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NHL Power Rankings: A look at how the 2023 rookie class is faring

When a player like Connor Bedard enters the league, it always shines a light on the rookie class.

So far, Bedard has been worthy of his ‘generational’ tag. The 18-year-old is tracking a 35-goal, 70-point season. In the past 25 years, only two players have hit both those marks as NHL freshmen: Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby.

That said, Bedard isn’t completely running away with the Calder. 

New Jersey Devils defenceman Luke Hughes could well wind up with 50 points this year. If he hits that mark, he’ll join Cale Makar, Moritz Seider and, of course, his brother Quinn as the only D-men in the past 25 years to reach it as freshman.

Makar won the Calder in 2020, edging out Quinn Hughes. (It should be noted both those guys hit the 50-point barrier that year in a season shortened by the pandemic.)

Seider won the trophy in 2022, and, of course, Ovechkin nudged out Sid for rookie-of-the-year way back in 2006.

While Bedard and Hughes are certainly frontrunners for the Calder, a number of first-year NHLers are making an impression. With that in mind, we’re using this week’s power rankings as a rookie watch for all 32 clubs.

1. Vegas Golden Knights (20-5-5) Kaeden Korczak, who’s battling a lower-body issue right now, has been a nice story for Vegas. The 2019 second-rounder has seven points in 15 outings and the fact the 22-year-old is a right shot in a six-foot-three frame certainly increases the chances he’s got a long-term spot on the blue line. 

2. New York Rangers (19-7-1) 2020 second-rounder Will Cuylle has played every game for the Rangers this season. He’s kicked in five goals and, at six-foot-three and 211 pounds, he’s embarking on a long career of not being that fun to face.

3. Boston Bruins (18-5-4) Matthew Poitras looks like a great find for the Bruins. That said, his production has fallen off since the early days of the season and there seems to be a chance — however slim — that he could be added to Team Canada’s World Junior Championship roster in the next few days. 

Another rookie centre, 22-year-old, six-foot-three John Beecher, is in the middle of the fourth line and has four goals for the B’s this season. 

Bruins' Poitras scores first career NHL goals back-to-back to take the lead vs. Ducks
Watch as Boston Bruins standout rookie Matthew Poitras picks a great time for his first NHL goals, burying a sweet feed from Morgan Geekie, then knocking home a rebound to take the lead against the Anaheim Ducks.
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      4. Toronto Maple Leafs (15-6-5) Joseph Woll was fixing to be the most important rookie for Toronto since Mitch, Willy and Auston debuted together. His high-ankle sprain is a tough pill to swallow, but it sure seems like he’ll be the guy come spring. Matthew Knies is another significant freshman on Toronto this year and while he hasn’t fully hit his stride, it’s not hard to spot the potential for things to work — maybe even as soon as the second half of the year. 

      5. Los Angeles Kings (16-6-4) Alex Laferriere made a memorable debut with the Kings, getting into a fight with Colorado’s Logan O’Connor in the first game of the season. You might have thought the 22-year-old was a goon after his first game because he wound up with seven penalty minutes on two separate plays. However, he’s been whistled for just a pair of minor penalties since, while playing 13 minutes per night for L.A. 

      6. Vancouver Canucks (19-9-1) The Canucks could conceivably have players in the Hart, Vezina and Art Ross race. Nobody from Vancouver will be in the Calder conversation, though; the squad hasn’t had a rookie play more than three games this year. 

      7. Winnipeg Jets (17-9-2) The Jets don’t have a rookie playing a meaningful role, but sophomore Cole Perfetti is showing nice promise as a top-six contributor. 

      8. Florida Panthers (17-9-2) Anthony Stolarz isn’t a rookie, but he only had 81 career NHL games on his resume before this season. The 29-year-old has been solid in seven games for Florida this year, posting a .914 save percentage. 

      9. Colorado Avalanche (18-9-2) With Pavel Francouz out for the year, Ivan Prosvetov has stepped in and posted a sparkling .919 save percentage in nine games for the Avs. 

