The Montreal Canadiens are on quite a rookie run.
In 2025, Lane Hutson won the Calder Trophy as the top freshman in the NHL. Six months ago, Ivan Demidov finished runner-up in rookie-of-the-year voting to one of the best first-year players we’ve ever seen, Islanders defenceman Matthew Schaefer. Two slots down from Demidov on the ballot was goalie Jakub Dobes, who finished fourth in Calder voting before he’d even shown his best work in the playoffs. Then there’s Oliver Kapanen, whose 22 goals as a rookie last season were more than everybody except Schaefer and Anaheim’s Beckett Senecke (who both had 23).
Dobes, as it turns out, has lost his starting job to 21-year-old Jacob Fowler this season, and the latter was just named the NHL’s rookie of the month for October. Heck, the Canadiens even had the rookie of the month in the AHL, where defenceman Luke Mittelstadt — suddenly looking like a seventh-round steal — had a fantastic start to his pro career.
If you want to get crazy and do some early handicapping on next year’s Calder race, Canadiens prospect Michael Hage — currently tearing up the NCAA with the Michigan Wolverines — would garner serious consideration, given he’ll be joining the NHL at age 21 after three full college campaigns.
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Of course, not every club has that much positivity to report when it comes to rookie showings. Still, it’s always interesting to check in with the freshmen class and see how the next generation is coming along. With that in mind, we’re using this week’s edition of the Power Rankings to highlight the performance of a rookie or two on all 32 clubs.
1. Carolina Hurricanes (12-3-1) Winger Bradly Nadeau has played three NHL games this year and retains his rookie status despite playing at least one contest in each of the previous three NHL campaigns. While he hasn’t cracked the Canes — no easy task — on a full-time basis yet, he had a great AHL season last year and still offers promise as a secondary scorer.
2. Minnesota Wild (11-3-3) 23-year-old David Spacek is following in the footsteps of his dad, Jaroslav, who played 880 games on NHL bluelines. David is a right-shot defenceman who’s seen over 12 minutes per night through nine outings with the Wild.
3. Edmonton Oilers (11-2-3) “Thank God for Owen Michaels” — Mike Babcock, Oilers coach
Clearly, the undrafted Michaels quickly endeared himself to the boss with his capable play in the middle of Edmonton’s fourth line. Michaels, 24, won an NCAA title as Western Michigan’s captain in 2025 and inked a two-year pact with the Oilers this past summer.
4. Boston Bruins (11-4-1) You never know how things are going to go when a player slips a little from where he was initially projected to go in the draft. At this time, two years ago, James Hagens was firmly in the mix to be taken first overall in 2025. The B’s, after a down year in Boston, got him at No. 7, and it appears things could not have worked out better. Hagens, a Long Island native who played at Boston College, leads all freshmen in scoring with 12 points in 16 games.
5. New Jersey Devils (10-5-0) If we handed out hardware for the best rookie handle, Devils winger Amadeus Lombardi would be the runaway winner. As it stands, the fourth-line winger is still seeing over 10 minutes per night on the fourth line.
6. Tampa Bay Lightning (9-3-2) One year after the Bolts had five rookies play at least 20 games, Tampa has not used a freshman skater in any contest so far. The next young guy to watch in T-Bay will be Sam O’Reilly, who’s in the infant stages of his pro career with the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch.
7. Montreal Canadiens (9-3-3) For all the rookies we highlighted in Montreal to kick off this piece, there’s yet another one to monitor: 2023 fifth-overall pick David Reinbacher. The big defenceman has battled bad injury luck, but he looks good in the AHL and — thanks in part to being a righty — may yet play a meaningful role in Montreal this season.
8. Dallas Stars (9-5-1) Undrafted 25-year-old Arttu Hyry continues to be a wonderful Finnish surprise for Dallas, posting three points in his past two outings. The six-foot-three forward has played an important role in Dallas’ middle-six this season.
9. Utah Mammoth (10-6-0) The Mammoth acquired Sebastian Cossa from Detroit for a first-round 2026 pick as a long-term play after the six-foot-six goalie had a strong AHL career in the Wings system. He’s had his ups and downs so far, but has a .919 save percentage in his past two starts.
10. Vegas Golden Knights (10-5-2) You don’t associate the Golden Knights with homegrown success stories, but Trevor Connelly is fast becoming one. The 19th-overall selection in 2024 has six goals and 11 points in 17 outings this year. For a team that’s always up against it cap-wise, having Connelly pop on an entry-level deal would be a huge boon.
11. Florida Panthers (9-5-2) 22-year-old Latvian winger Sandis Vilmanis played 19 games with the Cats last season and had the game of his NHL life on Wednesday, notching two goals and a pair of helpers for a huge four-point night that took his season total from three points to seven.
12. Colorado Avalanche (9-6-1) Undrafted T.J. Hughes signed with Colorado after his college career at Michigan ended, and he had a nice showing in the AHL playoffs last year with 14 points in 17 contests. So far, he’s seeing just over 15 minutes per night with the Avs.
13. Ottawa Senators (10-6-1) The Sens were leaning on Carter Yakemchuk through a barrage of blueline injuries, but lately the 21-year-old has been a healthy scratch as bodies return to the lineup. A second season in the AHL would be more than fine for the No. 7 pick in the 2024 draft.
14. Washington Capitals (8-6-0) Here comes Cole Hutson. The younger brother of the 2025 Calder winner has four points in his past three outings from the Caps blueline. Can you say second-round heist?
