McDavid and Draisaitl keep Oilers atop Core 4 U-24 Ranking

The bar has been set high.

Only Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl meet it, as we take TSN Hockey’s annual Core 4 Under 24 ranking to the next level this year, breaking the best young players in the world into five separate stratospheres.

McDavid and Draisaitl are in a class of their own – the only two AAA players in the TSN Hockey rankings. Another 11 burgeoning superstars – AA players – many already lower-case faces of the game, rank below them. They are followed by the usual class of productive and talented first-line forwards and first-pair defencemen – A players.

We then assigned each grade a corresponding value, which aided in team rankings.

The results are unsurprisingly familiar, with the Edmonton Oilers landing at the top of the Core 4 rankings for the third time in four years. Watching McDavid and his second-brain linemate Draisaitl lap the league in scoring for the first-place Oilers seems to support that result.

But six of the last 12 Stanley Cup finalists find themselves in the bottom third of the Core 4, a poignant reminder for these teams to strike while the window of opportunity is wide open. It might not open again for a while.

That’s a message the Oilers, Maple Leafs and Canucks – three Canadian clubs inside the Core’s Top Four – should heed with the salary cap creating as much or more of a threat as a player’s aging curve.

Life comes at you fast, like this ever-changing referendum on the game’s next greats.

Methodology: We went through every organization, from top to bottom, isolating the top players 23-and-under who are now Core 4 players or are authentic candidates to become Core 4 players. We then graded each eligible player, which came with a corresponding point value that aided in team rankings. In the case of closely graded teams, the edge was given to teams with a stronger total core. With closely graded players, those currently in the NHL earned the edge over prospects in the minors or junior. To be eligible, a player must be 23 or under on Oct. 1, 2019.

Legend

Team moved up from 2018 Ranking

Team moved down from 2018 Ranking

Cream of the Crop

Elite Star

No. 1 goalie, 1st pair defenceman, 1st line forward

No. 1 goalie, 2nd pair defenceman, 2nd line forward

Depth goalie, 3rd pair defenceman, 3rd/4th line forward

Here are the fourth annual TSN Hockey Core 4 Under 24 rankings for 2019:

 

THE CORE FOUR

 

1. Edmonton (2018: No. 1)

Aged Out From 2018: Darnell Nurse

Scoop: We’ve run out of superlatives to describe McDavid and Draisaitl. So we’ll ask: When was the last time two teammates had a one-two finish in voting for the Hart Trophy? It’s supposed to be for the player adjudged most valuable to his team. They’re impossible to separate. (The answer, by the way, is Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito in 1970-71)

Click here for Edmonton's Core 4...Plus Four.

 

 

2. Colorado (2018: No. 3)

Aged Out From 2018: Nathan MacKinnon

Scoop: Cale Makar is the exception to the rule, the only player without a significant NHL body of work to earn “AA” status in the Core 4. He’s that smooth. Makar became second-fastest rookie defenceman to 20 points, hitting the mark in 20 games, ahead of Bobby Orr (33 GP) and Nick Lidstrom (22 GP). That’s decent company.

 

 

3. Toronto (2018: No. 2)

Aged Out From 2018: None

Scoop: There’s been no shortage of disappointment around the Maple Leafs to start this season. But one development that’s flown under the radar is that William Nylander is back to producing like the first line talent he’s paid to be. If the Leafs do decide to shake things up, Nylander would have to be one of their most enticing moveable assets.

Click here for Toronto's Core Four...Plus Four.

 

 

4. Vancouver (2018: 4)

Aged Out From 2018: Bo Horvat

Scoop: Not many NHL teams can graduate their captain from the Core 4 and still place in the top four. Then again, not many teams are like the Canucks, one of just three with an “A” graded player in the fourth slot.

Click here for Vancouver's Core Four...Plus Four.

 

 

THE NEXT FOUR

 

5. Carolina (2018: 12)

Aged Out From 2018: Brett Pesce

Scoop: Over three years, the Canes have climbed from 16 to 12, now up to five. They’ve always been this good, graduating Brett Pesce, Jaccob Slavin and Teuvo Teravainen over that time. We overlooked them, but now we’re in tune with a franchise ready to be an East power for the next number of years.