      10. Dallas Stars (16-8-3) The Stars don’t have a rookie playing this year, but sophomore Wyatt Johnston — still just 20 — looks good again, scoring at a 27-goal pace after popping 24 last season, when he finished fifth in Calder voting.

      11. New York Islanders (14-7-7) Big Samuel Bolduc, who just turned 23, is starting to take on a larger role with the Islanders. The six-foot-four D-man averaged 8:32 of ice through his first eight games this year, but he’s up to 14:56 since then.

      12. Washington Capitals (14-8-3) Matthew Phillips scored in his second game of the year — against his old team, the Flames, no less — but has not found the net since. 2020 first-rounder Hendrix Lapierre has spent some time in Washington, but the 21-year-old is back in the AHL right now. 

      13. Edmonton Oilers (13-12-1) Undrafted Edmonton native James Hamblin was called up from the AHL in early November and the 24-year-old has been a serviceable fourth-line centre ever since. 

      Oilers' Hamblin snaps one top corner for his first NHL goal vs. Lightning
      Watch as Edmonton Oilers' James Hamblin gathers the loose puck before firing it for his first career NHL goal, and points towards the sky to honour his mother.
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          14. New Jersey Devils (15-11-1) It’s hard to recall the last time two defencemen as promising as Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec debuted for a team in the same season. Hughes is firmly in the Calder conversation and Nemec — called up at the beginning of December from the AHL — has three points in six outings while seeing 20 minutes of ice per night. 

          15. Detroit Red Wings (15-9-4) You think of Detroit as a young team, but they don’t have a rookie in the lineup this year. That said, the Wings are taking their time with potential blue line stud Simon Edvinsson. The Swede — taken sixth overall in 2021 — had off-season shoulder injury. He’s been in the AHL all year and is one of the top-scoring young D-men on that circuit. 

          16. Philadelphia Flyers (15-10-3) Tyson Foerster is really starting to find his NHL footing. The 2020 first-rounder has four goals and seven points in his past seven outings as the Flyers continue to outstrip expectations. Bobby Brink has been scratched a few times, but the 22-year-old has still shown some touch with four goals this season. 

          In goal, 22-year-old Swede Samuel Ersson — a fifth-rounder in 2018 — has looked great with a .922 save percentage in his past seven showings.

          17. Carolina Hurricanes (15-12-1) The Canes could use Pytor Kochetkov — still technically a rookie — to play like he has in his previous 27 NHL contests when his save percentage was .908. It’s .883 in 13 games this year. 

          18. Tampa Bay Lighting (13-12-5) Waltteri Merela inked a one-year deal last summer to join Tampa from Finland’s top league. The 25-year-old has played 14 games with Tampa, but has been in the AHL since late November. 

          19. Nashville Predators (16-13-0) Luke Evangelista barely qualifies as a rookie, having played 24 games for Nashville last season (two more and he’d be considered a sophomore this year). He’s getting some top-six looks this season, so we’ll see if he can build on the four goals he presently has. 

          20. Minnesota Wild (10-12-4) All the early drama in Minnesota has sort of obscured the fact the Wild have two dynamite rookies. After a winding road to the NHL, Marco Rossi — who battled a fairly serious heart condition — has nine goals this year and it's easy for Wild backers to dream about the 22-year-old Austrian being the No. 1 pivot they’ve yearned for forever. Brock Faber, meanwhile, looks like he could be a blue line horse in his home state for the next 15 years. 

          21. Pittsburgh Penguins (13-12-3) As you’d expect from a team as ancient as the Penguins, they don’t have much in the way of a rookie presence. 23-year-old John Ludvig, though, has dressed for 11 contests. 

          22. Arizona Coyotes (13-13-2) 2022 third-overall pick Logan Cooley came storming out of the gate with 11 points in his first 14 NHL showings. The 19-year-old American has cooled, though, registering just four points in his past 14 outings. Still, the Coyotes must be delighted with his play. 