15. Seattle Kraken (9-5-1) Ville Ottavainen has helped in a third-pair, depth role for the Kraken this year. The 24-year-old Finnish defenceman may never dazzle, but he does bring a couple of desirable traits in the fact that he’s six-foot-five and shoots right.
16. Buffalo Sabres (7-5-3) Konsta Helenius was a point-per-game player in the AHL last year and had a nice little showing with Buffalo in the playoffs, notching two goals in three games. Things have not come easily for the 20-year-old Finnish forward this season, though, and he’s currently sidelined with an upper-body injury.
17. New York Islanders (7-5-2) Victor Eklund figures to have a long career as an undersized scorer who makes life difficult on the opposition with his tenacity and talent. He may not stick in the NHL for the entire season, but he’s a keeper for the Isles.
18. Nashville Predators (6-4-5) There’s not much of a rookie presence on the Preds right now, but undrafted 22-year-old winger Vitali Pinchuk drew back into the lineup in Nashville’s most recent game — a 4-1 win versus Carolina — and has played six contests overall this year. Let’s see if offence-oriented defenceman Ryan Ufko gets another look this season. He netted 44 points in 52 AHL games last year and suited up for Team USA at the World Championship.
19. Toronto Maple Leafs (8-7-2) The Gavin McKenna experience has had its predictable ups and downs, but 17 games into his NHL career, you can certainly see the potential he has to electrify an offence.
20. Detroit Red Wings (7-6-3) Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, the 15th pick in 2024, has had a nice start to the campaign. The 21-year-old Norwegian winger has 10 points through 16 outings, flashing some of the potential Detroit saw when it drafted him.
21. Anaheim Ducks (7-7-1) Four rookies have played at least 10 games for the Ducks, including right-shot defenceman Noah Warren. The 2022 second-rounder is seeing nearly 17 minutes per night through 15 showings.
22. Calgary Flames (7-8-1) Russian winger Aydar Suniev, a third-rounder in 2023, has shown a little something for the Flames this season, depositing four goals in 13 contests.
23. St. Louis Blues (7-7-1) Adam Jiricek is expected to be a significant part of St. Louis’ future on the blueline, and he’s beginning to show why. The six-foot-three, right-shot Czech — picked 16th overall in 2024 — has been averaging more than 17 minutes per night in his past six games.
24. Columbus Blue Jackets (6-7-0) The Jackets haven’t had a freshman suit up this year, but we might see an intriguing one hit the ice before the end of the season. Six-foot-four defenceman Jackson Smith — the 14th-overall selection in 2025 — is having a strong sophomore season at Penn State and might be ready for the pros by springtime.
25. Los Angeles Kings (5-7-2) Kenny Connors — a 2022 fourth-rounder — played his first two NHL games with the Kings last year and made his season debut on Wednesday night, notching his first big-league point (an assist) in the Kings’ big 7-2 win over the Sharks. Atta boy, Kenny!
26. San Jose Sharks (7-9-1) Eight of Ivar Stenberg’s 10 points have come on the power play, and the second-overall pick from 2026 is minus-14, the worst mark among forwards. The 19-year-old Swede will eventually be a deadly two-way threat, but it’s going to take some time.
27. Pittsburgh Penguins (5-8-2) Sergei Murashov showed real promise with a strong AHL season last year, but it’s been a struggle for Pittsburgh to keep the puck out of the net so far. Murashov, a 22-year-old Russian, has an .871 save percentage in five contests and has yet to post a ‘W.’
28. New York Rangers (8-7-1) Dylan Garand was lights out when he was first asked to fill the massive skates left by the injured Igor Shesterkin. However, predictable struggles set in after that. Garand, 24, did have a nice outing in his most recent game, a 3-1 win over St. Louis on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Alberts Smits — the big Latvian defenceman taken fifth overall in June — has played all 16 Rangers games and seen just over 14 minutes per night.
29. Winnipeg Jets (5-8-3) The good-news stories have been hard to find in Manitoba this season, but man oh man, did Tyrel Bauer and the boys deliver one on Tuesday. The Jets snapped a nine-game losing streak by erasing a 4-0 Montreal lead in the final three minutes of the game before netting one more in overtime. Bauer, the 24-year-old tough guy from Alberta, recorded a Gordie Howe hat trick in the contest and the points represented the first goal and assist of his NHL career. Hopefully Mr. Hockey himself was looking down on that one.
30. Philadelphia Flyers (4-9-4) Porter Martone was a Calder favourite coming into the season, but nothing went right early on for Philly and the big, power winger was certainly struggling. In his past eight games, however, Martone — the sixth pick in 2025 — has seven points as things have begun to fall into place. Oliver Bonk, meanwhile, drew into the lineup on Oct. 11 and has been playing over 18 minutes per night on the blueline. And how about Cole Knuble scoring two goals in his second NHL game for the team his dad, Mike Knuble, used to skate for.
31. Chicago Blackhawks (4-11-1) Roman Kantserov leads all rookies with seven goals after firing one in Wednesday night’s loss to the Florida Panthers. The 22-year-old Russian winger has certainly been a bright spot in the Windy City.
32. Vancouver Canucks (3-13-1) Vancouver is going to have all kinds of high-potential rookies debut in coming years, but there’s not much to speak about right now. At the moment, the Canucks are probably most concerned with helping second-year defenceman Zeev Buium find his way at the highest level.
