Fantasy Hockey
Welcome to my annual fantasy hockey dynasty rankings at The Athletic.
This project ranks the top 100 players — 25-and-under — for dynasty and keeper leagues.
The focus is to create a resource for managers in larger (in teams), deeper (in roster size), longer-term leagues. In building these rankings, I focus on projecting these players across the next five years. It’s limited to those whose age is 25 and under, so all of the players listed will play the entirety of that five-year window in their teens or 20s.
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Of course, superstars like Connor McDavid (28), Leon Draisaitl (29), Nathan MacKinnon (29), Cale Makar (26), Auston Matthews (28), Kirill Kaprizov (28), Matthew Tkachuk (27), Jack Eichel (28), Mitch Marner (28), and David Pastrnak (29), though they aren’t ranked here, should still be prioritized in dynasty leagues.
Considered in determining each player’s value:
Among the final cuts for this year’s list were close-to-the-NHL forward prospects like Jonathan Lekkerimäki, Matt Savoie and Calum Ritchie, young NHL defensemen like Mason Lohrei and Scott Morrow, as well as 2025 prospects like Carter Bear, who I just want to see more of before setting a statistical projection.
Goalies are not included due to their outsized fantasy value and wider year-to-year variance. Prospects eligible for upcoming NHL drafts were also not included, but they are folded in annually. Where available, listed positions are according to Yahoo’s dataset as of Sept. 1, 2025.
This list differs from Dom Luszczyszyn’s and Shayna Goldman’s essential fantasy hockey cheat sheet, which should be your starting point for all leagues, especially standard, single-season leagues.
(Photo of Connor Bedard: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
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Scott Wheeler covers the NHL draft and prospects nationally for The Athletic. Scott has written for the Toronto Star, the Globe and Mail, The Toronto Sun, the National Post, SB Nation and several other outlets in the past. Author of ‘On The Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Toronto Maple Leafs at the NHL Draft’ Follow Scott on Twitter @scottcwheeler
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