198. Bobby Brink, Minnesota Wild, RW45 199. Rasmus Sandin, Washington Capitals, D49 200. Denton Mateychuk, Columbus Blue Jackets, D50 201. Joel Eriksson Ek, Minnesota Wild, C54 202. Linus Ullmark, Ottawa Senators, G22 203. Ryan Poehling, Anaheim Ducks, C55 204. Emil Heineman, New York Islanders, LW32 205. Alex Steeves, Boston Bruins, RW46 206. John Carlson, Anaheim Ducks, D51 207. Ben Hutton, Vegas Golden Knights, D52 208. John Gibson, Detroit Red Wings, G23 209. Justin Brazeau, Pittsburgh Penguins, RW47 210. Simon Nemec, New Jersey Devils, D53 211. Jake McCabe, Toronto Maple Leafs, D54 212. Eeli Tolvanen, Seattle Kraken, LW33 213. Kent Johnson, Columbus Blue Jackets, C56 214. Tyler Bertuzzi, Chicago Blackhawks, LW34 215. John Klingberg, San Jose Sharks, D55 216. James Hagens, Boston Bruins, C57 217. Jacob Trouba, Anaheim Ducks, D56 218. Vince Dunn, Seattle Kraken, D57 219. Oliver Kapanen, Montreal Canadiens, C58 220. Adam Larsson, Seattle Kraken, D58 221. Shayne Gostisbehere, Carolina Hurricanes, D59 222. Caleb Desnoyers, Utah Mammoth, C59 223. Stuart Skinner, Pittsburgh Penguins, G24 224. Connor McMichael, Washington Capitals, C60 225. Jordan Binnington, St. Louis Blues, G25 226. Dylan Samberg, Winnipeg Jets, D60 227. Mattias Ekholm, Edmonton Oilers, D61 228. Pyotr Kochetkov, Carolina Hurricanes, G26 229. Conor Garland, Columbus Blue Jackets, RW48 230. Trevor Zegras, Philadelphia Flyers, C61 231. Erik Gudbranson, Columbus Blue Jackets, D62 232. Timo Meier, New Jersey Devils, LW35 233. Collin Graf, San Jose Sharks, LW36 234. Fraser Minten, Boston Bruins, C62 235. Noah Hanifin, Vegas Golden Knights, D63 236. Pavol Regenda, San Jose Sharks, C63 237. Mason McTavish, Anaheim Ducks, C64 238. Mario Ferraro, San Jose Sharks, D64 239. Ryan Pulock, New York Islanders, D65 240. Ryan Shea, Pittsburgh Penguins, D66 241. Mason Marchment, Columbus Blue Jackets, LW37 242. Troy Terry, Anaheim Ducks, C65 243. Jeremy Lauzon, Vegas Golden Knights, D67 244. Matty Beniers, Seattle Kraken, C66 245. Alexandre Carrier, Montreal Canadiens, D68 246. Adin Hill, Vegas Golden Knights, G27 247. Vladislav Gavrikov, New York Rangers, D69 248. Esa Lindell, Dallas Stars, D70 249. Brandon Bussi, Carolina Hurricanes, G28 250. Anthony Stolarz, Toronto Maple Leafs, G29
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