Nov 22, 2019
Canada's NHL teams well represented in Core 4 U-24 Top 50 Players list
Canadian clubs are incredibly well represented, including the top two players in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, plus three of the top four, and nine of the top 18.
Four years ago, TSN’s inaugural Core Four Under-24 ranking had us predicting that the next Golden Age for Canada’s NHL teams was on the horizon.
That hasn’t panned out yet. The Stanley Cup drought is into its 27th year, and the Winnipeg Jets are the only Canadian club to inch within two rounds of Lord Stanley during that period.
But that doesn't mean that the Golden Age still won't happen, if our Top 50 players under the age of 24 rankings are any indication.
Canadian clubs are incredibly well represented, including the top two players in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, plus three of the top four, and nine of the top 18.
Let's see how the Top 50 young stars stack up:
2019 Nos. 1 - 5
| Player | 2018 Rank | 2019-20 | Age | GP | G | A | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Connor McDavid, C | 1 | Edmonton (NHL) | 22 | 24 | 16 | 28 | 44 |
| 2 Leon Draisaitl, C | 11 | Edmonton (NHL) | 24 | 24 | 16 | 28 | 44 |
| 3 David Pastrnak, RW | 4 | Boston (NHL) | 23 | 22 | 20 | 16 | 36 |
| 4 Auston Matthews, C | 2 | Toronto (NHL) | 22 | 24 | 15 | 13 | 28 |
| 5 Elias Pettersson, C | 5 | Vancouver (NHL) | 21 | 23 | 9 | 19 | 28 |
2019 Nos. 6 - 10
| Player | 2018 Rank | 2019-20 | Age | GP | G | A | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 Brayden Point, C | 13 | Tampa Bay (NHL) | 23 | 16 | 5 | 8 | 13 |
| 7 Jack Eichel, C | 10 | Buffalo (NHL) | 23 | 22 | 13 | 13 | 26 |
| 8 Miro Heiskanen, D | 21 | Dallas (NHL) | 20 | 23 | 6 | 11 | 17 |
| 9 Mikko Rantanen, RW | 6 | Colorado (NHL) | 23 | 9 | 5 | 7 | 12 |
| 10 Matthew Tkachuk, LW | 16 | Calgary (NHL) | 21 | 25 | 10 | 10 | 20 |
2019 Nos. 11 - 15
| Player | 2018 Rank | 2019-20 | Age | GP | G | A | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 Mitch Marner, RW | 8 | Toronto (NHL) | 22 | 18 | 4 | 14 | 18 |
| 12 Cale Makar, D | 41 | Colorado (NHL) | 21 | 22 | 7 | 18 | 25 |
| 13 Sebastian Aho, C | 19 | Carolina (NHL) | 22 | 22 | 11 | 6 | 17 |
| 14 Mathew Barzal, C | 20 | NY Islanders (NHL) | 22 | 20 | 9 | 11 | 20 |
| 15 Rasmus Dahlin, D | 9 | Buffalo (NHL) | 19 | 22 | 1 | 13 | 14 |
2019 Nos. 16 - 20
| Player | 2018 Rank | 2019-20 | Age | GP | G | A | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 Brock Boeser, RW | 26 | Vancouver (NHL) | 22 | 23 | 10 | 13 | 23 |
| 17 Kyle Connor, LW | 25 | Winnipeg (NHL) | 22 | 23 | 8 | 10 | 18 |
| 18 Thomas Chabot, D | 18 | Ottawa (NHL) | 22 | 22 | 1 | 11 | 12 |
| 19 Andrei Svechnikov, RW | 48 | Carolina (NHL) | 19 | 22 | 10 | 14 | 24 |
| 20 Jack Hughes, C | - | New Jersey (NHL) | 18 | 20 | 4 | 6 | 10 |
2019 Nos. 21 - 25