          Rookie Report: Checking in on the top rookies around the NHL not named Bedard
          Sam Cosentino breaks down the top rookies in the NHL not named Connor Bedard, including Logan Cooley in Arizona, Bedard's teammate Kevin Korchinski, Minnesota's Brock Faber, Anaheim defenceman Pavel Mintyukov, and Kaedan Korczak in Vegas!
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              23. Ottawa Senators (11-12-0) Ridly Greig’s year was interrupted by a lower-body injury, but the gritty centre has already shown what he can provide in Ottawa with seven points in nine outings before he got hurt in early November. He’s back in the lineup now and figures to be a pesky staple up the middle in Ottawa for a long time. 

              24. Montreal Canadiens (12-13-4) The Canadiens have been carrying three goalies all year because they’re certain 24-year-old Cayden Primeau, if placed on waivers, will be claimed by another club. They’re surely correct, because Primeau has shown enough in six games this year to believe he’s got an NHL future six years after Montreal selected him in 2017’s seventh round. 

              Meanwhile, Jayden Struble has joined a banged-up Habs blue line and kicked in two goals while looking very solid in limited minutes. 

              25. Buffalo Sabres (12-15-3) It was probably never fair to Devon Levi to hope he could be Buffalo’s solution in goal this season. That said, since re-joining the squad from the AHL, the guy who turns 22 on Dec. 27 has a .942 save percentage in three starts. 

              As for Zach Benson, he felt like a draft-day steal the moment his name was called 13th overall last June. He scored his third goal of the year on Wednesday night, but — like Boston’s Poitras — there remains an outside chance he’ll join Canada’s WJC entry in the coming days. 

              26. Calgary Flames (11-14-4) Jacob Markstrom’s fractured finger opens the door for Dustin Wolf — the two-time AHL goalie-of-the-year — to really show what he can do in the big league.

              Up front, Connor Zary has shown delightful offensive upside with 14 points in 19 games since the 2020 first-rounder joined Calgary from the AHL. Winger Martin Pospisil came up around the same time as Zary and has also done just fine with his 12:31 of ice per game.  

              27. St. Louis Blues (13-14-1) Joel Hofer has certainly shown some promise in the crease through 10 games this year. Let’s see how Hofer and the Blues do under rookie NHL coach Drew Bannister now that Craig Berube has been axed. 

              28. San Jose Sharks (9-17-3) The Sharks defence corps has seen two rookies, Nikita Okhotiuk and Ty Emberson, play meaningful minutes this season. 

              29. Columbus Blue Jackets (9-16-5) We knew about Adam Fantilli, but 2019 fourth-rounder Dmitri Voronkov has been a wonderful surprise this year, playing at a 51-point pace in 24 outings this season. Also, let’s see how 2022 sixth-overall pick David Jiricek fares in the second half of the season as he continues to get his NHL bearings on the blue line. 

              30. Seattle Kraken (9-14-7) After a strong AHL season last year, undrafted 22-year-old Tye Karte has a respectable 5-5-10 line with Seattle in the show this season. Speaking of the AHL, this is probably as good a time as any for a Shane Wright check-in. The fourth-overall pick in 2022 has nine goals in 18 contests this season with Coachella Valley, putting him in a tie for third among rookie goal-scorers despite playing fewer games than most of them. 

              31. Chicago Blackhawks (9-18-1) Connor Bedard was always going to be the headline, but Kevin Korchinski is a heck of a freshman to hold second billing. The six-foot-one 19-year-old figures to be a blue line lynchpin for years to come in Chicago. 

              32. Anaheim Ducks (10-18-0) It’s a grim scene right now in Anaheim, but it’s easy to see three rookies — centre Leo Carlson, defenceman Pavel Mintykov and goalie Lukas Dostal — being the spine of a winning team in two years. 

              Let’s give a nod to 2019 second-rounder Jackson LaCombe, too, who’s turning in nearly 20 minutes per night on the blue.

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