The Fantasy Hockey season is in full swing, and the NHL injuries are starting to ramp up. Some players will be out for an extended period, but that opens the door for others to step up and seize their chance. 

There are a couple of players on the Fantasy Hockey waiver wire that should be on your roster moving forward. Let’s take a look at those names and continue to build momentum throughout the week. 

 

 

 

Fantasy Hockey Week 13 Injury Report

Mason Marchment - Dallas Stars - Upper-body

Stars forward Mason Marchment is expected to miss a couple of weeks after taking a puck to the face. The veteran forward was having a very nice season – scoring 12 goals and adding 15 assists – but now he is going to be out of the lineup and that impacts everyone. 

He was a solid depth option for Dallas and for most fantasy owners. If you have the space to stash him on IR, go ahead and do so. We’ll see how his face heals over the next week before determining when he might be able to return.

Kirill Kaprizov - Minnesota Wild - Lower-body

Kirill Kaprizov has missed the last two games due to a lower-body injury and we don’t know if he will be able to play before the New Year. The injury came out of nowhere – he played over 22 minutes against Chicago before the holiday break – so this caught fantasy owners off guard. 

For now, the team is calling him day-to-day, but we know that means nothing. If he were to miss an extended period of time, there is no way of replacing him. Fantasy managers just need to sit tight and hope he can suit up for Tuesday’s game against Nashville.

 

 

 

Jake Walman - San Jose Sharks - Lower-body

Jake Walman has missed the last three games due to a lower-body injury and we still don’t know when he might be able to return. This isn’t the first time he’s missed some time this season due to injury, so you hope he didn’t reinjury whatever he was dealing with the first time. 

When he is in the lineup, he is productive – scoring five goals and adding 20 assists – so we can’t just cut him loose. He’s worth stashing on IR for the moment, but we need to follow this situation closely.

Jake Guentzel - Tampa Bay Lightning- Undisclosed

Jake Guentzel was a late scratch Sunday against the Montreal Canadiens, and we don’t know exactly when he suffered the injury or what it might be. The team has said that it’s an upper-body injury and that he is day-to-day. 

The initial reaction here is that it doesn’t seem too serious, so the hope is he can return to the lineup next game, and he continues to light the lamp.

Quinn Hughes/Elias Pettersson - Vancouver Canucks - Undisclosed

It’s just not a good time to be a Vancouver Canucks. If it’s not drama between two superstars, it’s injuries at the worst possible time. Both Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson didn’t play last game, and they are both expected to be out of the lineup for at least a week. 

Like Kaprizov, these injuries came out of nowhere. Losing just one of these players for an extended period of time would be hard to replace, let alone two. It’s not time to panic just yet, but some players on the waiver wire could soften the blow until they are ready to come back.

 

 

 

Fantasy Hockey Week 13 Waiver Wire

Pius Suter - Vancouver Canucks - Yahoo!: 3% owned

The best option for replacing Pettersson would be Pius Suter. He has 11 goals on the season and is going to get the first look at centring the second line. He also sees some time on the second power play unit. The ice time is what interests me the most. 

He’s averaging just over 15 minutes per game and that was before the injuries. We could see that number go all the way up to 17, thus bumping his production. This isn’t a long-term solution but one that could work for a couple of weeks.

Joe Veleno - Detroit Red Wings - Yahoo!: 0% owned

The more things in Detroit change, the more they stay the same. Derek Lalonde was fired on Thursday and replaced by Todd McLellan, but it didn’t look like anything changed in the team’s first game. They came out slow, didn’t look good and lost. 

When a new coach comes in, you know there are going to be changes, and one of them is Joe Veleno, who is being moved up to the top line. The 25-year-old took advantage of his opportunity and picked up an assist, but he isn’t seeing enough ice time for him to find the scoresheet consistently. 

I still think there is some value here for a player who is getting ice time in the top 6 and who gets to play with two of the best players on the team. He’s a short-term solution in deeper formats.

 

 

 

Jakub Dobes - Montreal Canadiens - Yahoo!: 2% owned 

If you missed out on grabbing Sam Montembeault last week, don’t worry, we might have something just as good for you this week. Cayden Primeau was sent down to the AHL and Jakub Dobes made his NHL debut, taking full advantage of the situation. 

He posted a 33-save shutout against the Florida Panthers and looked really good. Now we shouldn’t expect a shutout every game, but the kid has demonstrated that he can be counted on to play, something Primeau wasn’t able to do. 

Dobes is going to get more starts as the season goes on and if he can perform, maybe it becomes a 50/50 split with Montembeault in the second half. If you need a goalie to complete your roster, this is someone to keep an eye on.

Erik Brannstrom - Vancouver Canucks - Yahoo!: 0% owned 

If you’re desperate for help on the blueline because of the Quinn Hughes injury, Erik Brannstrom is a high-risk/high-reward option. He was a regular early on in the season but has been a healthy scratch for an extended period of time in December. 

He’s 25-year-old and is getting the first crack at quarterbacking the top power play unit. He played 19-minutes in his first game back and picked up three shots on goal. He can also throw some weight around and block shots. 

He’s not going to win you a fantasy hockey championship, but he’s going to give you something every night, which is better than nothing. As long as he plays well, that top power play spot is his until Hughes can return.