NHL Player Power Rankings: Top 100 Forwards Under 25-Years-Old
By Ryan Ritchie
NHL Player Power Rankings: Top 100 Under 25 (100-91)
100. Oskar Sundqvist, Pittsburgh Penguins (21 years old) 1994-03-23
Selected 81st overall at the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, Sundqvist is a big 6’3 209lbs Swedish center. A responsible two-way player, Sundqvist made the jump to North America in 2015-16, suiting up for AHL Wilkes-Barre in their first 39 games (16 points) before getting the call-up to Pittsburgh. He’s pointless in his first eight NHL games, averaging 10:58 of ice-time.
99. William Karlsson, Columbus Blue Jackets (23 years old) 1993-01-08
Originally a 2nd round pick of the Anaheim Ducks back in 2011, Karlson is a 6’0 180lbs Swedish center. He began the season with Columbus for his first year of full-time duties – but, was slow out of the gates. He’s seen an increase in ice-time recently, and it’s paid off for the 23-year-old, who has four goals in his last seven after only scoring four in the first 52 regular-season games.
98. Jacob de La Rose, Montreal Canadiens (20 years old) 1995-05-20
This big Swedish winger was drafted 34th overall back in 2013. He made a name for himself serving as captain for Team Sweden’s World Junior team a couple of years back. He split the 2014-15 season between the AHL and NHL, having success with the Canadiens. Somewhat surprising, De La Rose opened the 2015-16 campaign with Montreal’s AHL affiliate. It wasn’t until just recently that he got the call-up. He’s got one point in six games so far.
97. Nicolas Petan, Winnipeg Jets (20 years old) 1995-03-22
Standing 5’9 179lbs, Petan was originally drafted 43rd overall back in 2013 from WHL’s Portland Winterhawks. He’s a good puck-handler – prototypical playmaker. After starting 2015-16 with Winnipeg – appearing in 14 games, Petan was sent down to Manitoba. He’s got 27 points in 36 games of AHL action. If he can find a way to play a bigger, stronger game, he’ll be an impact player for Winnipeg in the near future.
96. Viktor Arvidsson, Nashville Predators (22 years old) 1993-04-08
An undersized Swedish winger, Arvidsson is 5’9 180lbs. He was a late bloomer, drafted at 21-years-old when Nashville selected him in the 4th round at the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.
He immediately made the jump to North America in 2014-15 joining Nashville’s AHL affiliate in Milwaukee. He had 55 points in 70 games in his AHL rookie season. Arvidsson also appeared in six games for the Predators. He’s spent time between the AHL and NHL in 2015-16, managing 18 points in 17 games during his time with Milwaukee. He’s got eight points in 33 games with Nashville. He’s played the last nine games for the Predators, and has three goals over that span.
95. Sven Baertschi, Vancouver Canucks (23 years old) 1992-10-05
Calgary’s 13th overall pick in 2011 had so much promise, but never panned out with the Flames. A very talented, skilled winger, Baertschi still needs work on his play away from the puck. It’s been an issue that’s plagued him since day one. To his credit, he’s showing improvement in 2015-16. He’s appeared in a season-high 50 games already, racking up 21 points (including 12 goals). He can be an elite sniper in the NHL, but he can’t get away with playing like Phil Kessel.
94. Marcus Foligno, Buffalo Sabres (24 years old) 1991-08-10
Son of former NHLer Mike Foligno, Marcus was selected 104th overall in 2009. Nothing like his father, Marcus is a big 6’3 226lbs power forward. He plays a strong, physical game – loves to use the body. He’s appeared in 244 career games, accumulating 85 points and 224 penalty minutes. Foligno is a gritty bottom six role player that’ll an integral secondary piece to Buffalo’s success in the future.
93. Jordan Weal, Philadelphia Flyers (23 years old) 1992-04-15
This former LA Kings draft pick was acquired recently in the Vincent Lecavalier deal. He was originally selected 70th overall in 2010 from WHL’s Regina Pats. He had 384 points in 279 games with Regina, including two 100-point (102, 116) seasons. Standing 5’10 179lbs, Weal is an extremely talented winger with an impressive offensive skill-set. His size seems to be his biggest knock – he has a reputation for being easy to knock off the puck. There’s top-six potential in there, if he can find a way to play a bigger game.
92. Joonas Donskoi, San Jose Sharks (23 years old) 1992-04-13
Donskoi was originally drafted by Florida in the 4th round back in 2010. After spending five years with Karpat of the SM-Liiga in Finland, Joonas signed with San Jose in May 2015. His point totals jumped from 37 in 2013-14 to 49 in 2015-16. He made the jump to North America in 2015-16 and made the big club out of training camp. He’s got 10 goals, 16 assists (26 points) in 52 games in his NHL rookie season so far. He’s got a solid offensive skill-set, but is better described as a two-way forward, responsible with-and-without the puck.
91. Erik Haula, Minnesota Wild (24 years old) 1991-03-23
After being selected in the 7th round back in 2009, Haula went on to have three productive seasons of college hockey at the University of Minnesota. He began his pro career in 2013-14, putting up 27 points in 31 games with AHL Iowa – prompting Minnesota to call him up, appearing in 46 games, producing 15 points. He had a disappointing season in 2014-15 (first season of full-time duties) producing 14 points in 72 games. He’s seen a slight increase in 2015-16 with 17 points in 52 games so far, but there’s something left to be desired with his offensive abilities he’s shown in his short NHL career.
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