We're close to one month into the 2019-20 NHL season, and it's time to look at the rookie class. It remains an exciting one -- even if several of the bigger-name prospects haven't necessarily made a massive immediate impact. There's an awfully long way to go.
At this point, there are a couple of things I'm going to look at a lot closer than point totals. The first is usage. The coaches have the best read on the team and the best sense of what they feel their young players can handle. In many cases, we've seen rookies put into elevated roles on their teams and excel, whether it be as top-four defensemen or top-six forwards. That early-season vote of confidence says a lot about the player's preparation and development. You have to take into account the quality of the team, but any rookie playing big minutes and in special-teams situations says a lot about him.
The other thing I'm looking at is whether the player is starting to make the adjustment to the NHL level. That comes in the forms of increased production, increased usage or just little flourishes in his game you can see when watching. Jack Hughes didn't have a ton of points at the beginning of the season, but he kept getting closer and closer before the dam broke for him. Cale Makar has had to adjust to different partners, different roles on the penalty kill and how to defend at this level. You start seeing those incremental improvements and it's a great sign for where their seasons are headed.
Each month, we're going to do status updates for this rookie class. This isn't necessarily an early-season Calder Trophy ranking, instead a helpful look at the first-year players who are making an early impact. The fluctuation in the rankings could be pretty dramatic month to month based on the quality of this class.
1. Cale Makar, D, Colorado Avalanche
It helps to be part of one of the best teams in the league, but Makar has been far more than a passenger. His ability to play with speed and his natural instincts have made his transition to full-time NHLer rather seamless. Makar has hit a few bumps in the road, as he's been moved around the lineup and on special teams a bit, but the 21-year-old is among the rookie scoring leaders, with 10 points through his first 11 NHL games. Six of those points have come on the power play, where Makar has averaged 3:37 of ice time per game this season. He's averaging 18:32 of total ice time, and is starting to direct more pucks to net.
2. Victor Olofsson, RW, Buffalo Sabres
Olofsson has been automatic on the power play, having scored all six of his goals on the man advantage. The 24-year-old has a devastating shot and has shown good mobility at the NHL level. Now we have to see if the production can come at even strength, but he's made about as much of the opportunity as any rookie could after waiting patiently for a real NHL shot. The biggest thing Olofsson has offered is a legitimate top-six option who has shown some good chemistry with Jack Eichel, while also contributing to Buffalo's quicker pace as a team this season. The Swedish winger has fit into the way the Sabres want to play under new coach Ralph Krueger, and is a big part of their resurgence in the early stages of this season.
3. Quinn Hughes, D, Vancouver Canucks
The Canucks have been more fun to watch this season than I expected, and Hughes is a big reason for it. He has such a unique style, and while he's not without mistakes, you love to see him show off his creativity. Hughes earned the trust of the coaching staff quickly, as he's already been elevated to the first power-play unit, playing at the top of the point. The Michigan product is averaging over 20 minutes of ice time per game. His ability to defend at the NHL level is still a work in progress, but the effort level is there, as a scout who recently watched Hughes told me. As he gets stronger, he'll win more pucks in battle situations. The important thing is that he's getting in there. Also, with seven points in 11 games, he's second among rookie defensemen in scoring, and fourth among all rookies.
4. Ilya Mikheyev, RW, Toronto Maple Leafs
He's the elder statesman of the rookie class, having just turned 25, but Mikheyev still has Calder eligibility and has been effective for the Maple Leafs. He's helped beef up the Toronto attack with good size and the ability to play effectively on the penalty kill, and he's produced, also leading all rookies in shots on goal, with 36. Having a versatile top-six forward who comes relatively inexpensively is so important to the cap-strapped Leafs this season. With four seasons as a full-time KHLer and being just a year shy of the age cutoff, it might be hard for Mikheyev to pick up Calder votes. But he's still technically a rookie at the early stages of his NHL career, and he is making the often-difficult jump from KHL to NHL look pretty easy.
5. Jack Hughes, C, New Jersey Devils
The slow start drew headlines as expected, but the No. 1 overall pick is starting to settle in. Taking reps with the top line of Taylor Hall and Kyle Palmieri when Nico Hischier went down with injury -- and looking awfully comfortable doing so -- Hughes continues building. After going without a point in his first six games, he put up five in the next three, including a pair of goals on the power play. As the first player ever to make the jump directly from USA Hockey's National Team Development Program to the NHL, there were bound to be growing pains, but Hughes has not allowed his confidence to waver, and it's paying off as he looks natural when paired with an elite winger like Hall.
