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Greg Wyshynski, ESPN
Information is power in fantasy hockey drafts. I’ve competed against owners who have a NASA supercomputer breaking down player analytics and owners who are privy to so much fresh injury data that it seems like a HIPAA violation.
On the flip side, I’ve drafted against owners whose clocks run out as they scan the player list in an effort to check Jaromir Jagr’s eligibility. These owners, naturally, are the ones who end up winning the leagues (sigh).
The 10 players discussed here are the ones on whom I plant my rhetorical flag for the 2024-25 season. My reasoning is sound and it hopefully inspires you to either follow my lead or open your mind to other possibilities in fantasy puck this season. Some you’ll have high on your draft boards already, while I make the case for some under-the-radar choices to make your roster.
May all your picks turn out to be great ones. Here’s the Plant My Flag list for 2024-25.
David Pastrnak, F, Boston Bruins
When a player’s production drops by 14 goals and he still ends up with 47 on the season, that’s a heck of a goal scorer right there. Pastrnak has generated more shots on goal (1,101) over the past three seasons than any other NHL player. After leading the league with 407 shots in 2022-23, he dipped to 382 last season. Though his goals dropped, his overall points only went from 113 to 110 thanks to a bump in assists.
The reason to plant a flag on Pasta is simple:
