Fantasy Sleepers: Late Round D-Men

We're expecting a lot of fistpumps from Faulk this year.

Fantasy hockey season is underway with drafts galore happening so we're looking at some fantasy sleepers that will help you win $20 from your friends this year. Last time we looked at some young guns who could score 20+ goals for you, but now we're going to look at some defencemen that could help you late in your draft. These aren't the flashy new draft picks from the last two drafts or the obvious studs. These are the guys that might have had down years or are just breaking through on their career, but either way they are going to help you win your hockey pool.

Here are some off the d-men to keep an eye out for late in your draft:

Justin Faulk

Carolina Hurricanes
Faulk has had some hype building around him since his 8-goal, 22-point season back in 2011-12 and it continues to build after notching 5 goals and 15 points in 38 games on a brutal Hurricanes team last season. This year with Joni Pitkanen out for the season, Faulk will get major minutes on the powerplay so look for the 22-year-old to score 10-12 goals and put up just under 40 points on an improving Hurricanes team.

Tyler Myers

Buffalo Sabres
Myers didn't have a great season last year (despite being the 2nd highest paid player) scoring just 3 goals and registering 8 points in 39 games. I always love grabbing guys who had off years and chances are his ranking will be pretty low in your fantasy drafts. Just remember he is just 23-years-old and during his rookie season he scored 11 goals and 48 points. Myers has turned up at camp in great (mental) shape so look for him to have a great bounce back season with 10+ goals and 45 points.

Dmitri Kulikov

Florida Panthers
It feels like Kulikov has been around for awhile now, but he is still just 22-years-old and after an injury plagued season he is ready to bounce back. Kulikov put up 28 points in just 58 games during the 2011-12 season and with a team of young offensive players he should be able to put up better numbers this year. Look for a 35-40 point season with plenty of powerplay points from the backend.

Patrick Wiercioch

Ottawa Senators
The 23-year-old flew under the radar last season scoring 5 goals and 19 points in 42 games after being given some major minutes after Erik Karlsson was injured. With Sergei Gonchar leaving in the offseason, Wiercioch will still be getting some major powerplay minutes and more responsibilities full strength. Look for a 10 goal, 40 point season from Wiercioch and most of your friends won't even know who the hell he is.

Tyson Barrie

Colorado Avalanche
The Avs 3rd round pick from 2009 draft led all Avalanche defencemen in points last season with 13 in just 32 games. While that shows you just how brutal Colorado was last season, it's promising to see the little blueliner finding the scoresheet like he did in the AHL. Fantasy owners will be happy that the Avalanche didn't take Seth Jones with the 1st pick at the draft and that insures Barrie of even more powerplay time this season. As this young Avs team gets better and improves, so will Barrie's points totals. Look for Barrie to score 8-10 goals and put up 35 points this season. Not bad for the son of a d-bag.