The waiver wire is a great place to find hidden gems that will help your fantasy hockey team in the short term or for a while. You have likely already taken advantage of this through three 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 does in your league.
Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire: Forwards to Consider for Week 4
Jaden Schwartz, Seattle Kraken
Jaden Schwartz has started to heat up a bit and has made himself fantasy-relevant. He isn’t the grittiest player, but he plays physical when it is required of him. More so than last season, the Seattle Kraken are rolling three fairly equal forward lines. Schwartz finds himself on the second line with Alex Wennberg and Oliver Bjorkstrand. These three have found some solid chemistry being together last season as well.
Schwartz might have only scored one goal and assisted on nothing in the first four games, but he has three goals and five points in the last five games. He puts up points on the power play and is shooting more. He seems like a bit more of an all-around player this season and it works great for fantasy hockey. Schwartz is rising quickly as the Kraken shake off their tough start.
Ryan O’Reilly, Nashville Predators
Ryan O’Reilly went undrafted in many fantasy hockey leagues despite the role he is playing on the Nashville Predators. He is the team’s top line center, plays in every situation, leads the forwards in ice time per game, and is third on the team in that department as well. He has fully shaken off the tough first half of last season with the St. Louis Blues.
Once O’Reilly arrived in Toronto, he started to produce like he had in previous seasons. That production has carried over to Nashville and his confidence is up. He is one of the best two-way players in the game, and like Schwartz, is hitting every category but penalty minutes. There’s nobody in line to overtake O’Reilly this season and he gets to play with Filip Forsberg and Gustav Nyquist. O’Reilly has four goals and six points in eight games. He may not be a point-per-game player, but it will be tough to find someone who can produce and play as much as him on the waiver wire.
Cam Atkinson, Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are once again surprising us. John Tortorella has done a great job with a team that should be rebuilding. While a few key players were moved out in the offseason, some familiar faces returned to the lineup after missing all of last season. Cam Atkinson has picked up right where he left off, arguably better even. He has jumped right back into the lineup and is playing on the top line with Sean Couturier and Owen Tippett.
Atkinson has always been a scorer first. A year off hasn’t changed that. He has five goals and eight points in the first eight games of the season. Goals are harder to come by and he’s also a shooter. The power-play points will steadily come, but Atkinson doesn’t necessarily cover all the physical stats you might be looking for. But sometimes you just need a skilled player on your fantasy team if he’s reliably scoring. He might be a season-long asset or tail off. Better to take advantage while he’s hot.
Kyle Palmieri, New York Islanders
You don’t normally think of the New York Islanders when looking to add value in fantasy hockey. Kyle Palmieri is proving otherwise this season so far. He is tied for the team lead in points with seven in seven games and is tied for the team lead in goals with three. On the second line with last season’s team leader in goals and points by a mile, Brock Nelson, Palmieri has strong chemistry with him and is producing at a great pace.
Palmieri has recorded a point in six of seven games and continues to record at least a hit and three shots in the majority of games. He is also on the top power-play unit and putting up points there too. Palmieri may not end the season at a point-per-game, but I wouldn’t doubt that he can hit 60 this season with this start. He could be one of those solid long-term options you find on the waiver wire early in the season.
Players that seemed like great waiver wire pickups could fade really quickly, while others could turn out to be great for a long time. These four players appear to be the best options in Week 4 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.