6. Cody Glass, C, Vegas Golden Knights
After starting the season with some time between Mark Stone and Max Pacioretty, Glass has settled in with the third line in Vegas. The natural center is playing on the wing, but has continually proved that he's more than prepared to play at this level. With high-end vision and the ability to process the game at NHL speeds, he's been making plays and being effective
7. Ethan Bear, D, Edmonton Oilers
Bear leads all rookies in average ice time (21:31) while often playing on Edmonton's top pairing with Darnell Nurse. Bear also kills penalties, but has played the second-most minutes on the entire team at even strength this season. Only Nurse has played more. As other rookies start producing more, they'll surpass Bear for rookie accolades, but there's little question Bear has made Edmonton better on the back end this season.
8. Dante Fabbro, D, Nashville Predators
The Predators' defense has always been a strength for the team, and that hasn't really changed even after shipping P.K. Subban to New Jersey this summer. Part of the reason for that is the steady play of the 21-year-old Fabbro, who has established himself in the team's top four while playing almost exclusively at even strength.
9. Martin Necas, C, Carolina Hurricanes
He's been a depth player for Carolina, but Necas has done quite a bit with a smaller amount of ice time. He has six points through 12 games. I think he's just starting to scratch the surface and is in a situation where he's not going to get the elevated playing time of some of his fellow rookies. I'll be interested to see how eager the Hurricanes are to bump him up if and when there are injuries.
10. Ville Heinola, D, Winnipeg Jets
The Jets have a tough decision here as they weigh the importance of Heinola's development with the fact that he's played effectively when he's been in the lineup. He's at eight games right now, which gives the team another game to play him in before having to decide whether it wants to burn the first year of his entry-level contract. With five points in those eight games, it's tempting. That said, it is looking more and more like he will be returned to Finland, where he can be in the lineup every day, play at the world juniors and allow Winnipeg to sort out its patchwork blue line without any negative impact on his development.
Checking in on the goalies
The rookie crop of goaltenders is led by a pair of prospects who have been highly touted for some time. Neither, however, is his team's primary netminder at present. However, when called upon, they've been mostly excellent.
Thatcher Demko, Vancouver Canucks
He's made only four starts this season, but Demko has been a winner in three of them. He's faced 119 shots in those four outings and has made 112 stops for a .941 save percentage. It's far too small a sample to make any sweeping proclamations, but Demko has looked comfortable and provides a good alternative if Jacob Markstrom's play dips.
Ilya Samsonov, Washington Capitals
Samsonov's play early in the season was enough to start a halfhearted goalie controversy in Washington. Obviously, Braden Holtby is and will be the guy for the Caps, but the young Russian has performed when called upon. Samsonov has had one shaky start in four, and still got the win in the Caps' dramatic comeback over the Canucks. He has a .913 save percentage in five total appearances.
Players worth monitoring
Kaapo Kakko, RW, New York Rangers
When Kakko revealed to a Finnish reporter that he's unhappy, it set off some alarm bells for me. It's so early in his NHL career, and things haven't been going exactly the way he'd like, which happens to a lot of prospects. With three points in 10 games and the Rangers struggling, it's not going to be fun. Here's a guy who has not had a lot of adversity in his young career, and is used to winning. With gold medals in three different IIHF world championship events and an impressive season in Finland in 2018-19, this is foreign territory for him in so many ways.
Kakko is an incredible talent. His first NHL goal was a beauty, and he's showed flashes of that talent at times. There are growing pains for all players who have never played in North America before and for any young player in general. The team has to handle this situation well, but I'm not worried about Kakko at all.
Noah Dobson, D, New York Islanders
He was one of the best defensive prospects outside of the NHL last season, and he's not playing in the NHL right now. The Islanders are rolling, and it's been harder and harder to get Dobson into the lineup even though when he plays he's showed he can hang. With only three games under his belt, there's not a ton to evaluate aside from the fact that he's looked extremely confident. I don't think he should go back to his junior team if the Islanders can avoid it, but if he's not going to play, they might have no choice.
Joel Farabee, LW, Philadelphia Flyers
I've made a point to watch Farabee's first few NHL games after he didn't make the team out of camp. That's because what I saw from him in the AHL showed that he was ready. In the games I've seen, Farabee has confidence with the puck, work ethic and competitiveness away from it, and he's been a factor. With two points including a goal called back for offside in the same game, he should already have a nicer stat line. He's forcing the Flyers to keep him up -- and keep playing him.
Alexander Nylander, LW, Chicago Blackhawks
The consistency issues that have confounded those who watched Nylander as a prospect have occasionally turned up over his 10 games this season, but so has the higher-end skill that made him such a highly regarded player in his draft season. It's still hard to know exactly what Nylander will be, but for now he's at least provided Chicago a viable top-six option and an effective producer when he's on his game.