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In this edition of the hotstove, we share our rankings for the top-5 wingers in the NHL who are 22 or younger.
Todd Cordell
1. David Pastrnak
Pastrnak is one of just nine players to register at least 65 goals and 150 points over the last two seasons. He's an elite point producer, he drives play, and he's very effective whether he's riding shotgun with Patrice Bergeron/Brad Marchand or anchoring his own line.
2. Leon Draisaitl
Draisaitl has put up at least 70 points in consecutive years and proven he can be productive without Connor McDavid (last season he averaged ~2 points per 60 sans McDavid at 5v5), although he has spent more time with him than without over the last two years and that's why I have him listed as a winger.
3. Patrik Laine
Only Alex Ovechkin has scored more goals than Laine since he entered the league. He is as dangerous as anyone in the league from the blue line in.
4. William Nylander
Nylander finished just one 5v5 point shy of the Hart Trophy winner, Taylor Hall, last season. The reason his numbers don't really jump off the page is some poor puck luck on the man advantage, which was a big factor in his PP point total dropping from 26 in 2016-17 to 12 in 2017-18.
As for why I chose Nylander over Mitch Marner...
5. Nikolaj Ehlers
He's very productive at 5v5, his underlying numbers are excellent, and he's one of the league's best players through the neutral zone. I think his numbers would be more eye-popping if he had the benefit of playing on PP1 as opposed to anchoring his own unit with a much lesser supporting cast.
James Tanner
1. Patrik Laine - He's already one of the best goal scorers in the NHL, and only the existence of Auston Matthews prevents him from eventually being the best.
2. William Nylander - Slightly behind Pastrnak and Ehlers right now maybe, but has the highest ceiling and will be the fourth option on his team, allowing him to post gaudy numbers while defenses focus on Matthews and Tavares.
3. Nik Ehlers - Somehow underrated, probably because Laine is on his team. Much like Nylander, he'll be able to exploit favorable matchups and the fact that attention goes elsewhere.
4. Mikko Rantanen - Put up sweet numbers even when Mackinnon didn't play. He's amazing and only getting better. Could easily end up being the best on this list. These rankings could pretty much go in any order, other than Laine, who is the best.
5. David Pastrnak - I could score 30 goals if you skated me with Marchand and Bergeron, so it's hard to get a feel for how good he may or may not actually be, but he is fun to watch and you can't deny the numbers, which are probably better than everyone elses on this list.
6. Mitch Marner - he's just as good as anyone here and may prove to be the best. Slightly inflated numbers due to PP but he's also got a Hart/Art Ross ceiling. I included six because the drop off doesn't start until after Marner or whoever you would rank at 6. 2-6 put them in any order, you can't be wrong.
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