Draft season is all about finding value,but just as crucial is avoiding landmines.Every year, a handful of players get pushed up draft boards by hype, name value, or recency bias, leaving fantasy managers paying a premium that doesn’t match the likely return.
in this series, our five Fantasy Hockey analysts highlight their ADPs to Avoid for the 2025-26 season. Thes players are coming off the board too soon relative to their expected production, team situation, or just better players going later then them.
That doesn’t mean these players are “bad.” Some will still have strong seasons, but at their current cost, they pose more risk than reward. The goal is to help you maximize value by steering clear of inflated price tags and focusing on players who are better fits where they’re being drafted.
MORE ADPs to Avoid:
Dougie Hamilton | New Jersey Devils| D | ADP: 72.3
Jack Hughes told me last week he wants to see his brother Luke Hughes on PP1 all season in new Jersey. Jack isn’t the coach, but he’s not without influence and wouldn’t be pulling the idea out of nowhere. Luke is maturing into the Devils’ most critically important offensive defenseman. On top of Luke being an ascendant talent, Hamilton’s role has been scaled back as the Devils try to load-manage him. His 19:51 of average ice time last season was his lowest in six years. He’s also 32 and has missed at least 18 games due to injury in three of his past four seasons. Hamilton is still a productive fantasy D-man, but he carries so much downside at that ADP.
Alexander Nikishin | Carolina Hurricanes | D | ADP: 103.4
I thought Nikishin’s ADP was a glitch when I saw it. And I say that as someone super high on him long-term. He’s one of the better all-around defense prospects in the sport, and he’s one of the best KHL defensemen ever, seriously. But he has yet to play a regular-season game in the NHL, he dressed for just four playoff games last spring, and he’s likely ticketed for middle-pair work in his rookie season. The PP1 blueline seat belongs to fellow lefthanded shooter Shayne Gostisbehere until further notice. So where is the hype coming from? why is Nikishin being drafted ahead of defensemen in the safe 50-point tier? At this ADP, you need him to hit his rookie ceiling or even blow thru it. When we consider that even something along the lines of 30 points, strong banger-category contributions and 18 minutes of ice time per game woudl constitute a great rookie campaign: Nikishin should be a late-round flier, not a foundational pick for your redraft team.
Pyotr Kochetkov | Carolina Hurricanes | G | ADP: 106.4
I backed the Kochetkov sleeper train for several seasons. But he’s had so many opportunities to perman