NHL Waiver Wire: Waiver All-Stars

Welcome to the brief NHL break. Time to relax and pretend you're not focusing on your rosters when you're actually preparing for next week by reading RotoWire's latest hockey material.

We probably won't know how lineups will ultimately look until teams are allowed to practice again Sunday and updated statuses are revealed, so let's review what's happened so far this season and highlight a few players who started under the radar and have since become significant fantasy producers.

Here are the 2021-22 not-quite-first half (three-eighths?) Waiver All-Stars. Two groups of three forwards, two defensemen and a goalie. And no one who entered the campaign more than 50 percent covered in Yahoo leagues. By no coincidence, all the players mentioned were reviewed in previous Waiver Wire columns.

Only six Fs, four Ds and two Gs are mentioned, though others were considered. I also didn't want to duplicate teammates at the same position. Who's on your list? Comment below with your selections.

(Rostered rates/stats as of Dec. 23.)

Forwards

Troy Terry, ANH (Yahoo% when first featured: 42, current Yahoo%: 85)

Yeah, you kind of saw this coming. Trevor Zegras came in as Anaheim's higher-touted 25-and-under former USNTDP and WJC champ, yet Terry has posted superior scoring stats with 18 goals (tied for fourth in the league) and 12 assists. He's probably most famous for a 16-game point streak that started on Oct. 18 and lasted exactly a month. Terry's 24.7 shooting percentage is ridiculously high and ready to regress, but the important thing is he's been firing 74 pucks on net and in a lead role where he occasionally skates 20-plus minutes.

Ryan Hartman, MIN (Yahoo% when first featured: 46, current Yahoo%: 84)

When Hartman was brought up in mid-November, it was discussed how the 11 points from his opening 15 contests weren't a fluke considering how active he was in various situations. And that has proven true with an additional 15 from the last 15. It's not only Hartman's offense that's drawn attention, as he ranks 11th among NHL forwards with 103 shots to go with 158 faceoff wins and a plus-22. With Joel Eriksson Ek potentially out for a while, Hartman should operate as the Wild's lead center and prolong his favorable fortune.

Evan Rodrigues, PIT (Yahoo% when first featured: 14, current Yahoo%: 63)

Any of the three forwards in the Honorable Mention section could've been the final entry, but Rodrigues earns the spot as the more surprising success (while also having an excellent first name). The undrafted free-agent who signed with the Sabres in 2015 hadn't fared particularly well at the top level. That is, until this year. Rodrigues' 11 points over his first 15 appearances was impressive, and that total actually improved by one in the second half. And if you look at his last 11 outings, he's racked up three goals – all on the power play – six assists, and 44 shots while averaging almost 20 minutes.

 Defensemen

Moritz Seider, DET (Yahoo% when first featured: 35, current Yahoo%: 82)

Teammate Lucas Raymond may be the current favorite for the Calder Trophy, though Seider can't be far behind. The giant German kicked off his big-league career with assists in eight of his first 11 games and has hardly let up since. In addition to the 21 points — with eight on the power play — Seider has also contributed 55 shots, 18 PIM, 54 blocks, and 40 hits while receiving a hefty 22:25 per night. Future stud defender? No, *current* stud defender.

Evan Bouchard, EDM (Yahoo% when first featured: 24, current Yahoo%: 82)

It was obvious why Bouchard went 10th overall in 2018 after tearing apart the OHL, but the secret is definitely out on him in the NHL. The 22-year-old's logging major minutes usually alongside Darnell Nurse and has produced five goals, 13 assists, 69 shots, a plus-8, 46 blocks, and 28 hits. Bouchard boasts tremendous offensive upside and could eventually get a chance to reach an elite level on an attacking club like the Oilers.

 Goaltender

James Reimer, SJ (Yahoo% when first featured: 34, current Yahoo%: 62)

Lead goalie was probably the toughest to decide, but Reimer takes it over Jonathan Quick based on the slightly better stats (nine wins, 1.99 GAA, .936 percentage compared to eight, 2.19, .930). The rest of the season may show Quick as the more reliable of the two, though the Sharks' veteran D-men could end up doing a better job than the mainly inexperienced Kings' blueline. Just remember both are essentially part of a platoon and therefore won't have a chance to earn as many victories as the elite netminders.

(Honorable mention: F: Ivan Barbashev, STL, Mikael Granlund, NSH, Lucas Raymond, DET; D: Nate Schmidt, WPG, Kevin Shattenkirk, ANH; G: Jonathan Quick, LA)