NHL.com fantasy rank: 133
McAvoy set NHL career highs in points (61 in 69 games; 10th among defensemen), assists (50; tied for ninth) and power-play points (23; 11th) last season. McAvoy was one of four defensemen to have at least 60 points, 100 shots on goal (111) and 100 blocked shots (129) last season (others: Moritz Seider, Miro Heiskanen, Lane Hutson). The Bruins defenseman, who scored 11 goals last season, has had at least seven goals in five straight seasons and seven of his nine seasons in the NHL. McAvoy, who has a higher ceiling in fantasy leagues with blocked shots (at least 129 in five of past seven seasons), should be considered a fringe top 20 fantasy defenseman option.
NHL.com point projection: 65
NHL.com fantasy rank: 138
Zacha had a breakout season in 2025-26; he set NHL career highs in points (65 in 78 games), goals (30), power-play goals (11) and power-play points (22), despite averaging 16:51 per game (compared to 19:04 in 2024-25). Zacha, who has never had 150 shots on goal in an NHL season, had a career-high shooting percentage of 22.9 percent last season (highest mark in entire League among 45 players who scored at least 30 goals). Zacha could have a role on the first line and power play with Pastrnak and JJ Peterka (acquired from Utah Mammoth this offseason), making Zacha a worthy late-round fantasy target.
NHL.com point projection: 65
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Other BOS players on preseason fantasy draft lists:
Bounce-back candidate: JJ Peterka, F (point projection: 60)
Breakout candidate: Fraser Minten, F (point projection: 42)
Draft bargain: Elias Lindholm, F (point projection: 55)
Deep sleeper: Casey Mittelstadt, F (point projection: 45)
Rookie to watch: James Hagens, F (point projection: 41)
Blocks and hits specialist: Nikita Zadorov, D