{"id":538577,"date":"2026-04-03T14:52:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T14:52:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/538577\/"},"modified":"2026-04-03T14:52:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T14:52:14","slug":"nhl-power-rankings-a-top-five-shuffle-plus-historical-comparisons-for-young-stars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/538577\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL Power Rankings: A top-five shuffle, plus historical comparisons for young stars"},"content":{"rendered":"

Only one team can have Macklin Celebrini<\/a>. Only one gets Matthew Schaefer. Still, as a wave of Gen-Z talent<\/a> crests over the league, nearly every team has a real reason for excitement.<\/p>\n

This time last year, we looked at grizzled vets<\/a> worth championing for their staying power. This time around, we\u2019re looking ahead to the players who will likely define the next generation \u2014 many of whom are already showing that capability this season.<\/p>\n

We don\u2019t know what path they\u2019ll each take, but history can drop a few hints. That\u2019s the aim this week, as we look at one 23-or-younger skater on each team (with some exceptions) matched with a player from the recent past whose numbers (size, production, peripherals, play-driving, trajectory, usage, value) looked most similar at the same age.<\/p>\n

1. Colorado Avalanche, 49-15-10<\/p>\n

Last week: 1
Sean: 1
Dom: 1<\/p>\n

When the Avs acquired Nicolas Roy, it was reasonable to expect him to slot in as their fourth-line center. Instead, before an upper-body injury on March 22, Roy was playing on Brock Nelson\u2019s wing. There\u2019s a good reason for that: Jack Drury, at 25, has the best Defensive Rating on the team. One of his comps is former Los Angeles King Trevor Lewis \u2014 an underrated, defensively impactful fourth-line center on a Cup winner. Sounds about right.<\/p>\n

2. Carolina Hurricanes, 48-21-6<\/p>\n

Last week: 4
Sean: 2
Dom: 2<\/p>\n

Jackson Blake signed a big-money extension last summer, albeit at a paltry $5.1 million cap hit for the next eight seasons that already looks like a slam dunk given what Kiefer Sherwood just signed for. Blake is up to a 50-point pace in his second season and has the type of strong two-way numbers you\u2019d expect from a Hurricane. He may not be a future star, but he looks like a key part of Carolina\u2019s second layer, much like T.J. Oshie was for many years with the Blues and Capitals.<\/p>\n

3. Tampa Bay Lightning, 47-22-6<\/p>\n

Last week: 5
Sean: 3
Dom: 3<\/p>\n

The Lightning have thrived without Victor Hedman. One reason: Darren Raddysh has replaced the sort of offensive production that Tampa Bay got from Hedman at his peak. The other: J.J. Moser, at 25, has emerged as one of the league\u2019s best defensive defensemen, putting up the fourth-best Defensive Rating at the position against top competition. Overall, he slots in with blueliners like Jaccob Slavin and Marc-Edouard Vlasic \u2014 players who might not win Norris Trophies but still earn widespread respect.<\/p>\n

4. Dallas Stars, 45-19-12<\/p>\n

Last week: 2
Sean: 5
Dom: 4<\/p>\n

With four seasons under his belt, it\u2019s easy to forget that Wyatt Johnston is still only 22 years old. He\u2019s broken through this season, scoring 41 goals and 80 points in 76 games, mostly by way of pure dominance on the power play. There are a few decent 1Cs on his comp list, but the most intriguing may be Brayden Point, who put up 41 goals and 92 points at the same age with similar power-play effectiveness.<\/p>\n

5. Montreal Canadiens, 44-21-10<\/p>\n

Last week: 7
Sean: 4
Dom: 5<\/p>\n

A Lane Hutson comp would be fun. Unfortunately, no particularly good ones exist. At 22, he slots right where Cale Makar did in total value, but in a much smaller package. Things are going well in Montreal, if you hadn\u2019t heard. Here\u2019s another big one: thanks to Juraj Slafkovsk\u00fd\u2019s increased productivity in his age-21 season, he\u2019s doing Mikko Rantanen-type things. When Rantanen was 22, he had an 84-point season for the Avs. It\u2019s no wonder the Canadiens are surging.<\/p>\n

