The Future of the NHL Is Brighter Than Ever

The NHL has a major opportunity to capitalize on its current star power. The game of hockey has never been faster or more skilled than it is now.

The league is entering a new golden age, and with the abundance of young talent currently in the league, it won’t slow down anytime soon.

Youth Takeover

As the commissioner of the league, Gary Bettman has to be ecstatic. Right now, he has all the right problems to deal with. There aren’t any questions of how to make the regular season more interesting or how to deal with contract holdouts. The NHL has a plethora of star power at both forward and defense currently.

Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon are driving a Hart Trophy race that will stay wide open over the next 30 games. Still, the stars aren’t the only ones that Bettman should be smiling about. There is a youth takeover happening in the league.

The shift from the Sydney Crosby‑Alexander Ovechkin era to McDavid, MacKinnon, and Nikita Kucherov has given fans no shortage of star power. Now it’s time to start looking at the next generation. Not that the previous generation is giving up their spot at the top of the mountain, but the youngsters are playing so well it’s impossible to ignore.

Connor Bedard, Lane Hutson, and Macklin Celebrini are excelling at the highest level early in their careers and have the chance to remain as faces of the league for the next 15-plus years.

Connor Bedard

The Chicago Blackhawks were on the verge of a dynasty throughout the 2010s. They made the playoffs for nine straight seasons from 2009 to 2017.

This includes their dominant stretch of three Stanley Cups in six seasons, which places them in rare company alongside some of the top teams in league history. The core of Duncan Keith, Jonathan Toews, Corey Crawford, and Patrick Kane was the focal point of Chicago, keeping those teams competitive year in and year out.

Flashforward to now: the ‘Hawks haven’t made the playoffs since 2020, when they qualified only because of the COVID-shortened season. Since then, they’ve finished below .500 every year and shifted from a perennial contender to a full rebuild.

Now on their third coach in five seasons, it’s starting to look like the Blackhawks have the pieces to be contenders again. No piece means more to the team than Bedard.

Bedard Showing Dominance

Now in his third season, 2023 first‑overall pick Bedard has elevated his game to the level expected when he entered the league. The Blackhawks’ top pick was considered a generational prospect coming out of junior hockey and showed his talents off right away by winning the Calder Trophy for the NHL’s Rookie of the Year.

Bedard has offensive instincts you cannot teach. His shot makes him a threat the moment he crosses the blue line. Bedard possesses the unique ability of not just being able to get off his shot lightning quick but also the ability to change the angle of his release point at a moment’s notice.

This season, the league has started to truly see the best of Bedard. In just 31 games so far, he is only four goals off his career high already. With 44 points already, Bedard is on pace to set a new career high. Currently, the Blackhawks’ young star is on the injured reserve but looks to come back and pick up right where he left off on his way to his most impressive season yet in his young career.

Lane Hutson

It’s impossible to discuss the league’s young stars without mentioning reigning Rookie of the Year Hutson. Unlike Bedard, Hutson wasn’t a top-rated prospect in the NHL draft.

Hutson fell to the end of the second round and has found a home with the Montreal Canadiens. As an undersized player, he was passed up by teams due to the question of whether he would be able to handle the physicality at the NHL level.

At 5’9″, an NHL defenseman needs a standout skill, for Hutson, it’s his skating. In Hutson’s rookie season of 2024-25, he achieved the third fastest top speed amongst defencemen in the league at 23.8 mph. Still, for Hutson, what sets him apart isn’t just his top speed but his agility.

What Sets Hutson Apart

Hutson uses his skating to create space for himself all over the ice, but it is by far the most apparent in the offensive zone. Not only does this create space for himself, but also for his teammates. His 60 assists tied Hall of Famer Larry Robinson for the most ever by a rookie defenseman.

Despite his offensive skill, Hutson still faces questions about his defense. The average height of a defenseman in the league comes in at around 6’1”, and with Hutson being a generous four inches smaller, he’s had to silence his doubters day in and day out since he came into the league. He finished first on the Canadiens in takeaways for the 2024-25 season and third overall in the league.

He’s not only kept opposing forwards at bay but also generated turnovers in the defensive zone. With the high rate at which Hutson generates turnovers, it allows Montreal to create quick breakouts and odd-man rushes.

Montreal’s rebuild became accelerated with the emergence of Hutson. After making the playoffs in his rookie season, Montreal looks to lean upon him to provide them the offensive upside from the backend that will keep them in constant contention for years to come.

Macklin Celebrini

As a prospect, Celebrini was in Bedard’s shadow. Even as a first‑overall pick a year after Bedard, he was never discussed as a similar generational talent. Now, Celebrini is doing things the league has rarely seen. As a teenager, he is producing at a level that only two players have done before, Crosby and Wayne Gretzky.

All Celebrini does is break records. At 17, he decided to forgo playing junior hockey for his draft-eligible season and instead pursued the NCAA route. One-and-done is common in basketball but rare in hockey.

Celebrini, as an underage college student, became the youngest Hobey Baker Award winner at 17 years old.

The Hobey Baker is awarded to the most outstanding player in college hockey. Even with being the youngest ever to win the award, it felt as if Celebrini still wasn’t talked about enough.

Similar to Bedard, Celebrini was drafted into a situation where a full rebuild was taking place. San Jose has missed the playoffs in the last six seasons, but currently, the Sharks’ 19-year-old has his team in the West playoff race.

The man pushing the case more than anyone is the Sharks’ 19-year-old superstar.

After finishing third in rookie of the year voting to start his career, Celebrini has now taken his game to a level no one expected this quickly. Forty games into the season, he sits third in league scoring and has forced his way into the Hart Trophy conversation.

Celebrini Headed to Milan

The timing of Macklin’s early breakout couldn’t have come at a better time. With the Olympics coming in February, Celebrini has clearly earned his place on Team Canada. Canadian General Manager Doug Armstrong named him to the roster on the last day of 2025, making him the youngest player to earn a spot in an NHL‑attended Olympic year.

The NHL Can’t Afford To Mishandle This Talent

Despite Bettman’s good problems, marketing remains the NHL’s biggest issue, and the league has repeatedly failed to grow its fanbase. With this level of talent, the league can’t afford to repeat past mistakes. With the amount of eyes the Four Nations tournament generated on the league, it is just as important to capitalize on the Olympics.

Canada alone will have the past, present, and future of the league on its team in Crosby, McDavid, and Celebrini. Now more than ever is the time for hockey to showcase its talent.

The post The Future of the NHL Is Brighter Than Ever appeared first on The Lead.

The Future of the NHL Is Brighter Than Ever

Tags: