NHL Power Rankings: One Youngs...

Welcome back to The Hockey News' NHL power rankings. We rank all 32 teams based on their weekly performance.

With Jonathan Lekkerimaki making his Canucks debut Tuesday, it got me thinking: Which young player on each NHL team can help make their club make a push?

It happens every season. While veterans are often counted on to keep the ship afloat, it’s the younger players and those on cheaper contracts who need to provide surplus value. They’re the ones who can push a team from playoff hopeful to playoff contender and from contender to winners. Think Wyatt Johnston for the Stars last season or even Connor McMichael for the Capitals this season. Who might be that player for each team?

This week’s NHL power rankings have the Winnipeg Jets still at No. 1, a spot they have not relinquished since the start of the season. With a gruelling road trip coming up, the real test is coming. Among the climbers this week are the Ottawa Senators, who look like a legit playoff contender with an explosive offense. All they have to do is to figure out how to win on the road. Among the fallers are the Columbus Blue Jackets, mired in a six-game winless streak with a 0-4-1 record on their five-game road trip.

1. Winnipeg Jets (15-1-0, +39. Last week: 1)

The Jets are dismantling every team that comes in their path. While their top line has been fantastic – did you see the hands-on Gabriel Vilardi against the Rangers?! – Cole Perfetti has added an extra dimension to their depth scoring and now has 13 points in 16 games in a potential breakout season despite still averaging less than 15 minutes per game.

2. Carolina Hurricanes (11-4-0, +20). Last week: 2)

Seth Jarvis is only 22, but as an established top-six player, I think the more noteworthy youngster is Jackson Blake. The son of 13-year NHL veteran Jason Blake made the team out of camp and has moved up the lineup every now and then. Bloodlines run deep with the Hurricanes, which includes Skylar Brind’Amour (son of Rod), Jack Drury (son of Ted), the Slavin brothers and, at one point, all four Staal brothers.

3. Florida Panthers (11-4-1, +9. Last week: 3)

This is Anton Lundell’s fourth NHL season, but this is really the first time he’s seen as a legitimate scoring threat. He filled in admirably in Aleksander Barkov’s absence and on pace for a 70-point seasons, smashing his previous career high set in his rookie season.

4. Minnesota Wild (10-2-3, +14. Last week: 4)

We know about Brock Faber and Matt Boldy, who’ve already signed big extensions, but the next big one could be Marco Rossi. His game ebbs and flows, but he’s already being deployed like a No. 1 center at times. The only thing lacking right now is ice time.

5. Washington Capitals (10-4-1, +18. Last week: 5)

Look no further than Connor McMichael, whose career trajectory is now on overdrive. He’s driving play, shooting the puck a lot more and is back on track after spending most of 2022-23 in the AHL after playing 68 games in the NHL as a 21-year-old rookie.

6. New York Rangers (9-4-1, +16. Last week: 6)

A veteran win-now team naturally won’t have much need for youngsters – look no further than how Alexis Lafreniere’s ice time was handled earlier in his career. He’s a legitimate top-six winger now, so the next breakout should come from Kaapo Kakko, who’s up to eight points in 14 games. The Rangers’ third line has been a bright spot this season.

7. Toronto Maple Leafs (10-6-2, +7. Last week: 9)

If Matthew Knies can be a long-term solution as their top left winger, he’s going to be a key part of their core going forward if he isn’t already. His ability to score goals and dish out hits invokes memories of peak Tom Wilson, a Toronto native who helped power some of the best Caps teams ever.

8. New Jersey Devils (11-6-2, +16. Last week: 10)

Paul Cotter adds some heft to a forward corps that’s on the smaller side, and no doubt that will help in the playoffs. (Yes, I said playoffs). In his third full NHL season, he’s carved out a niche as a power forward with good hands.

9. Dallas Stars (9-5-0, +13. Last week: 7)

Last season was Wyatt Johnston, this season it’s Logan Stankoven. With 13 points in 14 games, he’s second on the team in scoring on a deep Stars team that spreads out their minutes. That kind of depth is the Stars’ big advantage over the other contenders.