6. Buffalo Sabres, 46-22-8<\/p>\n

Last week: 3
Sean: 6
Dom: 6<\/p>\n

There are plenty of interesting Sabres comps to be made \u2014 Zach Metsa and \u201cevery stat-dork-approved third-pair defenseman you can remember,\u201d for example. But we found a particularly interesting one for 23-year-old Owen Power. Has he broken out? Not really. Has he spent the season making real progress on the top four? Absolutely. That\u2019s the sort of well-rounded, unspectacular impact Chicago got from Brent Seabrook in his age-23 season.<\/p>\n

7. Minnesota Wild, 42-21-12<\/p>\n

Last week: 6
Sean: 7
Dom: 7<\/p>\n

While Brock Faber is probably not a No. 1 defenseman, that\u2019s OK with Quinn Hughes in town. Next to him, Faber, 23, is turning into one of the game\u2019s best No. 2s. Faber eats minutes, defends well and is up to 50 points on the season as second fiddle. He\u2019s showcasing what Ivan Provorov might\u2019ve been for the Flyers back in the day had they been able to add a superstar next to him.<\/p>\n

8. Boston Bruins, 43-25-8<\/p>\n

Last week: 11
Sean: 8
Dom: 8<\/p>\n

Will Fraser Minten slot in as Boston\u2019s long-term first-line center? Without some pretty substantial growth, that probably wouldn\u2019t be a good thing for the Bruins. His play has been huge, though, for one of the league\u2019s most surprising teams. Minten, 21, has provided solid defensive minutes that they desperately needed, and he\u2019s helped drive offense with strong zone-entry numbers. Nick Schmaltz did that for Arizona once upon a time, and he\u2019s become a reliably effective top-six piece in Utah.<\/p>\n

9. Pittsburgh Penguins, 38-22-16<\/p>\n

Last week: 9
Sean: 9
Dom: 10<\/p>\n

In some ways, Ben Kindel personifies the Penguins\u2019 shockingly solid season. Viewed by many as a reach at the 11th pick in June, he made the roster as an 18-year-old and hasn\u2019t looked back. Kindel\u2019s comps, though, are a little odd. For one, not many players his age stick around for a whole NHL season, and the ones who do are often superstars. Kindel\u2019s strengths have been driving expected goals and creating chances for himself, not necessarily throwing up huge hockey-card numbers. That gives him a high ceiling (David Pastrnak, Steven Stamkos) and a fairly low floor (Alex Galchenyuk, Josh Bailey), but clearly there should be reason for real optimism.<\/p>\n

10. Ottawa Senators, 39-26-10<\/p>\n

Last week: 10
Sean: 10
Dom: 9<\/p>\n

Alex Pietrangelo was never a Norris Trophy finalist, topping out in fourth place despite having an elite two-way impact and taking on tough minutes throughout his career. He was a Net Rating darling at a time when analytics were still in their infancy, with a few seasons that should\u2019ve been more appreciated. We\u2019re hoping Jake Sanderson, currently sidelined with an upper-body injury, doesn\u2019t suffer a similar fate. The Norris field looks like it\u2019ll be crowded annually, but Sanderson, 23, is cut from the same cloth as a do-it-all hero on the back end. The Senators miss him dearly.<\/p>\n

11. Anaheim Ducks, 41-29-5<\/p>\n

Last week: 12
Sean: 11
Dom: 12<\/p>\n

American-born No. 5 draft pick? Check. Traded before turning 22? Check. Elite shot and loves to use it? Check. Defense optional? Check. Cutter Gauthier, you\u2019re the new Phil Kessel.<\/p>\n

12. Edmonton Oilers, 39-28-9<\/p>\n

Last week: 16
Sean: 12
Dom: 11<\/p>\n

After a really shaky start, Matt Savoie is looking like the ideal winger for Connor McDavid. The 22-year-old is fast, creative and has a nose for the net, all of which have come together nicely since the Olympic break. His best comp is Travis Konecny, which would be a huge win for the Oilers.<\/p>\n