 

 

6. Philadelphia (2018: 16)

Aged Out From 2018: None

Scoop: Here’s the scary thing about the Flyers: Not only does their Core 4 not include 2017 No. 2 overall pick Nolan Patrick, who has sat out this season with migraines, but it also didn’t have room for Philly’s current leading goal scorer in Oskar Lindblom. The bet is Lindblom, Phil Myers, Travis Sanheim, Patrick and Morgan Frost each might’ve made the Core for 20 other NHL teams.

 

 

7. Boston (2018: 7)

Aged Out From 2018: None.

Scoop: David Pastrnak was the only player under consideration to join the rarified air of the “AAA” club in the Core 4 alongside McDavid and Draisaitl. He’s scoring at will, on pace this season to be the NHL’s first 70-goal scorer since Alex Mogilny and Teemu Selanne each did it in 1992-93.

 

 

8. Buffalo (2018: 6)

Aged Out From 2018: None

Scoop: Jack Eichel has taken it to the next level this season, one of the NHL’s truly dominant players through the first quarter. It’s hard to believe the Sabres’ captain and $10 million man had not yet hit 30 goals in his first four seasons.

 

 

THE WILD CARD

 

9. NY Rangers (2018: 20)

Aged Out From 2018: Neal Pionk (also traded to Winnipeg)

Scoop: New York is home to the Core 4 wild card. The Broadway Blueshirts have Kaapo Kakko, Igor Shesterkin, Vitaly Kravtsov and Adam Fox ready for the big time. But the sky is the limit for rebuilding Rangers, with a varied prospect pool that’s deep and has every position covered, starting with the best goaltending prospect in the world in Shestyorkin, the heir to King Henrik’s throne.

 

 

THE BEST OF THE REST

 

10. Tampa Bay (2018: 14)

Aged Out: None

Scoop: Anthony Cirelli’s excellent rookie season got lost in the buzz of an exceptional Calder class last year. He ended up with 19 goals and 39 points and was voted the first-team All-Rookie centre, playing a checking role that brings a much-needed different element to the Bolts.

 

 

11. Calgary (2018: 13)

Aged Out From 2018: Elias Lindholm

Scoop: The big blow to the Flames’ season was losing Juuso Valimaki to a torn ACL in August, putting a potential breakout campaign on pause. He put a wrench in Calgary’s depth chart and left natural questions about how much his recovery will halt his trending first-pairing progress.

Click here for Calgary's Core Four...Plus Four.

 

 

12. Ottawa (2018: 10)

Aged Out From 2018: None

Scoop: What a difference a year makes, subbing out Max Lajoie (in the AHL) for top-end prospect Erik Brannstrom. This Core 4 is experiencing growing pains in the NHL, but they’re doing it together. The fun is in projecting what this Sens roster will look like with two or three years of seasoning. It’s already catching teams by surprise.

Click here for Ottawa's Core Four...Plus Four.

 

 

13. Chicago (2018: 22)

Aged Out From 2018: None

Scoop: It’s been a change on the fly for Stan Bowman’s Blackhawks. Alex DeBrincat is doing his thing and he’s helped Dylan Strome rejuvenate his game. But the additions of Kirby Dach and Adam Boqvist in real time make the future suddenly look a whole lot brighter than it did.

 

 

14. New Jersey (2018: 26)

Aged Out From 2018: Will Butcher

Scoop: The Devils were the biggest climber in the 2019 edition of the Core 4, rising 12 spots from 2018. Yep, that’s what you get for winning the Draft Lottery and the right to select Jack Hughes. Thanks, Taylor Hall.

 

 

15. Montreal (2018: 18)

Aged Out From 2018: Max Domi, Jonathan Drouin

Scoop: It’s incredible how the shape of the Habs’ Core 4 has changed in just two years. ‘Goal’ Caulfield has jumped to the top of the board on the basis of scoring goals like no one else. But there is also some concern about potential regression from Jesperi Kotkaniemi as he continues to find his way.

Click here for Montreal's Core Four...Plus Four.

 

 

16. Arizona (2018: 15)

Aged Out From 2018: None

Scoop: No prospect has burst onto the scene quite like Jan Jenik, the third-round pick (No. 65 overall) from 2018, who has been electrifying this season in the OHL. Jenik has notched a point in every single game this season, a 20-game streak to start the year. He has a long way to go to catch Doug Gilmour for the OHL record at 55 games.

