Noah Hanifin

Due to small sample sizes and teams just getting accustomed to each other, it's tough to judge how players do early on in the season. This is generally why you should usually be patient with players. However, sometimes, there are players who were put in good situations and just take off for the rest of the season. A prime example is Zach Werenski, who went on to post 47 points as a rookie defenseman last year or Viktor Arvidsson, who started off hot and then kept on going to finish the year with 61 points in 80 games. I like…

This week our focus will be on the top five sleeper defensemen that can help solidify your fantasy blue line. Sometimes it's hard to draft defensemen, because unless you have a guy like Eric Karlsson or Brent Burns, you need to stick to a 30- to 40-point blueliner. I usually keep my rankings based on points, but because this is about defensemen, I'll add in hits and blocks. Most leagues use hits and blocks in their point system, and it works well to allow more fantasy scoring from your defensive core. Here are some of my…