2024-25 Fantasy Hockey Week 16 Primer And Pickups: Kraken Forwards Finally Find Scoring; Raddysh, Grzelcyk Get PP Boost

Note Monday, Jan. 20 is MLK Day in the U.S., which is why there three 1 p.m. local time matinees (Boston, Colorado and Seattle) and nine games on Monday. Otherwise, it's a fairly standard week with Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday featuring the most games. Because of the busy Monday schedule, there are four back-to-backs on Tuesday, with all the games on the road.

The Devils would be the team to avoid in Week 16 since they're the only team playing just twice, while 13 teams will play four games. This isn't as bad as it normally would be because the Devils are in a slump with just one regulation win so far in 2025.

Though the Predators play just three games, they have the easiest schedule by far with a home-and-home against the Sharks and then the Ducks on Saturday. They won three straight games this past week - all conference opponents - and could easily sweep this coming week as well. That bodes well for the fantasy value of their players, including Justus Annunen, who seems to be trusted more with them than with the Avalanche.

Schedule

Pick players from teams at the top of the schedule matrix to maximize games and matchups. Green is good. Red is bad. All advanced stats courtesy naturalstatrick.com. All positions and rostered percentages are courtesy of Yahoo Fantasy. Points percentages are as of Saturday.

Season-long adds

(< 50% rostered on Yahoo)

Brock Nelson, C, Islanders (50% rostered)

Nelson's fantasy value soured because he had been in a rough slump with zero goals in 13 games in December, but things are perking up. Nelson's too good and playing too many minutes to be kept off the board for long. He's scored seven points in his past five games so it's time to pick him back up.

Bryan Rust, RW, Penguins (48% rostered)

We keep flirting with Rust's fantasy value but I maintain that he should be rostered in all leagues. He's a 70-point player, at a minimum, with 200-plus shot potential.

Logan Cooley, C, Utah (48% rostered)
Nick Schmaltz, C/RW, Utah (20% rostered)

I get Cooley's playing a deep position, but with a three-game goal streak, regular top-six minutes and often on L1, there's no reason Cooley shouldn't be rostered on  your team. In dynasty leagues, Cooley has immense value.

Schmaltz is a mid-term hold with a five-game points streak while playing with Cooley. He's not a season-long hold because his scoring has come in bunches this season and he doesn't have the same offensive upside.

Marco Rossi, C, Wild (46% rostered)

Rossi's scored three points in four games and playing a ton of minutes. He's their top scoring center ahead of Joel Eriksson Ek, who's more of a matchup player. Like Cooley, Rossi holds immense value in dynasty leagues. Even in banger leagues, there's an argument that Rossi can be more valuable than Eriksson Ek simply because Eriksson Ek's prone to injury and Rossi's offensive ceiling is so much higher.

Mid-term holds

(< 50% rostered on Yahoo)

Josh Norris, C, Senators (42% rostered)

Norris has scored three goals and five points in his past six games, and he's a good option while he's hot. The problem with the Sens is their inconsistency, and it's hard to say from game-to-game which of their young players will be their top scorer.

Jonathan Drouin, LW/RW, Avalanche (26% rostered)

It was really encouraging Drouin scored four points without having to share the ice with Nathan MacKinnon. I don't think it'll happen often - five shots on goal was also very uncharacteristic - but Drouin's scoring upside is still very good on the Avs. He's averaging a point per game and possesses great value in points leagues.

Brayden Schenn, C/LW, Blues (23% rostered)

Dylan Holloway has caught the attention of fantasy managers and it's time to turned their attention to Schenn. The Blues captain has two goals and six points in his past five games and formed a productive partnership with Holloway. Jim Montgomery trusts the pair a lot, and note Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich was benched Saturday in Utah. You could make the argument that Schenn and Holloway's line with Jordan Kyrou is the Blues' top line and top PP unit.

Seth Jones, D, Blackhawks (49% rostered)

At times, Jones loses his spot on PP1 but, generally speaking, he's still their No. 1 option. Jones has five points in his past three games, and asides from the benching against the Flames, he's regularly playing over 23 minutes per game. What you're looking with Jones is quantity, not quality, but he can fill multiple categories.

