NHL Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire Defensemen Pickups Dec. 31 - Fowler Excels With Blues, Opens Door For LaCombe

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.

Cam Fowler, STL at CHI (23% rostered)

Fowler's been excellent with the Blues and is now playing both L1 with Colton Parayko and quarterbacking PP1. That's great deployment, offsetting the Blues' woeful power play (ranked 28th) and average offense. Fowler has upside both in the offensive categories and in blocked shots, and he's been one of the biggest risers among defensemen in fantasy hockey lately.

Jackson LaCombe, ANA vs. NJ (9% rostered)

The Ducks have a revolving door of young, talented offensive defensemen quarterbacking their power play, but the one constant recently has been LaCombe. He's scored 13 points in 28 games this season, including an assist in each of his past two games. The Devils are a tough opponent but have taken the seventh-most penalties in the league, potentially giving LaCombe and the Ducks PP more chances than usual.

Cam York, PHI at SJ (6% rostered)

York's assist against the Kings on Monday extended his streak to four games despite not being the Flyers' preferred option on the power play. This dampens York's fantasy value but this is a good matchup against a middling Sharks PK and the most porous defense with a league-high 32.6 shots against per game.

Erik Brannstrom, VAN at CGY (0% rostered)

Brannstrom skated 19:49 in Quinn Hughes' absence and quarterbacked the top unit, finishing with three shots but zero points. The weird thing about Brannstrom was that he was even better at 5-on-5 than on the power play, but doesn't seem to be one of Rick Tocchet's more trusted players. Brannstrom will likely stick as PP1 QB but there could be competition for minutes. The Flames are one of the worst teams on the PK this season, ranking 29th.

Ty Smith, CAR at CLB (0% rostered)

We shall see if Smith stays in that role, but it was him, and not Brent Burns, who took Shayne Gostisbehere's spot on the power play. Burns notched an assist on the man advantage, but Smith was clearly Rod Brind'Amour's preferred option. Smith is a talented offensive defenseman who is lacking in other areas of the game and should be considered a specialist. He has zero fantasy value if he gets replaced on the power play. Consider Smith a high-risk play against the Jackets' 26th-ranked PK.

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