As the 2025 NHL season kicks off with renewed excitement, think expanded parity from last year's trade deadline shakeups and breakout stars emerging from the shadows, the fantasy hockey draft remains your make-or-break moment.

Welcome to the Busts section of the Fantasy Alarm Draft Guide, where we arm you with the intel to sidestep costly overreaches. In this high-stakes game, every pick counts, and avoiding inflated expectations can be the difference between a championship run and an early exit.

For purposes of this section, here's what we mean by a "bust":

  • A player who can be had after his Average Draft Position (ADP) among his position.

This framework is never about condemning elite skaters or goaltenders to obsolescence, trust me, it's not. It's a sharp focus on being over-hyped in mocks and bidding, where their anticipated production won't be worth the roster spot you waste on them. 

Yes, they may still light the lamp or fill out the stat sheet, but proportionally to the draft capital you invest, they will fail to provide bang for your buck. Keep in mind: You're never going to win your league on draft night, but one wrong reach will ruin your season before the puck is even dropped. 

Keeping that in mind, let's take a look at our recommended rankings to slide down to safeguard your roster's upside.

 

 

 

2025 Fantasy Hockey Busts

Brady Tkachuk - Ottawa Senators - Left Wing 

  • ADP: 2nd
  • Our Ranking: 9th

I understand why people are in love with Brady Tkachuk. He’s a leader, and you know he’s going to go out there and give it 110%. That’s fantastic, but he’s being taken as the second-best left winger off the board behind Kirill Kaprizov. He missed some time last season due to injury, but 55 points is disappointing. Yes, he shot the puck a ton, and yes, he loves to throw his weight around, but that doesn’t mean you should be starting your fantasy team build with him. Points in fantasy hockey matter, and for him to hit value, he needs to average close to a point per game. The Senators were one of the better teams on the power play last season, so if they start to slip in that category, Brady may not be able to reproduce 2023 or 2024. There’s too much risk here for him to be going in the top-10 of fantasy drafts.

Darcy Kuemper - Los Angeles Kings - Goalie 

  • ADP: 6th
  • Our Ranking: 18th

If you drafted Darcy Kuemper last season, you won the lottery. He outperformed what anyone thought was possible for him. If you’re hoping he can repeat that this season, you’re in for a rude awakening. Not only is he at risk of getting injuries, but the Kings did themselves no favours in the offseason. They went out and signed Brian Dumoulin and Cody Ceci-- both of whom aren’t very good defensively, which now results in Joel Edmondson having to play a top-4 role. Los Angeles was also beyond excellent on home ice. There is going to be some regression for the Kings, and it’s going to hit Kuemper the hardest. I would not be comfortable taking him as the 6th goalie off the board, and you should probably look at other options in that same area.

Connor Bedard - Chicago Blackhawks - Center

  • ADP: 15th
  • Our Ranking: 28th

The only thing slowing down the second-best Connor in the NHL is the Chicago Blackhawks. They have a terrible offence and have done nothing to add any meaningful pieces in the offseason. Bedard had a down season last year, and that could very well continue into year three. He doesn’t block shots or hit, so he needs to rack up points to be fantasy relevant. He has a lethal shot, but he’s also an elite playmaker. He needs others around him to put the puck in the back of the net, and right now, his linemates are projected to be Ryan Donato and Andre Burakovsky *VOMIT*. I want him to dominate, but it took a career year from Donato to help keep Bedard over 60 points. There are better options at center in this range to consider.

 

 


 

Jakub Chychrun - Washington Capitals - Defence

  • ADP: 14th
  • Our Ranking: 25th

I think Jakub Chychrun is getting too much love from the fantasy hockey community. It’s always impressive when a defenceman scores 20 goals, but outside of that, he was average. He finished with a career high shooting percentage (11.2%), shattering his career average (7.4%). He’s not going to shoot over 10% again, so his goal total will drop. When that happens, he’s not going to provide much value elsewhere. His shot total is good, but nothing jaw-dropping; he’s not a player who racks up a ton of assists, blocks a below-average amount of shots, and isn’t physical. Why are we taking him so early then? Are we betting on another career high in goals? I’ll let someone else deal with Chychrun.

William Nylander - Toronto Maple Leafs - Right Wing

  • ADP: 4th
  • Our Ranking: 14th

Let me reiterate this for those who may have missed the intro: William Nylander is a great player who’s going to rack up points, but he won’t hit early second-round value. Last season was his lowest shot total in the last four years. He finished with a career-high 17.8% shooting percentage, way above his 13% career average. Toronto fans may not like to hear this, but losing Mitch Marner and replacing him with mediocre players is going to hurt them offensively. He scored a career high in goals (45), but if he regresses to his career shooting percentage, he will slip below a point-per-game. Considering he isn’t very physical and the team doesn’t need him blocking shots, you might be grabbing him just a tad early in fantasy drafts.