Playing second fiddle to Jordan Binnington didn't do much to help St. Louis Blues goaltender Joel Hofer in the NHL Fantasy/Edge's Top 10 Fantasy Goalies 26 and Under list. While this one is geared toward fantasy hockey, it still doesn't mean he shouldn't have been bumped up a few more rungs.
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Hofer will see more time in the net this year for sure, and the odds are in his favor that he'll outperform players like Spencer Knight and Yaroslav Askarov. I'd even put him ahead of Jet Greaves going into the season.
That said, I'd have him at No. 6, behind Jeremy Swayman, Lukas Dostal, Pyotr Kochetkov, Dustin Wolf, and Jake Oettinger. Nothing against Knight, Askarov, and Greaves, as all three of them will be fine netminders, maybe even starting this season.
But the teams they play for just aren't that good, and they'll all have growing pains, no doubt. The same could also hold true for Dostal, but I also wouldn't be surprised if the Ducks crept up and surprised the NHL universe.
Not saying they're a playoff team, but if they outperformed expectations, we should've seen it coming. Still, Hofer's best spot here was sixth.
Joel Hofer should've been in the top six of the NHL's fantasy goaltender rankings
I get that Hofer will be limited again in starts because of Jordan Binnington, but Spencer Knight, Yaroslav Askarov, and Jet Greaves probably won't be putting up pretty numbers.
Knight's currently in Chicago, and while he looked good in late-season performances with the Hawks, reality will set in this season. While it also wouldn't surprise me if the Hawks outplayed expectations, I would be more than surprised if Knight finished with anything above an 0.895 save percentage, and a 3.15 GAA. He might post a shutout or two.
As for Askarov, he's got his work cut out for him more than any other projected No. 1 goaltender in hockey. If he topped the 0.890 mark and had anything better than a 3.45 GAA, I'd be very, very surprised.
Now, if Hofer was still limited to roughly 30 starts in 2026-27, then I'd say, "Yeah, go ahead and rank Askarov ahead of Hofer. Ditto for Knight." Their fantasy outlook should improve when next season rolls around.
Meanwhile, Jet Greaves still needs to, beyond the shadow of a doubt, win the No. 1 spot. Sure, he's been impressive to kick off his career. But I need to see more than 21 games before I crown him the Blue Jackets franchise goaltender.
Joel Hofer is only one epic season away from taking over these rankings
Kind of, anyway. While Oettinger and Wolf will keep the No. 1 and No. 2 spots locked down, I can also see Kochetkov keeping pace, while Dostal takes another step forward. But if the Bruins are off to another bad year and Hofer makes the most of his chances when he's in the net, he's battling for.a top five spot, whether it's overall rankings OR fantasy rankings.
Still, with guys playing for bad hockey teams and an unknown commodity in front of him, the NHL didn't give Hofer as much respect as he deserved.
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