NHL Usage Trends for Fantasy Hockey: 01/15

Welcome to Fantrax’s NHL usage trends for January 15 — 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 for Fantasy Hockey

James Van Riemsdyk, Detroit Red Wings

It has been a while since folks have paid much attention to Van Riemsdyk in fantasy circles. Considering he hasn’t hit 50 points since he left the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2018/19, it is not hard to see why.

Over the last five games, something interesting has occurred. Riemsdyk has been getting over 55% of the Red Wings’ power play minutes. He has seven points in those five games.

He’s also averaging 12:55 in ice time this year. Again, over the past five games, this has increased to over 16 minutes per game. He hasn’t logged 16 minutes a game since 2021 in Philadelphia.

The Red Wings are relatively healthy, so this is simply a line shuffle by Head Coach Todd McClellan, and it is paying off, at least in the short term.

He’s only rostered in 11% of Fantrax pools, so the masses haven’t caught onto his bump to the first power play unit or onto the second line with Lucas Raymond and J.T. Compher.

Alexandre Texier, Montreal Canadiens

We’ll need to see how long this experiment lasts, but Texier is spending an awful lot of time on a line with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield. In 105 even-strength minutes together, they have a modest 59.6% Corsi For.

Texier has played over 17 minutes in each of his past four games, a significant increase over his season average of 14:46 with Montreal. His 16 points in 25 games with Montreal would give him 52 points over 82 games, modest but intriguing. If he sticks with Suzuki and Caufield for any length of time, that pace is sure to increase.

Rostered in 22% of Fantrax pools, there’s a lot of availability for this first-line winger. For as long as it lasts, that is. If he keeps clicking, Martin St. Louis will keep running him out there.

Ethan Frank, Washington Capitals

At 27, Frank finds himself an NHL regular for the first time in his career.

Frank is on pace for 21 goals and 41 points, a solid rookie season by any standard. However, like Van Riemsdyk and Texier, Frank has seen a sizeable jump in ice time over the past few games.

In four of his last five games, he has played over 16 minutes per game, which is a bit more than 4 minutes per game more than his season average. On top of that, Frank is getting looks on the Capitals’ first power play unit (2:12 with Ovechkin, last game).

Now, his move up the line-up does coincide with the injury to Tom Wilson. One can reasonably conclude that Frank will slide back down the line-up when Wilson returns. Still, Frank is showing he’s got the chops to play in the top six.

Only owned in 8% of Fantrax pools, Frank is a deep sleeper to keep an eye on moving forward.

James Reimer, Ottawa Senators

The Senators must be expecting Linus Ullmark to be away from the team for an extended period. After all, they did go out and sign Reimer for emergency coverage. With Leevi Merilainen leaking like a sieve (.864 save percentage in 2026), they had little choice.

The Senators play back-to-back games on Saturday and Sunday this week; expect Reimer to play one of those. A strong game or two, and Reimer could split duties with Merilainen until Ullmark returns.  Reimer will be in tough, though; he was thoroughly roughed up in his first start with the Belleville Senators in the AHL, giving up six goals on 28 shots.

Honestly, this is more of a feel-good story – that Reimer gets another NHL opportunity – than anything fantasy relevant. If you need an emergency goalie start, I would exhaust all other goaltending options before scooping Reimer off the waiver wire.