Matt Larkin’s 2026-27 Fantasy Hockey Sleepers
Finding value in the later rounds of your draft can be the difference between building a good fantasy team and a championship roster. Every year, players outperform their draft-day price because of increased opportunity, a larger role, a bounce-back season or simply being overlooked by the fantasy community.
With that in mind, each of Daily Faceoff’s four Fantasy Hockey analysts has identified their favourite sleepers for the 2026-27 season. These aren’t necessarily players we expect to become superstars, but players we believe are being drafted too late (or not at all) relative to their fantasy upside.
All Sleeper Lists:
Brock Seguin’s Sleepers
Beebs Bondy’s Sleepers
Nick Szeman’s Sleepers
Gabe Perreault (NYR – RW) | ADP: 128.4 (3% Drafted)
The best formula to snag a post-hype sleeper: a pedigreed, slow-cooking prospect who doesn’t flash improvement until late in a season, which keeps his surface numbers modest. That’s Perreault, a player talented enough to have set the all-time single-season scoring record for USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program in 2022-23. Once the Rangers sold off some pieces at the 2025-26 Trade Deadline, more playing time opened up for Perreault. He amassed 19 points over his final 23 games, with his average ice time jumping from 15:05 to 17:01. Perreault will likely begin this season as a first-liner or, at worst, a second-liner. As the Rangers try to retool on the fly, they want to rely increasingly on their next-generation talent, and Perreault, 21, appears ready to be one of their go-to players.
Sergei Murashov (PIT – G) | ADP: 134.8 (28% Drafted)
You can learn a lot about a player by how a team handles his internal competition. The Pens let Stuart Skinner walk as a UFA and didn’t replace him. Translation: they love Murashov and no longer want to block him. And who can blame them? Murashov has excelled at one level after another over his past couple seasons, transitioning smoothly from the KHL to the ECHL to the AHL. He was one of the latter league’s best players in 2025-26, posting a .919 save percentage in the regular season and dominating at a .931 mark in the postseason. He’s ready for the NHL. Maybe he starts as Arturs Silovs’ 1B, but I’d bet on Murashov overtaking him for the 1A by December.
Isaac Howard (EDM – LW) | ADP: —
Last season was a year too early. Howard needed time to learn the pro game in the AHL. Now he’s ready to help you as a classic post-hype sleeper. For one, he passed the test on the Oilers farm club last season, looking like one of the AHL’s most dangerous scorers, compiling 24 goals and 50 points in 47 games. And while Howard already had a chance to push for a top-six role this season, the Matt Savoie injury only increases the odds of that happening. Howard could begin 2026-27 on a line with Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl, and the early ADP data suggests drafters haven’t caught on yet.
Ilya Protas (WSH – LW) | ADP: —
I can’t stress enough how easy Protas made things look over his past two seasons. In his one and only season of major junior, he racked up 50 goals and 124 points in 61 games. Next, he turned pro and breezed through the AHL for 29 goals and 66 points in 69 games, leading all rookies in scoring. Now Protas, already a monstrous 6-foot-6 and 225 pounds at 20 years old, joins brother Aliaksei on a loaded Capitals team. Ilya debuted with the Caps late last season, putting up four points in four games. It’s true that Washington’s incredible depth, especially on the wings, will make it difficult for Ilya to earn a large role right away. But that also should keep his draft-day cost down in flier territory, which is great news. It’s prudent to simply bet on talent, and he should ascend to a fantasy-friendly role at a bargain price.
Akira Schmid (FLA – G) | ADP: —
Schmid may be my favorite Hail Mary of the 2026-27 fantasy draft season. Yes, the Panthers acquired Jacob Markstrom to be their Sergei Bobrovsky replacement, but guess what? Markstrom is 36 and fresh off a terrible season in which he graded out as one of the NHL’s weakest starters in goals saved above expected per 60 minutes. Maybe joining a powerhouse like Florida will revive Markstrom’s career – he’s a viable boom/bust pick in the middle rounds of drafts – but what if Markstrom is washed? Enter Schmid. The towering Swiss keeper has only succeeded in fits and starts in his NHL career so far. But the analytics-leaning Panthers do their homework and clearly see something in him, having signed him for two years at a $2-million AAV. If Markstrom falters, Schmid could get the best opportunity of his career, starting for a Stanley Cup contender. He’s pretty much free in drafts right now, so he makes for the kind of bench stash that could suddenly make you look like a genius by January.