NHL Usage Trends for Week 1 of the Fantasy Hockey Season

Welcome to Fantrax’s NHL usage trends for week one of the fantasy hockey season. Training camp is always entertaining. Coaches mix and match lines to get good looks at prospects and free-agent signees. It’s also a stress-free opportunity to give players a look higher in the lineup to find chemistry and balance their lines.

Entering week one of the fantasy hockey season, we’ll take a look at some of those players who are leaving camp having earned spots on their teams’ top lines.

NHL Usage Trends for Week 1

Vasili Podkolzin (LW, Edmonton Oilers)

Podkolzin exits camp alongside Connor McDavid (C) and Leon Draisaitl (C, LW). It doesn’t get much better than that.

We all know Mike Babcock likes to deploy a grinding puck retriever on his top line, someone willing to battle in the corners and win loose pucks for his stars. In Toronto, that role belonged to Zach Hyman (LW, Edmonton Oilers). At least to begin the season, Podkolzin appears to have earned that assignment.

After posting a career-high 37 points last year, he now has an opportunity to blow past that total. I already expected him to challenge the 45-point mark, but if he can hold onto a first-line role, 50-plus points feels well within reach.

Kaapo Kakko (LW/RW, Seattle Kraken)

In his first full season with Seattle, Kakko averaged just 14:15 per game and produced 40 points in 65 contests. After arriving in Seattle during the 2024-25 campaign, he averaged 17:03 per game and recorded 30 points in 40 games.

He’s leaving camp on a line with Matty Beniers (C) and Jared McCann (RW). In fairness, the Kraken are built more like a team with three second lines than one clear-cut top unit, so the ice time distribution should remain fairly balanced. Still, Kakko holds a spot on Seattle’s designated first line.

More ice time and improved linemates could finally push him beyond the 50-point plateau.

Justin Hryckowian (LW, Dallas Stars)

Hryckowian spent most of camp skating alongside Wyatt Johnston (C) and Mikko Rantanen (RW), making him one of the more intriguing deep-league targets heading into the season.

This situation isn’t unlike Podkolzin’s. If Hryckowian can maintain chemistry with two elite offensive players, he’ll offer sneaky value in both deep redraft leagues and dynasty formats.

His 30-point rookie campaign caught many fantasy managers by surprise. If he keeps this role long-term, a significant jump in production is realistic, and 50 points doesn’t feel out of the question.

Maxim Shabanov (RW, Minnesota Wild)

After a disappointing rookie season spent largely in a bottom-six role with the New York Islanders, Shabanov gets a fresh start in Minnesota and opens the season on the Wild’s top line.

He’ll skate alongside Kirill Kaprizov (LW) and Danila Yurov (C), creating one of the more intriguing combinations to emerge from training camp.

That said, I’m not convinced Yurov will remain Kaprizov’s center all season. It’s a demanding assignment for a young pivot. There’s a big difference between a coach talking about pairing two players together at the start of camp and actually sticking with that combination through camp and into the regular season.

There was considerable hype surrounding Shabanov when he arrived from the KHL last year, but things never clicked with the Islanders. A fresh start and a top-line opportunity alongside fellow countryman Kaprizov could be exactly what he needs.

Despite totalling just 18 points in 44 games last season, he has a realistic path to 40 points. If everything breaks right, a 50-point season isn’t out of the question.