Matt Grzelcyk, D, Penguins (6% rostered)

The Penguins seem to be flip-flopping Grzelcyk and Erik Karlsson on PP1, but with each passing game, it seems like Grzelcyk might be the better fit. He delivered two power-play helpers Friday in Buffalo but was held to zeroes across the board save for two blocked shots in Saturday's loss in D.C. I think Grzelcyk's fantasy value will yo-yo all season depending on his PP role, and right now he seems like a good streaming option for points.

Cam Fowler, D, Blues (33% rostered)

Justin Faulk may be PP1 QB but Fowler's been more productive overall with 12 points in 17 games since joining the Blues. The issue with the Blues power play is they don't really have a prototypical quarterback, which means there's no one really effective on the back end, and Faulk and Fowler (and maybe Scott Perunovich and Colton Paryako) will just end up taking turns all season.

Cam Talbot, G, Red Wings (43% rostered)
Alex Lyon, G, Red Wings (22% rostered)

Really bad start against the Lightning with five goals allowed on 16 shots (.688 SP) and getting pulled, but he was also facing the league's best offense. What still gives me a lot of hope is the Wings heavily outshot the Lightning, 40-22, which tells me their play under Todd McLellan has not deteriorated. Favorable matchups against the Habs and Flyers are coming up, and my primary concern is the threat of Lyon stealing some playing time; he came in relief in the Lightning game.

Connor Ingram, G, Utah (32% rostered)

Just two goals allowed in each of his two starts since returning, which is a really good sign. I think Utah will start splitting the starts again and maybe even give Ingram an extended look to win back the No. 1 job. However, until the 4 Nations, Utah has a difficult schedule, starting with Jets-Wild-Jets in Week 16. You'll have to pick your matchups wisely but Ingram's ROS value is climbing.

Short-term streamers

(< 50% rostered on Yahoo)

Oliver Bjorkstrand, RW, Kraken (14% rostered)
Jaden Schwartz, C/LW, Kraken (12% rostered)
Kaapo Kakko, RW, Kraken (11% rostered)

Rarely do I recommend Kraken forwards, but note Bjorkstrand has four points and Schwartz has seven points in their past five games and face the Pens and Sabres at home in Week 16, two of the weakest defensive teams in the league.

Of the three, Kakko is the most interesting. His ice time and scoring pace has gone up significantly since the trade from the Rangers. He's up to 13 points in 14 games with his new club. He has more long-term value than either Bjorkstrand or Schwartz, but his shot volume is still much lower.

Brandt Clarke, D, Kings (50% rostered)

Not really a recommended pickup but worth noting Clarke took a few shifts on the right wing with Warren Foegele and Quinton Byfield. Rotating seven defensemen and then double-shifting certain forwards when teams go 11-7 is not unusual, but consistently playing one defenseman as a forward is. Yahoo does not provide forward position eligibility in such cases, but the Kings are starved for some offense.

If they experiment with Clarke at RW, it might be the first time since Mike Green and Brent Burns we see a player with RW and D eligibility. It's highly, highly unlikely, but thought it was worth pointing out.

Michael Kesselring, D, Utah (9% rostered)

Not sure how long Mikhail Sergachev will be out for - he's listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury - but Kesselring stepped up onto PP1 and responded with a power-play goal with 21:11 TOI. Kesselring is a solid if unspectacular defenseman, but he can step up in a pinch and provide offense when needed. As long as Sergachev is out, Kesselring is a good streaming option.

Darren Raddysh, D, Lightning (2% rostered)

Not sure how long the Lightning will keep using Raddysh on PP1, but I can't imagine it's a season-long thing. He's scored four points in his past three games, including three on the power play. It doesn't siphon that much fantasy value from Victor Hedman because Nikita Kucherov tends to play the full two minutes, but if Raddysh can keep that PP1 spot, he has a lot of fantasy value for points.

Alexandar Georgiev, G, Sharks (47% rostered)

The wins aren't coming and the save percentage isn't there, but Georgiev faces a lot of shots and he hasn't been nearly as bad as he was with the Avs. If you're looking for saves, he's not a terrible option, and it's possible the Sharks split their upcoming series against the Preds, assuming Georgiev gets both games. The Sharks have shown a preference to start Georgiev over Yaroslav Askarov, who's (curiously) played sparingly as the backup.

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