Rookie Watch: Buium, Demidov among top 1st-year players age 20 or younger

The impact several rookies are making on the NHL is one of the major storylines of the 2025-26 season. Each week, NHL.com will examine topics related to this season's class in the Rookie Watch. This week, a look at the top six rookie skaters among players age 20 or younger (listed alphabetically):

Zeev Buium, D, Minnesota Wild: The 20-year-old left-handed shot (6-foot, 183 pounds), chosen No. 12 in the 2024 NHL Draft, is third among rookie defensemen with 13 points (three goals, 10 assists) in 29 games while averaging 18:40 of ice time. Buium is paired with veteran Zach Bogosian. He plays a significant role on Minnesota's power-play, averaging 3:09 in ice time with eight power-play points (two goals).

"He cares about defending and he puts effort into that," Wild coach John Hynes said. "From an offensive perspective, it's just realizing that every time you come over the boards, it might not be an offensive shift and to just pick your spots and play the game. He has the skill set and the hockey sense to find opportunities to be able to help offensively and I think he's finding a good balance of that."

Ivan Demidov, F, Montreal Canadiens: Demidov (6-1, 192), who turns 20 on Wednesday, has found chemistry with rookie center Oliver Kapanen. He's second among first-year forwards with 22 points (six goals, 16 assists) in 28 games and ninth in average ice time (14:49) with a minimum 10 games played.

"He's just got to continue doing what he's been doing," Montreal coach Martin St. Louis said last week. "I know I can give him more (minutes) and I'm trying to. Sometimes it's a matter of context, sometimes I look at the game sheet and think, 'Geez he only played this many minutes.' I have to do a better job to give him a little bit more, that's for sure.

"I can't tell you if that there's one specific thing he needs to do, but he needs to continue to convince me that he deserves to get more [minutes]. Right now, I can tell you that he deserves to play more but life isn't always fair, so he's got to continue [to carry on]."

Demidov, the No. 5 pick in the 2024 draft, had 49 points (19 goals, 30 assists) in 65 regular-season games with SKA St. Petersburg of the Kontinental Hockey League last season and earned the Aleksei Cherepanov Award for best rookie. He's a player who wants the puck, thrives on the challenges to generate scoring chances and possesses elite skills and attributes.

Emmitt Finnie, F, Detroit Red Wings: Finnie (6-1, 195), a seventh-round pick (No. 201) in the 2023 NHL Draft, remains in a top line role with center Dylan Larkin and right wing Lucas Raymond. The 20-year-old averages 16:28 of ice time, is tied for fourth in rookie scoring with 14 points (six goals eight assists), second in takeaways (11) and fifth in hits (56) in 29 games. Finnie had six points (three goals, three assists) in his first seven NHL games, becoming the first Red Wings player with as many through their first seven games since Raymond (eight) and Moritz Seider (six points) in 2021-22.

Finnie signed a three-year, entry-level contract with Detroit on March 26, 2024, and had 84 points (37 goals, 47 assists) in 55 games last season as captain of Kamloops in the Western Hockey League. He had five points (one goal, four assists) in 10 games with Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League after the WHL season.

Ryan Leonard, F, Washington Capitals: Leonard was placed on injured reserve Sunday and is out for an extended period because of an upper-body injury. He was playing with more confidence and greater consistency of late and his role increased as a result. The 20-year-old (6-1, 205), chosen No. 8 in the 2023 NHL Draft, is fourth among rookies with 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists) in 29 games. He had points in four of his past five (two goals, five assists).

Leonard had two goals and two assists in a 7-1 win at the San Jose Sharks on Dec. 3 to become the first Capitals rookie with a four-point game since Nicklas Backstrom on March 3, 2008. He's also the first rookie to do so this season; one did it in 2024-25, Sharks forward Will Smith on April 9.

Leonard is fifth among Washington forwards in hits (43) and averages 13:20 of ice time. The Capitals have a 49.5 percent shot-attempts percentage and 65.4 percent on-ice goals for percentage at even strength when Leonard is on the ice.

"It's not surprising the talent and the drive that he has as a young man ... I saw that Day 1," Washington coach Spencer Carbery said. "He's shown that talent through even going back to development camp and in college, but what he's doing, he's continuing to push over the last few weeks to get better and he's very driven. That's where you're excited as a coach because he's so coachable and he wants to get better and wants information and that's a big reason why you see a young man like that continuing to just chip away, earn more opportunity and just continue to produce and play better."

Matthew Schaefer, D, New York Islanders: The 18-year-old and No. 1 pick in the 2025 NHL Draft continues to impress and do things not many teenage defensemen have been able to do before him. It's amazing to think he is the first teenager at his position in NHL history to score eight goals through his first 25 games, breaking a tie with Bobby Orr (seven goals in 25 games). He also became the third 18-year-old defenseman in League history to score five goals in a calendar month (14 games in November), joining Phil Housley (seven, January 1983) and Orr (five in November 1966).

Schaefer (6-2, 186) is third among rookies with 21 points (eight goals, 13 assists), tied for first with four power-play goals and first in average ice time (23:27) in 30 games. He has drawn 18 penalties, which is tied for the League lead with Dallas Stars forward Mikko Rantanen and Sharks forward Macklin Celebrini. He became the first Islanders teenager to reach 27 minutes of ice time in a single game (27:40 in a 4-3 shootout loss at the Philadelphia Flyers on Oct. 25) since that statistic was first tracked in 1997-98.

"I think every game you learn more, you get more comfortable, more confident," Schaefer said. "I mean, there's going to be games where it's not the same. You don't feel your best, there's bumps. There's lots of challenges but there's always going to be adversity. You got to learn from it, learn from your mistakes and just keep rolling and moving forward."

The Islanders control 51.7 percent of all shots attempted and own a 58.6 percent on-ice goals-for percentage with Schaefer on the ice at even strength.

Beckett Sennecke, F, Anaheim Ducks: Sennecke (6-3, 206), the No. 3 pick in the 2024 draft, became the second-fastest player in Ducks history with 20 points (in 26 games played), behind Paul Kariya (24 games). He's first among rookies with 24 points (nine goals, 15 assists) in 29 games.

Sennecke averages 16:41 in ice time on right wing on a line with center Mason McTavish and Cutter Gauthier. He's tied with Leonard for second among first-year players with 15 penalties drawn. The 19-year-old has 12 points (three goals, nine assists) in 11 games since Nov. 17.

"He's grown up right in front of our eyes here," Anaheim coach Joel Quenneville said. "Offensively, he's capable of making high-end plays. At the same time, he has some plays that he's starting to eliminate out of his game, turnovers in tough areas to make a play. He has the puck a lot, which we like, and his play recognition is high-end."