As expected, the trend of a high number of rookies having an immediate impact on their teams is continuing in 2017-18. The smoothness of transition for these youngsters speaks a lot to the improving talent pool across the world, which is great for the long-term health and entertainment value of the game.
After the spectacular debuts over the past two years of Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews, Patrik Laine, Jack Eichel, Artemi Panarin, Zach Werenski and more, it appeared that this year's rookies would shine a little less brightly, or perhaps not generate the hype of their most recent predecessors. While the preseason hype train was fairly subdued in comparison, several players in this season's class have grabbed the hockey world's attention, none more so than Clayton Keller.
The 19-year-old rookie from the St. Louis area has been a scoring machine for the Arizona Coyotes. Keller's speed, skill and offensive sense has put the league on notice. His brilliance is obscured, rather notably, by the disastrous start for the Coyotes. Amid a putrid 2-15-3 record, Keller is giving fans in the desert something worth watching.
The rookie forward credits the two games he played with the Coyotes at the end of last season for better preparing him for what was to come.
"It was awesome to come in late last year and get a taste of the speed and how the game plays out," Keller said in a conference call with media last month. "That's why I think I've had good success this year so far."
Keller starred at Boston University last season and was Team USA's leading scorer as it won gold at the 2017 World Junior Championship. He followed that up with an assist in each of his two late-season appearances with the Coyotes before traveling to the World Championship, where he posted five goals and two assists over eight games on a pretty shallow roster.
Playing primarily with Derek Stepan and Max Domi on Arizona's top line, Keller has 11 goals and 17 points through his first 20 games, 19 in 22 if you add in his two appearances last season. Sticking with the single-season theme, however, Keller's start compares favorably to the most recent impact rookies who entered the NHL as teenagers.
Laine had 18 points through 20 games last season, while Werenski, Matthews and Mitch Marner each had 16 in that same span. McDavid had 12 and Eichel had 10 over their first 20 games. Keller's 17-point start to the season is tied for sixth best among teenage rookies through 20 games since Sidney Crosby entered the league in 2005-06. Every player ahead of Keller on that list remains an impact player. (All numbers via hockey-reference.com.) The transition from college to the pros has gone quite smoothly for Keller. It's probably because he has the key attributes that are at a premium in the NHL today.
"The NHL is a fast game," said Keller. "You've got to have speed and have hockey IQ. Those are two things I have in my game, and I take a lot of pride in them."
Keller is the top rookie this season, but it's a crowded list behind him. So each month, we'll be checking in on the rookie class to see how they're doing with some power rankings.
Just for a little methodology on how I slot players: Production is obviously a major point of consideration, but I also tend to weight usage and role quite heavily in my evaluations of rookies. It's important context and it also indicates a coach's trust in his young player. Age is another big factor for me. The younger the player, the more impressive his accomplishments are in terms of rarity, and it's important information to project out a player's development arc.
1. Clayton Keller, RW, Arizona Coyotes
For all of the reasons listed above, Keller takes the top spot. He leads all rookies in scoring, and even though he's in the midst of a four-game production lull, the 19-year-old remains an important contributor to the Coyotes. The only forward getting more ice time on the team is Stepan, and he's getting a little over 30 seconds more per game.
Keller is the Coyotes' MVP so far, which isn't saying much given the current state of the on-ice product. If there is one positive to take from a dreary season, it's that Keller is looking like a cornerstone forward for a franchise trying to rebuild.
2. Charlie McAvoy, D, Boston Bruins
Several rookie defensemen are getting big opportunities this season, but none has been as prominent as McAvoy. Sending him out for nearly 23 minutes per game, the Bruins are already leaning on McAvoy as a No. 2 defenseman behind captain Zdeno Chara, with whom the 20-year-old rookie has played most of his minutes. McAvoy is producing, with eight points so far through 17 games, but his underlying numbers also look incredible. He has also been using his strength, physicality and hockey sense to his advantage.
Although he hasn't been perfect and has had his rough moments like all young defensemen do, McAvoy simply looks comfortable in his role. That's not easy to do, but it's a big reason he will keep playing as much as he has. It's hard to believe this time last year, Keller was a freshman and McAvoy was a sophomore at Boston University, and now they're this good in their first full NHL seasons.
3. Mathew Barzal, C, New York Islanders
After the top two on this list, things get a lot tighter. Barzal slots in at No. 3 due in large part to team impact and positional value. The Islanders appear to have found the No. 2 center they desperately needed to slot behind John Tavares. Barzal has been a revelation in his first full pro season, with 14 points, tied for third among rookies. Slotted between Andrew Ladd and Jordan Eberle, Barzal has used a combination of speed and skill to have an immediate impact in the NHL. Barzal is also seeing time on the power play, but has been doing most of his damage at even strength.
The Isles' second line has been dominant in possession and providing the secondary scoring that has the club fourth in average goals for per game. Although Tavares is by far the MVP of this squad, Barzal is a big part of why opponents can't simply worry about shutting down the captain's line.
4. Brock Boeser, RW, Vancouver Canucks
It was a bit of a surprise when Boeser started the season in the press box. He sat out the team's first two games despite looking sharp in a nine-game stint with the Canucks after his college season at North Dakota in 2016-17. Boeser had four goals and an assist over his first nine NHL games last season, and has looked even better in 2017-18. Having missed one other game with an injury, Boeser has 15 points through 15 games this season, leading all rookies in points per game. That total includes three multi-point games, including a three-goal, one-assist effort against the defending Stanley Cup-champion Pittsburgh Penguins.
