The 2022-23 NHL season will begin with two games played between the Nashville Predators and San Jose Sharks at the 02 Arena in Prague as part of the 2022 NHL Global Series on Oct. 7 and 8. That doesn't leave much time for your 2022 Fantasy hockey draft prep and a reliable set of 2022-23 Fantasy hockey rankings will be absolutely critical. The Chicago Blackhawks have begun a complete rebuild after trading away young centerpieces like Alex DeBrincat and Kirby Dach but franchise cornerstones Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews remain.
What sort of productivity should you be expecting from those two veterans without much help around them, and where exactly should you be targeting that pair in your upcoming 2022 Fantasy hockey drafts? And with everybody on the hunt for a bargain and trying to avoid major disappointments, who are the potential 2022 Fantasy hockey sleepers, breakouts and busts? Before making any 2022 Fantasy hockey picks, check out the Fantasy hockey rankings 2022-23 from the proven computer model at SportsLine.
Last year, the model predicted that Blues wing Vladimir Tarasenko would significantly outperform his 2021-22 Fantasy hockey ADP of 196. The result: Tarasenko went on to score 34 goals and dish out 48 assists for his first ever 80-point season and was a top-75 player in all of Fantasy hockey. It also predicted that Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov wouldn't live up to his top-30 ADP overall and he finished with just 31 points and a plus/minus of -20 to finish as the No. 81 defenseman in CBS Sports Fantasy hockey leagues.
The model was created by Mike McClure, a predictive data engineer and professional daily Fantasy player with almost $2 million in career winnings. He's used his prediction model to simulate the entire 2022-23 NHL schedule 10,000 times and identify the top Fantasy hockey sleepers, breakouts and busts. Head to SportsLine now to see them.
McClure's model takes factors such as player history, schedule, injuries and matchups into account to create the most unbiased 2022-23 Fantasy hockey rankings possible. Now the model has zeroed in on the 2022-23 NHL season, ranked every player, and found the top sleepers, breakouts and busts. See every pick here.
Top 2022-23 Fantasy hockey picks
One of the 2022-23 Fantasy hockey busts SportsLine has identified: Panthers center Sam Reinhart. The 26-year-old is coming off a career-high 82 points in his eighth NHL season and it's clear that a move from Buffalo to Florida has helped revitalize his career. Now he's been the No. 61 player off the board overall and the 16th center taken on average in 2022 Fantasy hockey drafts.
However, he'd never produced more than 65 points in a season before last year and had scored 50 points or fewer in five of his six full seasons in Buffalo. Reinhart scored 16 of his 33 goals on the power play last season and while he'll still play an important role on that unit, that might not be goal-scoring production you can rely upon in 2022-23. That's why the model ranks him outside its top 80 players overall for this season.
Another surprise: Ducks center Mason McTavish is one of the model's top Fantasy hockey breakouts. The No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft dominated the OHL last season, registering 47 points in 29 regular-season games before scoring 16 goals and dishing out 13 assists while leading Hamilton to the Memorial Cup final. He also dominated the world juniors, earning tournament MVP honors with 17 points in seven games for Team Canada.
He also scored a goal and had an assist in his NHL debut with the Ducks but only registered one more point over his next eight games and was sent back to the OHL to preserve a year on his entry-level deal. However, now he's in line to have a major role in Anaheim, where he should be a top-six forward and contribute on their power play. McTavish has a current ADP of 230 but the model ranks him as one of its top 185 players and sees him as a quality depth stash with enormous upside.
How to find proven 2022-23 Fantasy hockey rankings
The model has also made a surprising call on new Blue Jackets winger Johnny Gaudreau after he led the NHL in points and led all forwards in Fantasy scoring a season ago. It also features a stunner in the top 10 you won't want to miss. You can only see the latest Fantasy hockey rankings 2022-23 here.
So what's the exact value of every NHL player in the 2022-23 Fantasy hockey rankings? And what surprising player cracked the top 10? Visit SportsLine now to get Fantasy hockey rankings, all from a DFS pro who has won almost $2 million in his career and has simulated the entire NHL season 10,000 times, and find out.
