NHL Usage Trends for Fantasy Hockey: 19/12

Welcome to Fantrax’s NHL usage trends for December 19th — a tactical breakdown of deployment trends that matter. We’re spotlighting key ice time changes, power play promotions, and line shakeups that could swing matchups and unlock hidden value. Whether you’re grinding in deep leagues or scanning for streaming upside, these shifts offer actionable insight for fantasy managers looking to stay ahead of the curve.

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NHL Usage Trends

Minnesota Wild Defensemen

Last week, we saw a rare, genuine blockbuster trade. The Wild acquired one of the elite defencemen in the NHL, Quinn Hughes. Which means, the vast majority of power play minutes for defensemen now belong to Hughes. For anyone who nabbed Brock Faber after his stellar rookie season, consider his offensive upside now stifled. It was going to be with Zeev Buium, just not as quickly. Jared Spurgeon, who often saw stretches manning the first power play unit, will only get the chance to do so during a Hughes injury.

Igor Chernyshov, RW – San Jose Sharks

Same lines at practice as last game, except Gaudette filling in for Dellandrea:

Graf-Celebrini-Chernyshov
Eklund-Wennberg-Toffoli
Skinner-Gaudette-Cardwell
Goodrow-Ostapchuk-Reaves

Orlov-Klingberg
Ferraro-Liljegren
Mukhamadullin-Iorio
Dickinson-Leddy

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) December 17, 2025

Chernyshov is getting some tasty deployment for game two. Lining up with Macklin Celebrini on the first line is as good as it gets.

With the designation of Will Smith and Philipp Kurashev to the injured reserve, Chernyshov gets a real opportunity after an impressive 23 points in his first 25 games with the San Jose Barracuda. Smith’s injury doesn’t appear to be all that serious, so this should be a short-lived experience for Chernyshov. Regardless, he’s climbing the Sharks prospect depth chart fast. A good showing with this call-up and the next one won’t be far behind.

Marco Rossi, C – Vancouver Canucks

Rossi fills a void in the Canucks lineup that has existed ever since they traded J.T. Miller to the New York Rangers. They now have their second-line centre.

Rossi also has a spot on the first power play unit. In his first two games for Canucks, Rossi has chewed up over 65% of those minutes for the Canucks. Yes, Elias Pettersson is out with an injury; however, I’m not convinced Rossi is the player they remove from that first unit once he is back.

Carolina’s Goalies

The dust is starting to settle on this ongoing tri-pod in net, and Freddy Andersen appears to be the odd goalie out.

The Hurricanes have played eight games in December, and Andersen has started just one of them. That game took place on December 4th, just before Pyotr Kotchetkov returned from injury.

Since then, Brandon Bussi has started four games, and Kotchetkov has started three. At 35, and with his injury history, I expect this trend to continue. Don’t be surprised if he is waived or traded at some point.

Nick Lardis, RW – Chicago Black Hawks

Another hot prospect is getting a call-up due to an injury. Lardis has been on fire in the AHL this year with 13 goals, 13 assists, for 26 points in 24 games.

His ice time has been extremely limited in his first three games, averaging just over nine per game. Of those nine minutes, two have come on the power play, which gives hope for some low-lying value in the short term.

Lardis will need to work his way up the line-up to convince the Black Hawks to keep him up long-term. And that ice time will need to increase if he has any hope of sticking with the club once Connor Bedard returns to the lineup in January.

Dakota Joshua, RW – Toronto Maple Leafs

This one is pure speculation. Joshua’s play over the past couple of weeks has been steadily improving. He’s been one of the hardest-working Leafs players night in and night out (Some nights that doesn’t seem like such a feat).

Given his size and forechecking ability, coupled with the inability of Bobby McMann and Nick Robertson to demonstrate that they belong in the top six. Keep an eye out for the Maple Leafs to give Joshua a look on one of those top two lines.

As I said, it’s a hunch, speculation, but nothing else is working – so what do they have to lose?

That will do it for this week’s rendition of NHL Usage Trends. Thanks for reading.