There are slim pickings on defense as it usually is, but there are always gems in the rough that could help in a lot of areas or really boost your fantasy hockey team in a more specific area. Both options are available to stream from the waiver wire this week, so let’s dive in.
Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire: Defensemen to Target for Week 13
Colton Parayko, St. Louis Blues
Colton Parayko is having a strong season even if it doesn’t necessarily translate over to fantasy hockey all the time. The big defenseman plays top minutes on the St. Louis Blues and does it all except produce on the power play. He is on the top penalty kill and has still produced a very respectable amount of points this season regardless of the disadvantage of not skating with the man advantage.
Parayko has one goal and five points in his last three games. Whether he’s producing offensively or not, he regularly adds a number of shots, hits, and blocks to his stat line every game. In a deeper league, he is a solid player to hold onto. But as a streaming option, he is a great target to add right now while he’s also producing offensively. The Blues play the Ottawa Senators and Columbus Blue Jackets to close out this week, but also play the Minnesota Wild before we return next week with more streaming options.
Luke Hughes, New Jersey Devils
Luke Hughes has been playing good hockey for a while now after a lackluster start to the season offensively. It has been around a month and a half that he has regularly gotten on the scoreboard and been relevant in fantasy, but he’s still widely available. Hughes has three goals and 17 points in 30 games this season, but he has two goals and eight points in his last seven games.
Hughes doesn’t hit or block shots very often and he can be invisible in the shots department sometimes, but the New Jersey Devils can surely score and he will be in on the action. All of the defensive pairings are pretty even and the young D-man gets to run the point on the solid second power-play unit as well. The Devils match up against the Los Angeles Kings in the only game today and then the San Jose Sharks before the Seattle Kraken on Monday. If you need points, especially assists, Hughes is the player to turn to.
Cam Fowler, St. Louis Blues
Cam Fowler has finally settled into the Blues as he is now producing like the veteran D-man we are used to. He is on the top pairing alongside Parayko, except he also plays on the top power play. This instantly adds a good amount of value as it is difficult to find defensemen on the waiver wire who get that opportunity.
Fowler has three goals and seven points in his last six games and has been getting some penalties as well as shooting and blocking a lot of shots. He’s coming off a two-goal game in his 1000th career game in the Winter Classic. He wasn’t worth a look in Anaheim, but he is definitely worth one now. As mentioned above with Parayko, the Blues play three times before we look at next week’s defensemen to stream.
Related: Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire: Week 13 Forward Streams
Be sure to come back every week for the best options to stream for not only defensemen but goalies and forwards as well.