| Player | 2018 Rank | 2019-20 | Age | GP | G | A | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 Bowen Byram, D | - | Vancouver (WHL) | 18 | 21 | 3 | 12 | 15 |
| 22 Zach Werenski, D | 23 | Columbus (NHL) | 22 | 21 | 6 | 7 | 13 |
| 23 Ivan Provorov, D | 24 | Philadelphia (NHL) | 22 | 22 | 5 | 9 | 14 |
| 24 Charlie McAvoy, D | 14 | Boston (NHL) | 21 | 22 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| 25 Alex DeBrincat, RW/LW | 39 | Chicago (NHL) | 21 | 22 | 5 | 12 | 17 |
2019 Nos. 26 - 30
| Player | 2018 Rank | 2019-20 | Age | GP | G | A | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 Timo Meier, RW | 34 | San Jose (NHL) | 23 | 23 | 6 | 8 | 14 |
| 27 Igor Shestyorkin, G | - | Hartford (AHL) | 23 | 11 | 7-2-4 | 1.89 | .931 |
| 28 Carter Hart, G | 50 | Philadelphia (NHL) | 21 | 14 | 6-5-2 | 2.72 | .896 |
| 29 Nico Hischier, C | 29 | New Jersey (NHL) | 20 | 18 | 3 | 7 | 10 |
| 30 Pierre-Luc Dubois, C | 30 | Columbus (NHL) | 21 | 21 | 9 | 7 | 16 |
2019 Nos. 31 - 35
| Player | 2018 Rank | 2019-20 | Age | GP | G | A | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 Dylan Larkin, C/LW | 32 | Detroit (NHL) | 23 | 24 | 6 | 10 | 16 |
| 32 Ilya Samsonov, G | - | Washington (NHL) | 22 | 8 | 5-2-1 | 2.65 | .912 |
| 33 Quinn Hughes, D | - | Vancouver (NHL) | 20 | 22 | 2 | 15 | 17 |
| 34 Patrik Laine, LW | 20 | Winnipeg (NHL) | 21 | 21 | 6 | 14 | 20 |
| 35 Kaapo Kakko, RW | - | NY Rangers (NHL) | 19 | 17 | 6 | 4 | 10 |
2019 Nos. 36 - 40
| Player | 2018 Rank | 2019-20 | Age | GP | G | A | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 36 Kirby Dach, C/RW | - | Chicago (NHL) | 18 | 16 | 5 | 5 | 10 |
| 37 Cole Caufield, RW | - | Wisconsin (NCAA) | 18 | 12 | 9 | 6 | 15 |
| 38 Spencer Knight, G | - | Boston (NCAA) | 18 | 11 | 7-4-0 | 1.91 | .936 |
| 39 Alexander Romanov, D | - | Moscow (KHL) | 19 | 28 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 40 Erik Brannstrom, D | - | Ottawa (NHL) | 20 | 19 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
2019 Nos. 41 - 45
| Player | 2018 Rank | 2019-20 | Age | GP | G | A | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 41 William Nylander, RW | 28 | Toronto (NHL) | 23 | 24 | 8 | 10 | 18 |
| 42 Clayton Keller, C/RW | 15 | Arizona (NHL) | 21 | 23 | 4 | 9 | 13 |
| 43 Sam Reinhart, RW | - | Buffalo (NHL) | 24 | 22 | 8 | 9 | 17 |
| 44 Aaron Ekblad, D | 36 | Florida (NHL) | 23 | 21 | 4 | 9 | 13 |
| 45 Travis Konecny, RW | - | Philadelphia (NHL) | 22 | 22 | 8 | 13 | 23 |
2019 Nos. 46 - 50
| Player | 2018 Rank | 2019-20 | Age | GP | G | A | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 46 Brady Tkachuk, LW | 43 | Ottawa (NHL) | 20 | 22 | 8 | 5 | 13 |
| 47 Jakub Vrana, LW | - | Washington (NHL) | 23 | 23 | 10 | 8 | 18 |
| 48 Mikhail Sergachev, D | 35 | Tampa Bay (NHL) | 21 | 21 | 1 | 9 | 10 |
| 49 Nikolaj Ehlers, RW | 37 | Winnipeg (NHL) | 23 | 23 | 10 | 7 | 17 |
| 50 Nick Schmaltz, C | - | Arizona (NHL) | 23 | 23 | 4 | 14 | 18 |