As part of the celebration of NHL Young Stars Week, NHL.com has looked at the crop of young players reshaping the League today and for several years to come. Today, we look at the best players in the League who have yet to reach their 23rd birthday.
Young players are flooding into the NHL and remaking the League on an annual basis.
Teenagers are becoming stars as soon as they take their first strides in an NHL rink.
Others are arriving in their early 20s -- from NCAA programs or overseas -- fully developed.
Recent winners of the Calder Trophy, awarded annually to the best rookie in the League, have also gone on to become stars.
That includes Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar, who is actively rewriting the record books at his position, Minnesota Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov, Detroit Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider, Chicago Blackhawks forward Connor Bedard and Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson, who won the award this past season.
So, who are the best players in the League who will still not have reached their 23rd birthday by the time the 2025-26 NHL regular season starts in early October?
We asked nine NHL.com writers to weigh in to get a sense of what the field would look like, tasking them to list their best 25 players fitting the criteria, in order of preference.
The first-place player received 25 points and the point total decreased by one point for each spot on the list with the 25th player getting one point.
Hutson, who received five first-place votes, and Bedard, who had three first-place votes, were each on the list, and were joined by other standouts.
Macklin Celebrini, the No. 1 pick by the San Jose Sharks in the 2024 NHL Draft, was second on the list and received the other first-place vote.
Celebrini is one of two 19-year-olds on the list, joined by Ivan Demidov, a forward with the Canadiens.
There are no 18-year-olds on the list, five 20-year-olds, including Bedard, who turned 20 on Thursday, and five 21-year-olds. The other 11 players are 22 and in their final season of eligibility for this list.
Only four defensemen made the list despite the plethora of young defenders flooding into the League.
The other 19 are forwards as no goalies made the list.
The Canadiens were the most represented team, with four players: Hutson, Demidov, and forwards Juraj Slafkovsky and Zack Bolduc.
Here is the list (voting points):
Connor Bedard, F, Chicago Blackhawks – 236 (three first-place votes)
Macklin Celebrini, F, San Jose Sharks – 232 (one first place vote)
Lane Hutson, D, Montreal Canadiens – 229 (five first-place votes)
Wyatt Johnston, F, Dallas Stars – 217
Matvei Michkov, F, Philadelphia Flyers – 188
Adam Fantilli, F, Columbus Blue Jackets – 184
Matthew Knies, F, Toronto Maple Leafs – 180
Logan Cooley, F, Utah Mammoth – 169
Luke Hughes, D, New Jersey Devils – 160
Juraj Slafkovsky, F, Montreal Canadiens -- 141
Leo Carlsson, F, Anaheim Ducks – 137
Dylan Guenther, F, Utah Mammoth – 136
Logan Stankoven, F, Carolina Hurricanes – 122
Ivan Demidov, F, Montreal Canadiens – 121
Owen Power, D, Buffalo Sabres – 112
Will Smith, F, San Jose Sharks – 93
Mason McTavish, F, Anaheim Ducks – 87
William Eklund, F, San Jose Sharks – 80
Matty Beniers, F, Seattle Kraken – 60
Kent Johnson, F, Columbus Blue Jackets – 59
Cutter Gauthier, F, Anaheim Ducks – 57
Brandt Clarke, D, Los Angeles Kings – 35
Zack Bolduc, F, Montreal Canadiens -- 28
