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In this edition of the hotstove, we share our rankings for the top-5 centers in the NHL who are 22 or younger.
Todd Cordell
1. Connor McDavid (EDM)
No debate here. He may already be the best player in the league.
2. Auston Matthews (TOR)
As a rookie, he led the league in 5v5 goals and scored 40 overall. The sky is the limit for him.
3. Jack Eichel (BUF)
I'd like to see more from him at 5v5 but he averaged almost a point per game last season despite playing for a horrible team. The Sabres made some nice additions to their roster this off-season so he should have more help moving forward.
4. Nathan MacKinnon (COL)
MacKinnon put up 53 points last season despite shooting 6% (that number will almost certainly go up next season) and playing on a completely inept team in the Avalanche. He also fared very well in possession. I think he can become one of the better players in the league.
5. Aleksander Barkov (FLA)
His numbers away from Jaromir Jagr give me some cause for concern but I still think he can be an excellent two-way forward.
Honorable mention: Sean Monahan. Scoring goals is very difficult in today's NHL and Monahan has averaged 28 over the last three seasons.
Note: At 5v5, Leon Draisaitl spent more time on McDavid's wing than centering his own line last season so *I* will consider him a winger in this series.
Peter Tessier
Most of this list is easy for obvious reasons.
#1 McDavid- what more do you want to say about this kid- he's amaze-balls
#2 Matthews- sure he's had one season but the season he had basically changed the course of the Leafs.
#3 Barkov- I'm not sure he gets the respect or the notice simply because he plays on the Panthers but the guy is damn good.
#4 Wennberg- like the others there something special about him and his setups are incredible while he still has upside for goal scoring
#5 MacKinnon- the mess that is the Avalanche has an effect on all players and Mackinnon is paying for it heavily, on any other team he's got at least 20 more points.
Honourable mentions are Monahan, Eichel, and of course Draisaitl
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