10. Vegas Golden Knights (10-4-2, +16. Last week: 8)

The Knights entered the season looking very weak on the wings, but that’s been alleviated somewhat with Pavel Dorofeyev. He was likely safe from trades because the Knights only trade first-round picks – kidding – but he’s really one of their few homegrown players who have managed to stick around. Past history has shown that Cup-winning teams usually feature players who were developed from within their own system.

11. Los Angeles Kings (9-6-3, +3. Last week: 11)

Hands up if you had Alex Laferriere as the Kings’ top goal-scorer after the first month. Yeah, I thought so. He’s played a vital role on the Kings’ third line with Quinton Byfield, and that kind of depth is what the Kings had envisioned when they acquired Pierre-Luc Dubois.

12. Colorado Avalanche (9-8-0, -4. Last week: 13)

The silver lining with having so many injured players was giving the Avs a chance to really test their organizational depth. Ivan Ivan, Andrei Kovalenko, Nikita Prishchepov, Sam Malinski and even Justus Annunen… the Avs now know they have some reliable depth they can plug in for short stretches, and with Valeri Nichushkin returning Friday, all they had to do was stay afloat for the first month.

13. Edmonton Oilers (8-7-1, -7. Last week: 15)

Part of the issue with the Oilers’ depth is there’s nobody pushing up. Vasily Podkolzin is the youngest player to suit up for them this season, and he’s already in his fourth pro season and seems destined to be a bottom-six forward.

14. Vancouver Canucks (8-3-3, +1. Last week: 12)

There’s a bit of a youth movement with Arshdeep Bains and Aatu Raty making the team at the start of the season. Granted, they were filling in for injured players, but the most intriguing of them all is 2024 world juniors MVP Jonathan Lekkerimaki, who moved up to the top power play midway through his NHL debut. The ceiling is high, and if the Canucks can find more scoring beyond Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller up front, they could find themselves going from a good offense to an excellent offense.

15. Ottawa Senators (8-7-0, +7. Last week: 19)

The Sens are a young team who just needed some time, but after the Jakob Chychrun experiment fizzled, they’ve been at least been able to count on Tyler Kleven. Defensive depth is a concern, considering they’re still counting on 34-year-old Travis Hamonic and injury-prone Artem Zub. Travis Green’s teams are not known for their defense, but they can mask those problems with quality depth.

16. Buffalo Sabres (7-8-1, +2. Last week: 18)

It’s hard to hide when you’re the No. 1 pick and stand 6-foot-6, but Owen Power’s game has shown a little more offense than in the past two seasons, averaging two minutes on the power play per game after averaging 1:36 last season. It’s taken some pressure off Rasmus Dahlin, who added captain duties to his plate this season.

17. Calgary Flames (8-6-3, -4. Last week: 16)

Connor Zary and Matt Coronato (in spurts) have provided more than expected this season, but no young goalie has been routinely more impressive throughout his career than Dustin Wolf. Behind a defense that allows the seventh-most shots per game, Wolf has a .913 SP and a 5-2-1 record.

18. Tampa Bay Lightning (7-6-1, +4. Last week: 14)

The Lightning are a little similar to the Oilers in that they rely heavily on their veteran superstars. There’s little coming up the pipeline – Conor Geekie has some potential – but the difference is the Lightning have already won Cups. Unless they can unearth another ‘Triplets’ line from the AHL, it feels like their window isn’t going to be getting any bigger, no matter what blockbuster move Julien BriseBois makes.

19. New York Islanders (6-6-4, -8. Last week: 23)

He’s too old and experienced to be considered a true rookie, but the Isles’ top six would be even more starved without Maxim Tsyplakov. The lack of shooting volume is a little perplexing for someone who scored 31 goals in 65 games for Spartak Moscow last season, but that second line has been one of the main constants for the Isles this season as they try to grind out wins.

20. Boston Bruins (8-7-2, -11. Last week: 21)

When you sign a 34-year-old Tyler Johnston to bolster your team, that says a lot about your organizational depth. Mason Lohrei and Matthew Poitras look like good second-round finds, but if we had to pick a younger player who could make a push up the lineup, would the options really be Justin Brazeau and Mark Kastelic?!

