Fantasy hockey is a game of precision, strategy, and foresight. As the 2025 NHL season approaches, positional rankings are your ultimate tool for drafting a championship caliber team. The 2025 NHL Preseason Positional Player Rankings provide a comprehensive guide to the best forwards, defensemen, and goalies, updated weekly to reflect the latest performances, injuries, and roster changes. Whether you're chasing goals, assists, plus/minus, or save percentages, these rankings are your edge over the competition. Below, we explore why positional rankings are critical, highlight sleepers to watch, and offer strategies to leverage these rankings for fantasy hockey success.
Why Positional Rankings Are Your Draft Day Advantage
Fantasy hockey thrives on balance across positions—centers, wingers, defensemen, and goalies each contribute uniquely to categories like goals, assists, powerplay points, shots, hits, blocks, wins, and save percentage. The 2025 NHL Preseason Positional Player Rankings are designed to navigate this complexity, offering tiered insights based on projected stats, team roles, and NHL trends. With young stars and veterans dominating headlines, rankings help you prioritize elite talent while avoiding overrated busts.
Positional scarcity is a key factor. Elite defensemen who contribute to both offensive and defensive categories are rare, while top goalies can singlehandedly anchor your goaltending stats. Rankings also account for the rise of tandem goalie systems, ensuring you target workhorse netminders.Â
Top Forwards in 2025 Fantasy Hockey Rankings
Forwards are the backbone of your fantasy roster, filling 812 spots in most leagues and driving 6070% of your scoring output. The 2025 Fantasy Hockey Rankings by Position highlight top centers projected for 60+ goals and wingers who are 100point locks. Emerging stars add upside as potential sleepers.
Key Forward Rankings for 2025
- Centers: Elite options with 60+ goals, 130+ points, and balanced 50+ goals with 80+ assists.
- Wingers: High-end performers with 110+ points, 90+ assists, and 50+ goals.
- Sleepers to Watch: Multicategory contributors and breakout candidates.
These rankings help you balance high-end scorers with multicategory contributors who excel in goals, hits, and shots, ensuring your forward core maximizes points while covering peripherals. Weekly updates reflect line changes and injuries, keeping you ahead of the curve.
Elite Defensemen: Building a Blue Line Powerhouse
Defensemen are a premium position due to their scarcity and multicategory impact. The 2025 Fantasy Hockey Rankings spotlight players who combine 70+ points with 150+ blocks, and rising stars who add hits and shots. With only 46 defensemen per roster, missing on an elite option can tank your chances in categories like blocks and plus/minus.
 Top Defensemen in 2025 Rankings
- Â Elite Tier: 80+ points, 70+ points, and 60+ assists.
- Â Value Picks: Multicategory gems and powerplay specialists.
- Â Sleepers to Watch: Emerging two-way studs and offensive upside plays.
Rankings guide you to draft a balanced blue line, mixing offensive dynamos with shutdown defenders. Weekly updates track breakout performances and injuries, ensuring you snag value picks before they climb draft boards.
Best Goalies in 2025 Fantasy Hockey Rankings
Goalies are the wild card of fantasy hockey, capable of carrying or crushing your team. The 2025 NHL Preseason Positional Player Rankings prioritize workhorse goalies with 40+ wins and .925+ save percentage while identifying value in breakout candidates post extension. With tandem systems rising, rankings help you avoid traps like over drafting aging veterans whose workload may decline.
 Top Goalie Rankings for 2025
- Â Elite Tier: 40+ wins and consistent volume.
- Â Value Picks: Starter upside and high win potential.
- Â Sleepers to Watch: Potential starters and tandem risers.
Weekly updates adjust for save percentage trends, win projections, and tandem splits, ensuring you draft goalies who deliver stability and upside.
2025 Fantasy Hockey Rookie Rankings
Rookies can be gamechangers, and the 2025 Fantasy Hockey Rookie Rankings highlight NHL newcomers poised to make an impact. Top prospects at center and wing with scoring potential lead the list, while defensemen offer sleeper value. These rankings are updated weekly to reflect preseason performances and roster battles, helping you identify the next big stars before your league mates.
 Top Rookies for 2025
- Â Top Centers: Projected for 70+ points as topline options.
- Â Top Wingers: Dynamic performers with 30+ goal potential.
- Â Sleeper: Offensive defensemen with powerplay upside.
How to Use Our 2025 Fantasy Hockey Rankings
Leveraging the 2025 NHL Preseason Positional Player Rankings requires a strategic approach to dominate your draft and season:
- Understand Your League Settings: Tailor your draft to prioritize categories (e.g., roto leagues favor forward depth, head-to-head needs balanced defensemen).
- Draft by Tiers: Group players into tiers to stay flexible during drafts, ensuring you don’t miss elite talent.
- Monitor Weekly Updates: Injuries and line changes shift rankings.
- Target Sleepers Early: Use rankings to grab undervalued players before they break out.
- Balance Scarcity and Depth: Prioritize elite defensemen and goalies early, then load up on forwards in mid-rounds for depth.