NHL Player Power Rankings: Top 50 Defensemen Under 25 Years Old

Jan 26, 2016; Raleigh, NC, USA; Carolina Hurricanes defensemen Noah Hanifin (5) skates with the puck against the Chicago Blackhawks at PNC Arena. The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 5-0. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

The second of three in a series of NHL player power rankings. This week’s countdown will feature the top players under 25-years-old. Today’s focus is the “Top 50 Defensemen Under 25”.

Check out our “Top 100 Forwards Under 25” If you missed it earlier this week. In a couple days, we’ll release the final piece in our three-part series, “Top 20 Goalies Under 25“.

Don’t forget to follow us next Monday, as we’ll tracking the NHL Trade Deadline with all-day coverage.

Requirements:

For inclusion, players must have played in at least one regular season game in 2015-16. Younger prospects with limited or no NHL experience are excluded from the countdown. We’ll track those players at a later date in our prospect countdown.

Birthday cut-off is February 25th, 1991 (1991-02-25).

Honorable Mentions:

Feb 11, 2016; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Washington Capitals defenseman Dmitry Orlov (9) against the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center. The Capitals defeated the Wild 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

Dmitry Orlov, Washington Capitals (24 years old) 1991-07-23
Jyrki Jokipakka, Dallas Stars (24 years old) 1991-08-20
Brandon Davidson, Edmonton Oilers (24 years old) 1991-08-21
Alexey Marchenko, Detroit Red Wings (24 years old) 1992-01-02
Jon Merrill, New Jersey Devils (24 years old) 1992-02-03
Patrik Nemeth, Dallas Stars (24 years old) 1992-02-08
Martin Marincin, Toronto Maple Leafs (24 years old) 1992-02-18
Brandon Gormley, Colorado Avalanche (24 years old) 1992-02-18
Jarred Tinordi, Arizona Coyotes (24 years old) 1992-02-20

Derek Forbort, Los Angeles Kings (23 years old) 1992-03-04
Erik Gustafsson, Chicago Blackhawks (23 years old) 1992-03-14
Dylan McIlrath, New York Rangers (23 years old) 1992-04-20
Scott Mayfield, New York Islanders (23 years old) 1992-10-14
Adam Clendening, Edmonton Oilers (23 years old) 1992-10-26
Joe Morrow, Boston Bruins (23 years old) 1992-12-09
Jamie Oleksiak, Dallas Stars (23 years old) 1992-12-21

Feb 14, 2016; Tampa, FL, USA; St. Louis Blues defenseman Joel Edmundson (6) skates with the puck against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the second period at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Scott Harrington, Toronto Maple Leafs (22 years old) 1993-03-10
Frank Corrado, Toronto Maple Leafs (22 years old) 1993-03-26
Ryan Murphy, Carolina Hurricanes (22 years old) 1993-03-31
Dylan DeMelo, San Jose Sharks (22 years old) 1993-05-01
Joel Edmundson, St.Louis Blues (22 years old) 1993-06-28
Mike Reilly, Minnesota Wild (22 years old) 1993-07-13
Xavier Ouellet, Detroit Red Wings (22 years old) 1993-07-29
Petteri Lindbohm, St.Louis Blues (22 years old) 1993-09-23
Brett Kulak, Calgary Flames (22 years old) 1994-01-06
Griffin Reinhart, Edmonton Oilers (22 years old) 1994-01-24
Slater Koekkoek, Tampa Bay Lightning (22 years old) 1994-02-18

Chris Bigras, Colorado Avalanche (20 years old) 1995-02-22
Mirco Mueller, San Jose Sharks (20 years old) 1995-03-21
Nikita Zadorov, Colorado Avalanche (20 years old) 1995-04-16

These NHL player power rankings are based on talent level that we’ve seen to date. It’s worth remembering that rankings of NHL youth have a tendency to change rather dramatically. Just take a look at our “Under 25 Series” from earlier in the season. We’ve had a large handful of players since celebrate their 25th birthday. We’ve decided to expand our list to a larger group for each position. Look for an updated list at the conclusion of 2015-16.

Next: 50-41