Boeser has been playing primarily with Bo Horvat and Sven Baertschi. That trio has been the team's most consistent scoring unit, with Boeser's 15 points leading the Canucks.
5. Nico Hischier, C, New Jersey Devils
There's an interesting competition early on in our rookie power rankings among Devils rookies. We'll start with the most recent No. 1 overall pick because I think he's been a catalyst for the Devils. Currently second on the team and tied for third among all NHL rookies with 14 points, Hischier has primarily played on the Devils' top line with Taylor Hall and Kyle Palmieri. It is not certain if he'll stay with them after Travis Zajac's forthcoming return from injury.
It will be interesting to see where Hischier goes from here, as playing alongside one of the league's top wingers in Hall is certainly helpful. That said, it's hard not to like Hischier's game on its own, especially his patience and confidence with the puck.
6. Jesper Bratt, LW, New Jersey Devils
Bratt is such a unique case among this rookie class. His production speaks for itself, with 13 points through 17 games, but in context it's even more incredible. Bratt was a sixth-round pick in 2016. It is near impossible for players drafted that low to make the NHL as a teenager. It hasn't happened since 1995-96 (Roman Vopat), according to records on hockey-reference.com. Most of the players who did make it as teens did not finish out the season in the NHL. Bratt, however, is a top-six forward on a resurgent team and one of the key contributors to said resurgence.
He is tied for third on the team in scoring and tied for fifth among all rookies. Meanwhile, he's an all-situations player, getting time on both the power play and the penalty kill. Teammate Blake Coleman is the only rookie in the NHL with more PK time than Bratt's 38:02.
7. Mikhail Sergachev, D, Tampa Bay Lightning
Slotting the rookies gets even trickier now. This one breaks my usage weighting a little bit because Sergachev has the least amount of ice time among Tampa's everyday defensemen. However, he maintains a lofty ranking because of what he's done with his limited usage. Averaging 13:44 through his team's first 18 games, the 19-year-old blueliner has 12 points already, including four goals. He is also tied for ninth among rookies -- and tops among rookie defensemen -- with 34 shots on goal.
There is no doubt that Sergachev is benefiting from being on a high-scoring team and being deployed favorably, but he's maximizing that with his production. His primary points per 60 minutes (1.47) in a pretty small sample ranks fifth among all defensemen in the NHL (via Corsica Hockey).
8. Will Butcher, D, New Jersey Devils
It's been a great start for Butcher, who apparently couldn't have made a better choice after deciding not to sign with the Colorado Avalanche last summer. The 2017 Hobey Baker Award winner has been a really good fit, too. Butcher has been dynamite on the power play. Eight of his rookie-leading 13 assists have come with the man advantage. He hasn't been a liability at even strength, despite his propensity for offense. His puck-moving skills are at a high level, and he seems to be seeing the ice well at this level.
It's never a guarantee that a dominant player in college -- which Butcher was as a senior for national champion Denver -- will have NHL success. To start, Butcher has proven he belongs and more.
9. Alex DeBrincat, LW/RW, Chicago Blackhawks
It took DeBrincat a little while to get comfortable, but we're starting to see him realize his potential a bit more at the NHL level. It hasn't been easy amid a challenging season for the Blackhawks and coach Joel Quenneville's typical line juggling. That said, DeBrincat has been progressing, and he's starting to shoot more.
Coming into the league with much fanfare as a prolific scorer with the OHL's Erie Otters, DeBrincat was a little too passive to start the campaign. Now that he's putting more pucks on net, things are starting to go better. He is tied for third on the Blackhawks with 12 points and is tied for second among rookies with seven goals. We never quite know what line DeBrincat will play on, but his recent upward trend was enough to get him in our first rookie rankings of 2017-18.
10. Alexander Kerfoot, C, Colorado Avalanche
After deciding not to sign with the Devils after his collegiate career at Harvard, Kerfoot saw a good opportunity with the Avs -- in other words, he's the reverse Will Butcher. He seized his chance with Colorado and is tied for second among rookies with seven goals so far this season. His ice time has greatly fluctuated so far, and things could shift again with Colorado recalling Vladislav Kamenev, one of the pieces acquired in the Matt Duchene trade. That said, in a small sample, Kerfoot has been effective in the minutes he's played.
He might be due a regression, depending on how his role changes and because of the 20 shots he's taken on net this season, seven have gone in (an entirely unsustainable 35 percent shooting percentage). Even knowing that, I think he has shown enough to warrant inclusion on this list. I'm just not sure how long he'll stay on if his role shifts significantly and his ice time shrinks, but he's been on fire of late.
Honorable Mention
Yanni Gourde, C/RW, Tampa Bay Lightning
Alex Iafallo, LW, Los Angeles Kings
Adrian Kempe, LW, Los Angeles Kings
Kyle Connor, LW, Winnipeg Jets
Robert Hagg, D, Philadelphia Flyers
Watch List
Charlie Lindgren, G, Montreal Canadiens
Alex Tuch, RW, Las Vegas Golden Knights