13. Detroit Red Wings, 40-27-8<\/p>\n

Last week: 14
Sean: 14
Dom: 13<\/p>\n

Over the past two seasons, Lucas Raymond, who turned 24 last week, has 48 assists on the power play, fifth-most in the league. He\u2019s become an elite setup man for the Red Wings and a key offensive catalyst \u2014 not unlike teammate Patrick Kane, who at the same age was establishing himself as a point-per-game threat. There\u2019s still time for Raymond to hit another level.<\/p>\n

14. New York Islanders, 42-29-5<\/p>\n

Last week: 13
Sean: 15
Dom: 15<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how good Matthew Schaefer has been: His closest rookie comparison is the 21-year-old version of Cale Makar, and Schaefer holds the edge in that comparison in ice time, scoring, penalty drawing and defensive impact despite being three years younger. Terms like \u201cunicorn\u201d and \u201cgenerational\u201d are used too frequently. In Schaefer\u2019s case, they might end up not being strong enough.<\/p>\n

15. Columbus Blue Jackets, 38-26-12<\/p>\n

Last week: 8
Sean: 16
Dom: 14<\/p>\n

Since Rick Bowness arrived, Adam Fantilli, 21, has really started to flash who he might become, with 27 points in 30 games and decent impact at five-on-five. The path to being a legitimate 1C is there for the taking, one with the consistent point-per-game upside that Mark Scheifele has shown throughout his career.<\/p>\n

16. Utah Mammoth, 39-30-6<\/p>\n

Last week: 17
Sean: 17
Dom: 16<\/p>\n

Back in 2008, Bobby Ryan was 21 and one of the league\u2019s best young snipers, putting up his first of four consecutive seasons with at least 31 goals for the Anaheim Ducks. Dylan Guenther, 22, has a great shot at hitting 40 before the end of this season.<\/p>\n

17. Vegas Golden Knights, 34-26-16<\/p>\n

Last week: 19
Sean: 18
Dom: 18<\/p>\n

Vegas, as you may have guessed, is really short on young talent. Without a U23 option, we turn to the unheralded Pavel Dorofeyev, who at 25 is quietly about to put up his second straight 35-goal season, with a decent defensive game to boot. There aren\u2019t many wingers who fit that bill, but Wild center Joel Eriksson Ek\u2019s affinity for scoring with rock-solid defense works.<\/p>\n

18. Philadelphia Flyers, 37-26-12<\/p>\n

Last week: 15
Sean: 20
Dom: 17<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve got a good news\/bad news situation for Flyers fans: Matvei Michkov\u2019s closest comp at 21 is Clayton Keller. Not bad! Keller is one of the league\u2019s best playmaking wingers and, for four seasons now, has been a reliable point-per-game scorer. He didn\u2019t take off, though, until Rick Tocchet was no longer his coach. Back then, Tocchet mitigated Keller\u2019s defensive issues at an immense cost to his offensive production. Sounds familiar.<\/p>\n

19. San Jose Sharks, 36-31-7<\/p>\n

Last week: 26
Sean: 19
Dom: 20<\/p>\n

A lot of the league\u2019s best players are rare breeds. They\u2019re incomparable in their uniqueness. Macklin Celebrini doesn\u2019t really qualify, because it\u2019s hard not to watch him and see a kid who grew up watching Sidney Crosby every night. We don\u2019t have this type of data for Crosby at 19, but it\u2019s hard not to imagine the two wouldn\u2019t be close. Interestingly, Celebrini does have one above-average comp who also happens to be a first-round pick: Taylor Hall.<\/p>\n

Now, we\u2019re obviously talking about Celebrini being a very rich man\u2019s version, but there are some statistical similarities. Namely, they both did a whole lot on an otherwise bad team with next to no help. The major difference of course is that one guy paced for 71 points and the other could hit 120.<\/p>\n

20. Washington Capitals, 38-29-9<\/p>\n

Last week: 18
Sean: 22
Dom: 19<\/p>\n

If Ryan Leonard, 21, continues to follow a curve similar to Martin Necas and Brayden Schenn, the Capitals will take it. Both players, like Leonard, started their NHL careers as productive middle-sixers and then, in their own ways, turned into something more. Schenn was a major top-six piece for a Cup champ, and Necas just might be a 100-point scorer on Nathan MacKinnon\u2019s wing.<\/p>\n

