Deep Fantasy Hockey Breakout Candidates to Queue In your Draft this Season

Hey folks. There are plenty of obvious breakout candidates entering this NHL season, but sometimes the best fantasy value can be found a little further down the draft board. While everyone will be talking about the biggest young stars and highly drafted prospects, there are plenty of players who have already shown flashes of fantasy potential and could take another step this season. These are the players I want to focus on, because they may not be drafted as stars but could become very useful fantasy options.

The five players on this list all have slightly different paths to a breakout. Some are entering better situations, some are still developing after promising seasons, and others could benefit from increased ice time or a larger role. If you're looking for players who could outperform their draft position or become strong waiver wire additions during the season, these are players I think fantasy managers should keep a close eye on and queue up in their drafts.

Let's dive in on these deep break out candidates, shall we?

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JJ Peterka - Boston Bruins

Peterka is one of those players I really like as a deeper breakout candidate this season. He had a bit of a disappointing season after putting up 68 points the year before, but I think the move to Boston gives him a great opportunity to bounce back. He should get a chance to play alongside David Pastrnak in a top-six role.

From a fantasy perspective, I really like the talent around Peterka here. He has already shown he can score 25+ goals, and now he gets to play with one of the better offensive players in the league. I think he'll probably start on the second powerplay unit, but I expect him to eventually work his way onto PP1. His powerplay usage dropped last season, along with his overall ice time, so getting more offensive deployment should go a long way toward getting his production back where I think it should be.

I'm expecting around 70 points from Peterka this season, with a chance to get around 30 goals if everything goes right. I think playing with Pastrnak will help him take another step, and if he eventually gets that PP1 opportunity, there is even more upside here. For me, Peterka is exactly the type of deeper player I want to target before the breakout happens alongside Pastrnak, I could see him becoming a really nice fantasy pickup who ends up being much more valuable than where most people will be looking for him. He's exactly the type of deeper player I want to target before the breakout happens.

Jackson Blake - Carolina Hurricanes

Blake is another player I think could really benefit from an increased role this season. Seth Jarvis is going to miss at least the beginning of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery, and that opens up an important spot in Carolina's top six. Blake is currently projected to be playing top six minutes, giving him a great opportunity to stay in a prominent role while Jarvis is out.

The thing I like about Blake is that this isn't just a case of throwing a young player into a bigger role and hoping something happens. He has already shown flashes of offensive brilliance at the NHL level, and he had a strong playoff run with Carolina last season. With Jarvis sidelined for a significant amount of time, Blake should get the deployment and ice time needed to show that he belongs higher in the lineup.

From a fantasy perspective, this is exactly the type of opportunity I want to target with a deeper player. Blake has already shown he can produce, and now he has a chance to establish himself in Carolina's top six before Jarvis returns. If he takes advantage of that opportunity, I could see him forcing his way into a bigger role even after Jarvis is back. The talent is there, and now he has the opportunity to prove he belongs.

Luke Hughes - New Jersey Devils

Hughes is a player I really like as a deeper breakout candidate this season, especially because I think his role is going to continue growing in New Jersey. I expect him to start the season on the second powerplay unit but eventually overtake Dougie Hamilton as the Devils' PP1 quarterback. Hughes already averaged over 23 minutes per game last season.

From a fantasy perspective, there are only so many true PP1 quarterback spots available for defensemen in the NHL, and that is what makes Hughes so appealing to me. If he takes over that role and gets consistent time with New Jersey's top powerplay group, I expect his point totals to increase from last season. He's also coming off a season where not much went his way, so there is some room for his offensive numbers to improve simply from another season of experience and better deployment.

And of course, being Jack Hughes' brother doesn't hurt either, eh? There is already plenty of offensive talent on this Devils team, and if Luke can establish himself as the quarterback of their top powerplay unit, I think he has a chance to become a really valuable fantasy defensemen. He has already shown flashes of what he can do, and this feels like the season where everything could finally start coming together for him.

Jimmy Snuggerud - St. Louis Blues

Snuggerud has a really interesting setup heading into his sophomore season. The good news is that he should have a chance to play on the top line and the first powerplay unit, giving him the type of deployment that can really help a young player take a step forward. He already has a full NHL season under his belt where he primarily played in a top six role, so this isn't a player being thrown into the deep end for the first time.

The bad news is that the Blues have a pretty depleted roster around him, and the loss of Jordan Kyrou takes another important offensive piece away from this team. That could make things tougher on Snuggerud, and I wouldn't be surprised if his +/- suffers because of it. At the same time, that lack of offense also creates an opportunity for Snuggerud to take on an even bigger role and become one of the players responsible for driving the offense.

From a fantasy perspective, I think this is exactly what we want to see from a sophomore. Snuggerud already showed flashes of what he can do as a rookie, and now he should get more ice time and better deployment from the start of the season. If he can take advantage of that opportunity, I think he has a real chance to make a significant jump offensively this season, even if the Blues aren't a particularly strong team around him.

Luke Evangelista - New Jersey Devils

Evangelista is probably my darkhorse sleeper on this list. I expect him to be a top six forward for the Devils all season, and that alone gives him a lot more fantasy appeal than his current draft cost would suggest. New Jersey has a lot of talent around him, which should give Evangelista plenty of opportunities to produce in a better offensive environment.

I don't expect him to start on the first powerplay unit because there is simply too much talent ahead of him in New Jersey, but I do think PP2 is a realistic role. If he performs well enough, though, I wouldn't completely rule out him eventually getting a shot at PP1. With the Devils acquiring him from Nashville, they clearly see something they like, and now he has a chance to prove he belongs in a bigger role.

From a fantasy perspective, his deployment simply doesn't match where he's going to be available. That's what makes him such an appealing deeper pickup for me. I see Evangelista as a low risk, high reward grab who could provide legitimate fantasy value if he sticks in the top six and takes advantage of the offensive talent around him.