He is by far the best defenseman in the world when he is on the ice and during last season he has played 60 games during the regular season. The good thing is that when he is available he plays many minutes as he averaged over 26 minutes per game in the 2022/2023 season. Still with these injury concerns he is a clear no. 1 defenseman but I wouldn’t be drafting him in the top 15 as there are many reliable options in that period, but if he falls to mid-late 2nd round he can pay out big, and then you already have a great player that you picked in 1st round.

Josi didn’t meet his expectations for last season as he wasn’t able to come close to his tally of 96 points in the 2021/2022 season. In last year’s fantasy drafts he was going around 2nd round and this year he will be going around 3rd or 4th round and at that price, he will be a great value for managers who will choose to draft him. He will likely collect over 300 shots this season and should again be over 1 point per game range. He is definitely a player I would rather have on my team before players like Erik Karlsson and Adam Fox. Make sure to grab him if he remains available in the late 3rd or early 4th round as he should be a great No. 1 defenseman for your fantasy team.

Dahlin has lived up to his hype as he has become one of the best offensive defensemen in the league and with that one of the best players at his position for fantasy purposes. Over the last 2 seasons, he has missed only 6 games and that is very important information for fantasy managers when it comes to drafting certain players. Last season was his 1st where he had a positive plus/minus and where the Sabers looked like a team that could make the playoffs. They compete in the thoughest division in the NHL and they will need to take a big step forward to make the playoffs but this team certainly has the potential. Dahlin is as reliable as they come at the position as the Sabers will score a bunch of goals and Dahlin be one of their main threat, especially at the defensive position.

Karlsson isn’t known as a great defensive player and this will likely continue in Pittsburgh. He was brought in as one of the best offensive defensemen in the league to help Crosby, Malkin, and company outscore their opponents in most matchups. He will be a part of a great power play and will likely score over 75 points again this season but don’t expect him to go near 100 points again this season. I would say a number between 75 and 85 for him is realistic to expect. Still, outside of Points and Shots, you can’t expect much from him in other categories like Hits or Blocks.

The main source of fantasy production for Fox is his assist and a lot of them come on power play. So far he didn’t have a season with over 160 shots on goal and is over his career under 2 shots on goal per game and those aren’t good numbers when you want him to be a main defenseman for your fantasy team. He also doesn’t provide much in blocks or hits categories so I would avoid drafting him at his current ADP.

Heiskanen reached a career-high in most categories last year as a No. 1 defenseman on his team and now with that experience, we can only expect him to take another step forward. He is still only 24 years old and he looks to be one of the best defencemen in the league and this year could be truly a breakout year for him. Over his 5 seasons in the NHL, he missed only around 50 games (27 in 2020/2021) so health isn’t a concern for him. He is one of the players I would target for the defense position if I couldn’t draft Josi earlier in the draft.

This will be the first full season for Bouchard as Edmonton’s no. defenceman and with that, he should be a top 10 defenceman in the league from a fantasy perspective, We had a little preview late in last season and playoff as he collected 17 points in 12 playoff games. He has a great upside as he will be playing alongside two of the best fantasy performers in McDavid and Draisaitl. He is a player that has a great shout and expect him to score around 20 goals and collect around 80 points and if things go right he could even surpass those numbers and finish as a top 5 defenceman.

Hamilton has finally played a full season for the first time since the 2018/2019 season and has posted great numbers in the process, He is still a No. 1 defenseman in a great team with a top 5 PP unit so his numbers should be great once again. He is 30 years old and we should keep an eye on Luke Hughes and his development as he has a great potential to be a great player one day. It is likely that Hamilton will be the clear no. 1 defenseman for the Devils this season. He will likely again have over 250 shots on goal and provide good value in that category as well.

Hedman spent most of last season on a PP2 unit and has seen a big drop in point production because of that. Last season was 1st one where he had less than 22 points on the power play since the 2015/2016 season as he collected only 14 power play points in the 2022/2023 season. This is a number that will likely go back over 20 this season and is one of the reasons he will likely again be a top 10 Defenceman. Tampa is looking for a bounce-back season as they were eliminated from the playoffs in the 1st round last year by the Maple Leafs.

Quinn Hughes was named as the new captain of the Vancouver Canucks and with that responsibility, he will need to step up with his performance on the ice. He is a great hockey mind and his assist numbers show that but fantasy owners would like to see him shoot the puck a bit more as he had only 154 shots on goal over the 78 games last season. He plays over 25 minutes per game and if Canucks perform better this season his number should improve and he should take the next step and post his 1st 80+ point season.