Fantasy Hockey Rankings 2022-23: Top Sleepers, Breakouts and Busts from the Trusted NHL Sim

The 2022-23 NHL season officially began on Friday when the San Jose Sharks and Nashville Predators met in Prague. The North American opener is October 11 and fantasy hockey drafts are still taking place across the country. One team trying to erase memories of a terrible season is the Philadelphia Flyers, who are expected to struggle again this year. The Flyers have a roster full of young players who could make multiple 2022-23 Fantasy Hockey breakouts.

So what should your fantasy hockey blueprint for 2022 look like as the October 11 North American opener approaches? A reliable set of 2022 fantasy hockey rankings can help you identify potential 2022 fantasy hockey sleepers, breakouts and busts to ensure you get the maximum benefit from each selection. Before creating fantasy hockey picks for 2022, check out the 2022-23 fantasy hockey rankings from SportsLine’s trusted computer model.

Last year, the model predicted that blues wing Vladimir Tarasenko would comfortably surpass his ADP of 196 in fantasy hockey in 2021-22. The result: Tarasenko scored 34 goals and dished out 48 assists in his first 80-point season to top-75 players in all of fantasy hockey. Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov was also predicted not to make his top-30 total ADP, and he ended with just 31 points and a plus/minus -20 to finish as the No. 81 defenseman on the CBS Sports Fantasy – End hockey leagues.

The model was created by Mike McClure, a predictive data engineer and professional daily fantasy gamer with nearly $2 million in career earnings. He used his prediction model to run the entire 2022-23 NHL slate 10,000 times, identifying the top sleepers, breakouts and misses in fantasy hockey. Go to SportsLine now to see them.

McClure’s model takes into account factors such as player history, schedule, injuries and encounters to create the most unbiased 2022-23 Fantasy Hockey Rankings possible. Now the model has focused on the 2022-23 NHL season, ranked all players and found the top sleepers, breakouts and busts. See each selection here.

Top 2022-23 Fantasy Hockey Picks

One of the 2022-23 fantasy hockey busts identified by SportsLine: Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo. The 10-time All-Star finished last season with 44 total points (13 goals, 31 assists), which was his third-lowest career total in the nine seasons in which he played at least 70 games. He also had a modest 5.7% shot percentage, despite making the second most shots of his career (456).

His shot-on-target percentage dropped to 49.8% compared to his senior year at St. Louis during the 2019-20 season, when he netted 53.8% of his shots. Pietrangelo ended last year at plus-minus 7, which was also the fourth-lowest mark in the 10 years he’s played at least 70 games. His decline in on-ice effectiveness is one of the reasons the model predicts him having a large discrepancy between his production and his 2022 fantasy hockey ADP just outside the top 65 overall.

Another surprise: Blitz center Brayden Point is one of the model’s best fantasy hockey sleepers. He dealt with a torn quadriceps during the 2022 playoffs, but he has fully recovered from the injury. Point missed 14 of the Lightning’s last 16 playoff games, contributing to his team’s loss to Colorado in the Stanley Cup Finals.

He had 28 goals and 58 points in 66 regular-season games and also had five points in nine playoff games. Punkt was vacated before the start of training camp so he should go into the regular season in good shape. He’s scored at least 20 goals in five straight seasons and came just short of his fourth 60-point season, making him one of the most consistent fantasy hockey picks on the board. SportsLine’s model has identified it as a sleeper that is underselected in most designs over 60 seats.

How to Find Proven Fantasy Hockey Rankings 2022-23

The model has also surprised new Blue Jackets winger Johnny Gaudreau after he led the NHL in points and all forwards in fantasy scoring a season ago. It also features some madness in the top 10 that you won’t want to miss. You can only see latest fantasy hockey rankings 2022-23 here.

So what is the exact value of each NHL player in the 2022-23 Fantasy Hockey Rankings? And which surprising player cracked the top 10? Visit SportsLine now for fantasy hockey rankings, all from a career DFS pro with nearly $2 million in winnings and simulating the entire NHL season 10,000 times, and find out.