21. Detroit Red Wings (7-7-1, -8. Last week: 22)

Everyone’s really getting impatient with the Yzerplan – understandable – but there’s still a ton of young talent on the roster, including two blue-chip blueliners in Simon Edvinsson and Albert Johansson. Defense is a problem for this team, but Edvinsson, who trails only Moritz Seider in ice time per game, looks like a future bona fide top-pairing defenseman, too.

22. Utah Hockey Club (7-6-3, -7. Last week: 26)

They’re a young team full of potential and, in a few seasons, will undoubtedly turn into a proper playoff contender. Right now, however, they’ve given us the opportunity to watch Dylan Guenther over a full season. He scored 18 goals in 45 games last season; scoring 30 this season isn’t out of the question.

23. St. Louis Blues (7-9-0, -15. Last week: 17)

Scoring can be a problem for the Blues at times, which puts more pressure on Jake Neighbours. He’s struggled so far this season, and the Blues need depth scoring beyond Jordan Kyrou and Robert Thomas to be competitive.

24. Seattle Kraken (7-8-1, -1. Last week: 27)

The Kraken won’t be very competitive until Matty Beniers and Shane Wright become legitimate one-two centers. They’re starved for scoring and have been lacking a top center since inception.

25. Nashville Predators (5-9-2, -14. Last week: 25)

The top five scorers on the Predators are all older than 33. Their footspeed and transition game can be a problem, which means there is a greater need for players such as Luke Evangelista and even Tommy Novak to provide speed and scoring depth. A team built to score will not win games if they can’t score, obviously.

26. Philadelphia Flyers (6-8-2, -14. Last week: 32)

Have you seen Emil Andrae?! For a team that wants to play faster, no one is more dynamic with the puck on their blueline than Andrae. He’s made the most of his opportunities and trailed only Travis Sanheim in ice time in their last game against the Sharks. If he keeps this up, it’ll be hard to keep him out of the lineup. Maybe the Flyers have finally found their power-play quarterback?

27. Pittsburgh Penguins (6-9-3, -22. Last week: 24)

Well, the lack of young talent is part of the problem, isn’t it? With Rutger McGroarty in the minors, who on the Pens roster can give them a proper boost is a huge mystery. In fact, it might not even happen until the Pens get serious about their new direction, which remains murky because they still insist on being competitive despite trading Lars Eller.

28. San Jose Sharks (5-9-3, -20. Last week: 28)

The Sharks offense is just different with Macklin Celebrini in the lineup. There’s a long way to go, but he’s dangerous from all over the ice. It’s really nice to see after their historically inept offense last season.

29. Chicago Blackhawks (6-9-1, -8. Last week: 29)

In the same vein, Connor Bedard alone is worth the price of admission. He’s not getting help, however, with Lukas Reichel bouncing all over the lineup and Kevin Korchinski in the minors.

30. Anaheim Ducks (5-8-2, -13. Last week: 30)

Watching the Ducks, you realize that every one of their young players is supremely talented, but they never look like a cohesive group. They’re like the District 5 team before Gordon Bombay gave them an identity. On a side note, Leo Carlsson is really fun to watch.

31. Columbus Blue Jackets (5-8-2, -8. Last week: 20)

Earlier in the season, Kent Johnson looked excellent, but injuries have kept him out of the lineup. Adam Fantilli looks solid, but Yegor Chinakhov and Kirill Marchenko have the ability to make some plays that really make you jump out of your seat. Even at the height of the Rick Nash era, the Jackets offense was often a snooze, but that's not quite so anymore.

32. Montreal Canadiens (5-9-2, -21. Last week: 31)

Lane Hutson has the puck on his stick. Like, a lot. That makes him fun to watch because he’s got this Quinn Hughes-esque ability to shake and bake, though it hasn’t exactly translated to the scoresheet. He’s the type of dynamic new-age defenseman who’s all the rage right now and will no doubt be the linchpin of their defense in the coming seasons.