The waiver wire is a great place to find hidden gems that will help your fantasy hockey team in the short term or long term. You have likely already taken advantage of this through the first five weeks. Regardless, there should still be strong options on the waiver wire at forward that we will look at. Even if it is only for a few games, these players are worth adding to help your team out. This is the place where you can find some good options to take advantage of before anyone else in your league does.
Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire: Forwards to Consider for Week 6
Wyatt Johnston, Dallas Stars
The Dallas Stars knew they had a good one in Wyatt Johnston when he scored 24 goals as a rookie last season. He has only improved upon that so far as the young centerman already has seven goals and 13 points in 14 games. While the coaching staff might have been a little cautious with him last season, their trust in him has increased. He is the second-line center and logs the third-most minutes among forwards on the team.
In terms of other areas Johnston can impact your fantasy hockey team, he adds some solid value. As a scorer, he shoots the puck a good amount. Even though he doesn’t hit or block a ton of shots, he is already halfway to his penalty minute mark of last season. Johnston wasn’t a go-to on the power play last season, but he already has three points on the man advantage this season. He had seven all of last season. With increased ice time and strong linemates, I don’t see any sophomore slump coming anytime soon.
Alexis Lafreniere, New York Rangers
We had to wait a while, but Alexis Lafreniere is finally turning into the player the New York Rangers drafted first overall. This winger is really showing his goal-scoring ability as he is nearly halfway to his goal mark of last season already. He has seven goals in 14 games on the season and is finally getting consistent top-six time with better players. His confidence looks through the roof right now and he completely took over the team’s win against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Lafreniere is up to seven goals and 11 points in 14 games but has three goals and four assists in his past four games. He just logged an astonishing 24:13 of ice time against the Blue Jackets, so it shows that he is being rewarded for his efforts. Playing on the red hot Rangers and with linemates Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck, things are only going to get better for Lafreniere over the rest of the season. He is also getting a little bit more time on the power play. With only four points there last season, he’s already at two on the season.
James van Riemsdyk, Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are once against surprising the league with the great start they have gotten off to. While a number of key players were lost this past offseason, James van Riemsdyk was one of the cheap additions to the lineup. In a winning culture, how could we think that someone of his scoring ability wouldn’t do well there?
The winger came in and is slotted in on the second line, even with some line changes this season. He has four goals and 11 points in 14 games and is on a four-game point streak. During that stretch, he has one goal and six points, plus he already has five power-play points, more than his total all of last season. If you’re looking for an underrated point producer, look no further than van Riemsdyk who shouldn’t drop off much with his role on the team.
Players that may seem like great waiver wire pickups could fade really quickly, while others could turn out to be great for a long time. These three players appear to be the best options in Week 6 of the fantasy hockey season. Take advantage before it is too late and make sure to check in with us next week for more strong options.