21. Nashville Predators, 35-31-9<\/p>\n

Last week: 20
Sean: 20
Dom: 22<\/p>\n

Selected 15th in 2023, 21-year-old rookie Matthew Wood is putting up a respectable season with 16 goals and 28 points in 64 games. Those are decent numbers despite limited ice time, especially on the goal-scoring front with 1.01 goals per 60 minutes at five-on-five. It took some time for Gabriel Vilardi to emerge as a 60-point threat, but Wood\u2019s numbers are tracking along the same path at the same age.<\/p>\n

22. New Jersey Devils, 39-34-2<\/p>\n

Last week: 21
Sean: 23
Dom: 21<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a disappointing season in Jersey, but there\u2019s reason to believe in both of the Devils\u2019 22-year-old, blueline building blocks. Luke Hughes\u2019 comp is Shea Theodore, who went from power-play specialist to a well-rounded, fringe Norris candidate. For Simon Nemec, it\u2019s Keith Yandle and Morgan Rielly, a pair of effective offense-first guys.<\/p>\n

23. Los Angeles Kings, 30-26-19<\/p>\n

Last week: 22
Sean: 21
Dom: 23<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a fun one. At 23, Brandt Clarke\u2019s best comp is Kris Letang. Also 23, Quinton Byfield\u2019s best comp is Jordan Staal. If the Kings can just find themselves a Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, they\u2019ll be cooking with gas. That right there might be the best example of why Los Angeles\u2019 future (and present) doesn\u2019t look very bright.<\/p>\n

24. Winnipeg Jets, 32-31-12<\/p>\n

Last week: 27
Sean: 24
Dom: 25<\/p>\n

We still haven\u2019t seen a ton of Elias Salomonsson, and his counting numbers are nothing special, but Winnipeg\u2019s five-on-five results with him, in both directions, have been outstanding. His comps as a 21-year-old defenseman speak to that success. One of them is Josh Morrissey. Winnipeg will take that. Now, all he needs to do is turn those underlyings into a few 60-point seasons.<\/p>\n

25. Seattle Kraken, 32-31-11<\/p>\n

Last week: 23
Sean: 25
Dom: 24<\/p>\n

It\u2019s never a bad thing to be compared to Patrice Bergeron. Matty Beniers knows this \u2014 and lo and behold, Beniers\u2019 23-year-old season is of a type with Bergeron\u2019s: good defense, average offense. By that point in his career, though, the Bruins legend had put up 70- and 73-point seasons, which Beniers hasn\u2019t sniffed, and lost most of another to a concussion. Moving forward, all Beniers has to do is establish himself as one of the very best two-way centers of all time. No big deal.<\/p>\n

26. St. Louis Blues, 31-31-12<\/p>\n

Last week: 25
Sean: 26
Dom: 26<\/p>\n

William Nylander is the patron saint of dynamic offensive wingers who are \u2026 good enough defensively, let\u2019s say. Jimmy Snuggerud, come on down! Nylander leveled up a bit further into his 20s, but Snuggerud scoring at a 22-goal pace as a 21-year-old is a nice start.<\/p>\n

27. Florida Panthers, 37-35-3<\/p>\n

Last week: 24
Sean: 27
Dom: 27<\/p>\n

The Panthers are taking a year off, which likely means getting a top-10 pick to add to their stack. Great. Florida is short on young players, but one guy they do have, Mackie Samoskevich, 23, offers a lot of intrigue. He has a flair on the power play and has shown a real knack for driving play at five-on-five, enough to have two pretty rosy top comps: Adrian Kempe and Troy Terry.<\/p>\n

28. Toronto Maple Leafs, 32-31-13<\/p>\n

Last week: 28
Sean: 28
Dom: 28<\/p>\n

Matthew Knies, 23, has had an up-and-down year, but the result has still been a career-high 60 points in 72 games so far. In terms of defensive ability and play-driving, there\u2019s still a lot of room to grow for Knies, but he looks well on his way to being one of the league\u2019s premier power forwards. His best comp at the moment is a player many Leafs fans are already familiar with: James van Riemsdyk.<\/p>\n

