Who to start · 2025-26
Rickard Rakell vs William Nylander
Blending 2025-26 with 2026-27 so far, William Nylander projects to 2.36 fantasy points per game under ESPN default scoring to Rickard Rakell's 2.10.
Rakell had 48 points in 60 games; Nylander had 79 in 65 games.
This week Rakell has 1 game left; Nylander has 1 left. We project Nylander for 2.1 ESPN points to Rakell's 2.0.
Rickard Rakell has the better number in 19 of the 34 stats both are ranked on.
Rakell's biggest edges: Hits 71, Ascension score 50, Plus/minus −2.
Nylander's biggest edges: Turnover Ledger /60 +0.036, Transition attempts /60 1.67, Goals above expected +5.0.
- • 2026-27 so far: 1 GP, 0 G, 1 A, 1 PPP, 2 SOG.
- • 2026-27 so far: 2 GP, 2 G, 0 A, 0 PPP, 6 SOG.
Fantasy value: your scoring
Rickard Rakell
2.10
fantasy points per game
William Nylander
2.36
fantasy points per game
Under ESPN default points, William Nylander has the edge.
| Points per game from | Rakell | Nylander |
|---|---|---|
| Goals (+2) | 0.75 | 1.05 |
| Assists (+1) | 0.44 | 0.67 |
| Power-play points (+0.5) | 0.16 | 0.14 |
| Shorthanded points (+0.5) | 0.02 | 0.00 |
| Shots on goal (+0.1) | 0.27 | 0.25 |
| Hits (+0.1) | 0.13 | 0.02 |
| Blocks (+0.5) | 0.34 | 0.24 |
Per-game rates from the selected sample; blended mixes last season with this season, weighting this season more as games are played. Categories are scored as z-scores against qualified players at the same position. Your custom weights are saved in this browser only.
Head-to-head: Rakell vs Nylander
Every event between them in NHL play-by-play, 2017-18 to 2025-26: games against each other, faceoffs, shots on goal, hits and penalties. Regular season and playoffs.
Rakell 10G 2A, 40 SOG · Nylander 15G 9A, 53 SOG
Rakell's offensive zone 0–1 · neutral 0–0 · Rakell's defensive zone 0–0 (2017-18)
On the ice against each other (Rakell's side)
2:41 at 5-on-5 over 1 games, 2025-26, from Rakell's side
- Shot attempts
- 2–1
- 66.7%
- Expected goals
- 0.2–0.0
- 91.3%
- Goals
- 0–0
Games against each other
| Date | Score | Rakell | Nylander |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-12-23 | PIT 3–6 TOR | 0G 0A 3S | 2G 2A 3S |
| 2025-03-02 | PIT 5–6 TOR | 2G 0A 3S | 1G 1A 2S |
| 2024-12-07 | PIT 5–2 TOR | 1G 1A 3S | 1G 0A 5S |
| 2024-10-12 | PIT 2–4 TOR | 1G 0A 2S | 2G 0A 4S |
| 2024-04-08 | PIT 2–3 TOR | 1G 0A 4S | 0G 0A 2S |
| 2022-11-26 | PIT 1–4 TOR | 1G 0A 6S | 1G 1A 4S |
| 2022-11-15 | PIT 2–5 TOR | 1G 0A 4S | 1G 1A 2S |
| 2022-11-11 | PIT 4–2 TOR | 0G 0A 1S | 1G 0A 4S |
| 2022-01-26 | ANA 3–4 TOR | 0G 0A 2S | 1G 1A 6S |
| 2021-11-28 | ANA 1–5 TOR | 0G 0A 3S | 1G 1A 4S |
| 2020-03-06 | ANA 2–1 TOR | 0G 0A 1S | 1G 0A 5S |
| 2019-02-04 | ANA 1–6 TOR | 1G 0A 2S | 1G 1A 3S |
Latest 12 of 14 meetings.
Every stat, side by side
Season values; bars are percentiles at each player's position (longer is better). Click a stat for its explainer.
Fantasy box score
Possession & shot quality (5-on-5 on-ice)
Transition, turnovers & faceoffs
Usage
Special teams & discipline
This week's schedule
Sep 28 to Oct 4. More games usually wins a weekly start/sit. Chips show how many fantasy points the opponent allows to the player's position (soft or tough), the Schedule Edge from rest and travel, and the likely opposing goalie with his save percentage. Projections use ESPN default points for the games left.
Rickard Rakell
2games (1 left)
2.0proj. ESPN pts
- Wed, Sep 30 @ PHIOpp allows 5th-most FP to RWLikely vs Dan Vladar (.906)
- Sat, Oct 3 vs MTL2.0 ptsOpp allows 12th-most FP to RWvs Jakub Dobes (.901)
William Nylander
3games (1 left)
2.1proj. ESPN pts
- Tue, Sep 29 vs MTLOpp allows 12th-most FP to RWLikely vs Jakub Dobes (.901)
- Wed, Sep 30 vs NYIB2BOpp allows 14th-most FP to RWSchedule edge −9.3 win%Likely vs Ilya Sorokin (.906)
- Sat, Oct 3 vs OTT2.1 ptsvs Linus Ullmark (.891)
Similar matchups
FAQ
- Should I start Rickard Rakell or William Nylander in fantasy hockey?
- Blending 2025-26 with 2026-27 so far, William Nylander projects to 2.36 fantasy points per game under ESPN default scoring to Rickard Rakell's 2.10. Rakell had 48 points in 60 games; Nylander had 79 in 65 games. Check this week's games and your league's scoring in the fantasy panel above, since more games usually decide a weekly start.
- Who is better, Rickard Rakell or William Nylander?
- On 2025-26 numbers, Rickard Rakell leads in 19 of 34 stats where both qualify, from scoring and power-play production to on-ice shot share and NHL EDGE tracking.
- How have Rakell and Nylander done against each other?
- In 14 games against each other in our data, Rakell's team went 3–11. Rakell had 12 points (10 goals) and Nylander had 24 (15 goals).
- Who wins more faceoffs, Rakell or Nylander?
- Against each other, Rakell has won 0 and Nylander 1 of their 1 head-to-head draws.
2025-26 regular season from NHL play-by-play, shift charts and NHL EDGE, processed by Edgehalla. Head-to-head covers every loaded season (play-by-play from 2019-20; on-ice matchups from 2025-26).Compare other players →