NHL Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire Defensemen Pickups Dec. 8 - Severson Turning Back Clock

On every game day this season, THN Fantasy will highlight players and goalies for fantasy managers to stream or roster for the rest of the season. The recommended players and goalies can be used in standard fantasy leagues or for daily fantasy games

Defensemen

Braden Schneider, NYR vs. SEA (3% rostered)

The trade of Jacob Trouba to the Ducks resulted in Schneider getting moved up a d-pairing. He saw a season-high 21:48 of ice time in Friday's win, and that's likely to be the norm moving forward. With nine points in 19 games, he is on pace to obliterate the career-high 19 he posted last season. in addition, he should once again exceed 100 hits and blocked shots, adding to his overall value.

Damon Severson, CLM @ WPG (10% rostered)

Zach Werenski is option 1 on the Blue Jackets' blue line. Severson is a solid second choice for Columbus and fantasy rosters. He comes into Sunday's contest having scored in consecutive games and has seven points over his last eight contests. Severson is up to six goals, nine assists, 48 shots on net, 50 blocked shots and a plus-7 rating over 26 outings; an improvement across the board from his 2023-24 campaign.

Luke Hughes, NJ vs. COL (43% rostered)

The youngest of the three Hughes brothers in the NHL, Luke made his season-debut at the end of the 2022-23 campaign, then earned a Calder Trophy nomination last season. Luke missed the first nine games of the season with a shoulder injury and took a while to find his form, notching just one assist his first 10 games back. Hughes is back on the beam lately, posting a goal and six helpers his last seven games.

Michael Kesselring, UTAH @ PHI (13% rostered)

Kesselring has seen his production rise and fall during the season, but has been a fairly solid third or fourth defenseman in deeper leagues. His goal and assist Saturday gave the 24-year-old blueliner four markers and 10 apples in 26 contests. Kesselring posted 21 points in his first full season last year and appears prime to far exceed that total as he skates on the second pair for the Hockey Club.

Emil Andrae, PHI vs. UTAH (1% rostered)

Andrea's increased ice time and deployment have yet to result in a massive rise in output. But as long as his minutes remain above 20 per game, including two-plus on the man-advantage, eventually the production will follow suit. This is a chance to get on board early and relatively inexpensively, so take advantage of the chance.

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