NHL Injury Report & Waiver Wire Ahead Of Week 15 Games: Dylan Guenther, Jake Walman
The Fantasy Hockey season has entered the second half and the playoff picture is starting to take shape. 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 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 15 Injury Report
Sean Monahan - Columbus Blue Jackets - Wrist
Sean Monahan is expected to miss at least seven to ten days due to a wrist injury. The Columbus forward hurt himself against Pittsburgh and was unable to finish the game. The good news is, there was no fracture and no surgery was needed. The team has announced that it’s a sprain, which is great news considering how bad this could have been. Monahan is averaging a point-per-game on the year so hopefully he can come back after just ten days.
Brock Faber - Minnesota Wild - Upper-body
The injuries for the Minnesota Wild are starting to pile up. They’ve been without Kirill Kaprizov to start 2025 and now defenceman Brock Faber is expected to miss some time due to an upper-body injury. It’s been a difficult season for Faber, who has just 20 points on the season. He’s still young and there’s no question that he’s going to be elite in this league, but at this point, if you can’t stash him on IR or don’t have the space, you don’t have to hold onto him.
Ilya Sorokin - New York Islanders - Illness
Ilya Sorokin was a late scratch on Saturday due to what the team is calling an illness. This is the season for the flu and we’ve seen other teams have to deal with it. Patrik Laine missed almost a week when he was sick, but hopefully, it isn’t the same for Sorokin. The Islanders are already down Semyon Varlamov, so they can’t afford another goalie out.
Chris Kreider - New York Rangers - Upper-body
Chris Kreider has missed the last five games due to an upper-body injury and we have no idea when he might be able to return. The veteran winger is having a disastrous season and this injury could put a stop to any hope of him having a bounce back in the second half. The team placed him on IR a week ago and he hasn’t skated since. At this point of the year, it may be wise to drop him and look for an alternative.
Dylan Guenther - Utah Hockey Club - Lower-body
Dylan Guenther is expected to miss a significant amount of time due to a lower-body injury and there is a real possibility that he may not return until the fantasy hockey playoffs. He left Wednesday’s game against Florida and the team immediately said that he would be out for a while but that it wasn’t season ending. This is terrible news for the team and fantasy owners, who were getting maximum production from Guenther. It’s hard to judge this situation because we don’t know what injury he is dealing with and there is no timetable. Right now, it’s best to wait a couple of weeks and see if the team provides another update before deciding to cut him loose.
Fantasy Hockey Week 15 Waiver Wire
Josh Doan - Utah Hockey Club - Yahoo!: 2% owned
With Guenther out for a while, Utah has called up Josh Doan. He started the season in the NHL but had just two points in nine games. He’s skating on the second line and on the top power play unit. He’s got a chance to produce and see a significant amount of ice time, but he has to take this opportunity and run with it. You can take a flier on him in deeper formats.
Declan Chisholm - Minnesota Wild - Yahoo!: 1% owned
I know, most of you are running to Hockey DB to see who this guy is, but the only thing that’s important is that he is quarterbacking the top power play unit. Minnesota has three regular defenseman out of the lineup, so Chisholm is getting a chance to play more minutes and is being put in an offensive role. Will anything good come from this? No idea, but the opportunity for him is there and in fantasy hockey that’s all we care about. He’s a short-term solution for this week.
Jakub Dobes - Montreal Canadiens - Yahoo!: 12% owned
I’m just going to leave Jakub Dobes here until the rest of the world catches up. The rookie has won his three starts and now posts an insane 0.97 GAA and a .959 SV%. He’s not going to maintain those numbers in the second half, but he is making a case to play more. The league will catch up to him, but right now, he’s red hot and he’s going to get more chances to play. I wish he could see maybe one or two starts a week because then that would REALLY boost his ownership. If I don’t see his ownership over 20% by next week, you’re going to see his name in this exact section.
Jake Walman - San Jose Sharks - Yahoo!: 58% owned
I know this is a long shot, but if Jake Walman is on the waiver wire, it would be wise to go scoop him up. He missed about three weeks of action due to injury, but he returned to the lineup against Minnesota and logged 22 minutes of ice time and finished with five shots on goal. Walman is the only offensive defenceman this team has, so no one is taking his spot. If he can stay healthy, he’s going to continue to produce in the second half.
Player News
Tosan Evbuomwan shot 6-of-10 from the field and 2-of-2 from the foul line in Friday’s loss to the Lakers, recording a stat line of 15 points, six rebounds, two assists, one steal, and one 3-pointer in 27 minutes.
Ziaire Williams amassed 15 points (5-of-13 FGs, 2-of-2 FTs), four rebounds, three assists, one block, and three 3-pointers in 25 minutes in Friday’s loss to the Lakers.
Ben Simmons shot 3-of-4 from the foul line in Friday’s loss to the Lakers, tallying six points, five rebounds, seven assists, one steal, and one blocked shot in 27 minutes.
D’Angelo Russell played 27 minutes in Friday’s 102-101 loss to the Lakers, scoring 19 points (7-of-15 FGs) with six rebounds, eight assists, and five 3-pointers.
Jaxson Hayes played 33 minutes in Friday’s win over Brooklyn, scoring six points (3-of-7 FGs) with nine rebounds and one assist.
LeBron James shot 12-of-17 from the field and 1-of-2 from the foul line in Friday’s 102-101 win over Brooklyn, tallying 29 points, seven rebounds, eight assists, one steal, two blocks, and four 3-pointers in 35 minutes.