Rookies to watch

Rookie rankings

Updated November 15, 2026. Players in their NHL rookie season.

#	Player	Team	Pos	Season proj.	Current pts	GP	Stats
1	Jacob Fowler	MTL	G	48.4	22	12	9 W · 2 SO
2	Cole Hutson	WSH	D	32.7	15	18	5 G · 10 A
3	Gavin McKenna	TOR	L	29.7	13	22	6 G · 7 A
4	Roman Kantserov	CHI	R	28.7	12	20	9 G · 3 A
5	Dylan Garand	NYR	G	28.4	16	15	7 W · 1 SO
6	Trevor Connelly	VGK	L	28.1	12	21	7 G · 5 A
7	Ivar Stenberg	SJS	L	27.6	12	22	6 G · 6 A
8	T.J. Hughes	COL	R	23.8	10	21	2 G · 8 A
9	Anton Frondell	CHI	C	23.1	10	20	4 G · 6 A
10	Victor Eklund	NYI	R	23.0	11	19	7 G · 4 A
11	Judd Caulfield	ANA	R	22.0	9	18	4 G · 5 A
12	Colten Ellis	BUF	G	21.8	8	8	3 W · 1 SO
13	Porter Martone	PHI	R	21.2	9	22	3 G · 6 A
14	Michael Brandsegg-Nygård	DET	R	20.6	11	21	4 G · 7 A
15	James Hagens Injured Reserve	BOS	C	19.3	12	17	6 G · 6 A
16	Sebastian Cossa	UTA	G	18.6	8	8	4 W · 0 SO
17	Sandis Vilmanis	FLA	L	17.4	8	18	3 G · 5 A
18	Ilya Protas	WSH	L	17.0	7	18	2 G · 5 A
19	Arttu Hyry	DAL	R	16.2	7	19	5 G · 2 A
20	Oliver Bonk	PHI	D	16.2	7	16	1 G · 6 A
21	Noah Warren	ANA	D	14.7	6	20	0 G · 6 A
22	William Wallinder	DET	D	14.2	6	16	2 G · 4 A
23	Aydar Suniev	CGY	L	13.0	6	17	4 G · 2 A
24	Frederic Brunet	BOS	D	12.3	5	14	1 G · 4 A
25	Anton Johansson	DET	D	12.2	5	21	2 G · 3 A
26	Carter Mazur	DET	L	10.9	5	14	1 G · 4 A
27	Owen Michaels	EDM	R	10.8	4	21	2 G · 2 A
28	Viggo Björck	WPG	C	10.8	4	21	0 G · 4 A
29	Amadeus Lombardi	NJD	C	10.7	4	17	0 G · 4 A
30	Eric Pohlkamp	SJS	D	10.6	3	6	1 G · 2 A
31	Florian Xhekaj	MTL	L	10.1	3	8	1 G · 2 A
32	Cole Knuble	PHI	R	10.0	3	9	3 G · 0 A
33	Sergei Murashov	PIT	G	9.4	4	8	2 W · 0 SO
34	Jonathan Castagna	CGY	C	8.8	3	17	0 G · 3 A
35	Roger McQueen	ANA	C	8.7	3	15	2 G · 1 A
36	William Stromgren	CGY	L	8.5	2	5	2 G · 0 A
37	Carter Yakemchuk	OTT	D	8.2	3	15	1 G · 2 A
38	Brayden Yager	WPG	C	8.0	2	6	1 G · 1 A
39	Sam O'Reilly	TBL	R	8.0	1	3	0 G · 1 A
40	Konsta Helenius Injured Reserve	BUF	C	7.0	3	11	1 G · 2 A

Classic scoring · Yetii Pool projections · NHL data

How we calculate

Classic scoring: goal 1, assist 1, win 2, shutout 2. Season projection = points already scored + the rest of the season at the player's projected pace (last season weighted at 0.7 plus this season, pulled toward his position's average when the sample is small), multiplied by his share of his team's remaining games (injuries included). These are the same projections as Yetii Pool's draft kit, which recalculates them with your pool's exact scoring.

Rookies: when to draft them?

• Late in the draft: in the early rounds, favour sure things.
• Watch their role: a rookie on the top line or power play can explode.
• Rookie scoring: some pools give a bonus to first-year players (on Yetii Pool, with a "rookies" scoring type).

Frequently asked questions