29. New York Rangers, 31-36-9<\/p>\n

Last week: 30
Sean: 30
Dom: 29<\/p>\n

While he doesn\u2019t have a lot of games under his belt, 20-year-old Gabe Perreault has turned heads of late in an elevated role, scoring four goals and 14 points in 16 games since March 1. That assist-heavy production has him mirroring some top-six playmakers, with the most eye-popping being Jonathan Huberdeau. If Perreault can become anything close to prime Huberdeau, it would be a major development win for the Rangers. And boy do they need it.<\/p>\n

30. Calgary Flames, 31-36-8<\/p>\n

Last week: 31
Sean: 29
Dom: 30<\/p>\n

Zayne Parekh had six points in his first 12 post-deadline games. Given his age \u2014 Parekh turned 20 in February \u2014 that power play-aided pop in production helped make the rookie version of Erik Karlsson a viable comp. What we\u2019re saying is that Parekh is right on track to win the 2027-28 Norris Trophy.<\/p>\n

31. Chicago Blackhawks, 27-35-14<\/p>\n

Last week: 29
Sean: 31
Dom: 31<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no great comp for Connor Bedard, and that\u2019s for reasons good and \u2026 a little less good. At 20, he\u2019s a small point-per-game player who\u2019s lugging around some poor defensive metrics. John Tavares at that age was a taller version of Bedard in a few senses; both were incredibly hyped No. 1 picks with questionable footspeed, rough play in their own end, immense skill and tons of early production. Tavares grew into a Hart candidate. Can Bedard do the same?<\/p>\n

32. Vancouver Canucks, 22-45-8<\/p>\n

Last week: 32
Sean: 32
Dom: 32<\/p>\n

Two things with Zeev Buium. On the one hand, it\u2019s a great sign that he\u2019s already in the NHL at this age. On the other, it\u2019s not a great sign that he\u2019s getting crushed defensively, even at this age. The NHL\u2019s big dogs on defense usually weren\u2019t great out of the gate either, but still had things figured out to a much stronger degree. Buium\u2019s raw tools and pedigree are obvious, but he needs to start proving he\u2019s more Morgan Rielly than Erik Brannstrom.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Only one team can have Macklin Celebrini. Only one gets Matthew Schaefer. Still, as a wave of Gen-Z…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":538578,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3],"tags":[233,95,229,26,29,96,144,230,147,93,146,57,5,145,38,21,231,151,159,35,4,25,56,100,168,234,84,92,31,3154,27,39,109,18],"class_list":{"0":"post-538577","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-anaheim-ducks","9":"tag-boston-bruins","10":"tag-buffalo-sabres","11":"tag-calgary-flames","12":"tag-carolina-hurricanes","13":"tag-chicago-blackhawks","14":"tag-colorado-avalanche","15":"tag-columbus-blue-jackets","16":"tag-dallas-stars","17":"tag-detroit-red-wings","18":"tag-edmonton-oilers","19":"tag-florida-panthers","20":"tag-hockey","21":"tag-los-angeles-kings","22":"tag-minnesota-wild","23":"tag-montreal-canadiens","24":"tag-nashville-predators","25":"tag-new-jersey-devils","26":"tag-new-york-islanders","27":"tag-new-york-rangers","28":"tag-nhl","29":"tag-ottawa-senators","30":"tag-philadelphia-flyers","31":"tag-pittsburgh-penguins","32":"tag-san-jose-sharks","33":"tag-seattle-kraken","34":"tag-st-louis-blues","35":"tag-tampa-bay-lightning","36":"tag-toronto-maple-leafs","37":"tag-utah-mammoth","38":"tag-vancouver-canucks","39":"tag-vegas-golden-knights","40":"tag-washington-capitals","41":"tag-winnipeg-jets"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/538577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=538577"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/538577\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/538578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=538577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=538577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=538577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}