Who will be this year’s Ville Husso?

Every year a goalie inevitably comes out of nowhere and becomes a fantasy hockey star. Two years ago it was Alex Nedeljkovic, who cleared waivers and was stellar for the Carolina Hurricanes, and last year it was Ville Husso, who ended up taking an opportunity and running with it for the St. Louis Blues.

Most of the time these goalies will go undrafted in your league and whichever GM pounces first on the waiver wire gets a huge steal. In order to be a candidate for one of these deep sleeper goalies, though, you need to have a couple of things going for you. First, the team they are playing on has to be pretty strong, much like the aforementioned Canes and Blues were. Also, there needs to be a potential opportunity available to be taken advantage of.

Here are some goaltenders that may fall into that category for the 2022-23 campaign:

Stuart Skinner – Edmonton Oilers

Skinner probably isn’t high on your radar after the Oilers gave Jack Campbell that big money contract in the offseason, but he may end up being a steal. Campbell still hasn’t played 50 games in a season and he had durability issues at times with the Leafs, so it seems more than likely that Skinner is in line for at least 30-35 appearances in a worst-case scenario. The Oilers are also a virtual lock for a 100-point season, meaning Skinner, who impressed last year in a small sample size with a .913 save percentage, should easily pick up wins. He might just be worth a very late draft pick in deep leagues.

Pyotr Kochetkov – Carolina Hurricanes

Since Kochetkov is currently third on Carolina’s depth chart he isn’t draftable, but it would be shocking if he didn’t see some decent playing time in 2022-23. The likelihood of Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta staying healthy for the entire 82-game schedule is slim, giving a fantasy GM a waiver wire opportunity to pounce on Kochetkov at some point. Given that the Canes are one of the league’s elite teams and very good defensively, Kochetkov will have plenty of support around him if he does get an opportunity to take the ball and run with it.

Anthony Stolarz – Anaheim Ducks

Stolarz was the superior goalie to John Gibson last season and if things keep trending this way, it’s inevitable that he’s going to get more playing time. Gibson hasn’t posted a save percentage above .904 in each of the past three campaigns, opening the door for Stolarz, who had a .917 save percentage and a winning record in 2021-22, to force his way into the crease. The challenge for Stolarz to really have a breakout season is that the Ducks don’t figure to be strong once again, meaning wins could be hard to come by. Keep an eye on the standings this fall, though. Should Anaheim surprise and be in playoff contention, Stolarz could bring significant value to your squad.

Daniil Tarasov – Columbus Blue Jackets

Much like Kochetkov, Tarasov finds himself third on the depth chart but perhaps with longer odds to make an immediate impact. Still, there is reason for optimism if you are keeping Tarasov on your roster. The 23-year-old received a three-year deal with an annual average value of $1.05M this summer, which would make you think the Blue Jackets want him to contribute sooner rather than later. Joonas Korpisalo is only signed for one more year and hasn’t played well over the past two seasons, not to mention he is coming off hip surgery, so Tarasov has a decent chance to pass him on the depth chart this year. If all the offseason additions vault Columbus up the standings and Tarasov can work his way into a partnership with Elvis Merzlikins, he might be worth taking a chance on.

Logan Thompson – Vegas Golden Knights

Thompson was going to crack this list before the Robin Lehner injury news and now he’s probably the best bet out of this group. It’s possible that Vegas looks to acquire a veteran to help out, but given how impressive Thompson looked last year and the fact that his cap hit is tiny, he’s going to be an attractive option for Vegas to run with. Even if he splits time, he’s worth a draft pick because it’s likely Vegas bounces back and becomes a Cup contender once again, giving Thompson a perfect situation to rise from obscurity and have a ton of fantasy value.

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