 

 

17. Washington (2018: 23)

Aged Out From 2018: Andre Burakovsky (also traded to Colorado)

Scoop: It’s the United Nations version of the Core 4 in the U.S. capital with a Czech, a Russian, a Canadian and a Slovak. Ilya Samsonov certainly appears to be showing enough to make the cap-crunched Caps think long and hard about Braden Holtby moving on as a free agent this summer.

 

 

18. Dallas (2018: 13)

Aged Out From 2018: None

Scoop: Miro Heiskanen may have finished fourth in Calder Trophy voting last season but he is one of just 11 players to earn a “AA” grade in the Core 4. Heiskanen controls the game from the backend for Dallas with a poise and pace that’s scary for his age. The Stars overhauled the Core 4 under Heiskanen this year, aided by the emergence of Roope Hintz.

 

 

19. Winnipeg (2018: 5)

Aged Out From 2018: Josh Morrissey

Scoop: No team took a bigger tumble in the Core 4 rankings than the Jets, who slid 14 spots from last year. That’s on the back of Patrik Laine, who scored 13 goals in a 10-day span this time last year. He has just 14 in the calendar year since, leaving plenty of questions about his rank and status in the Core 4.

Click here for Winnipeg's Core Four...Plus Four.

 

 

20. Columbus (2018: 17)

Aged Out From 2018: None

Scoop: Remember that audible gasp inside KeyBank Center in Buffalo at the 2016 NHL Draft when GM Jarmo Kekalainen picked Pierre-Luc Dubois over fellow Finn Jesse Puljujarvi? Yeah, that’s the same one Oiler fans have been making into a paper bag over and over again since then.

 

 

21. NY Islanders (2018: 9)

Aged Out From 2018: Ilya Sorokin

Scoop: Use this same scale two seasons ago and Mathew Barzal certainly would’ve been in the conversation for that prime “AA” grade. His production took a step back last season but seems to have returned to that level this season in Year 2 under Barry Trotz.

 

 

22. Florida (2018: 8)

Aged Out From 2018: Aleksander Barkov

Scoop: Like the Jets, the Panthers also fell 14 slots year over year. But Barkov was also among the best players to graduate from the Core 4 program last year. The question now is whether Grigori Denisenko, who has just 12 points in 47 career KHL games, can help carry the Cats forward.

 

 

23. Vegas (2018: 19)

Aged Out From 2018: Shea Theodore

Scoop: It’s still amazing to think that for all of the success the Golden Knights have enjoyed over three years, Cody Glass just became their first draft pick to play in the NHL this season. Don’t forget: the Knights also drafted two other players in the Core 4 in Ottawa’s Erik Brannstrom and Montreal’s Nick Suzuki. We’ll see how those trades pan out.

 

 

24. Detroit (2018: 11)

Aged Out From 2018: None

Scoop: Steve Yzerman has already begun to put his stamp on the Red Wings, making 11 picks in last June’s Draft. The best part about picking Moritz Seider at No. 6 is that the Wings have been able to keep close tabs on the rangy German rookie in AHL Grand Rapids this season as an 18-year-old.

 

 

25. Los Angeles (2018: 30)

Aged Out From 2018: None

Scoop: Slowly but steadily, Rob Blake is turning the page in Tinseltown. With four pick inside the Top 50 last year, Alex Turcotte, Tobias Bjornfot and Arthur Kaliyev (the OHL’s leading scorer) have turned over the Core 4 and given the Kings’ prospect cupboard a much-needed shot in the arm.

 

 

26. Anaheim (2018: 24) 

Aged Out From 2018: None

Scoop: What the Ducks might lack in top-end talent outside of Trevor Zegras, they make up for in organizational depth. They have approximately 12 total NHL-bound players under the age of 24 waiting in the wings, by our estimation.

 

 

27. Minnesota (2018: 28)

Aged Out From 2018: None

Scoop: The search for a game breaker rages on in Minnesota, where none of their recent first-round picks have proven to be difference makers. Kirill Kaprizov remains a unicorn for now, still under contract in Moscow, where new GM Bill Guerin plans to visit him this month.

 

 

28. San Jose (2018: 30)

Aged Out From 2018: None

Scoop: The Sharks were one of the few teams to not have any Core 4 changes in either player or their order. No player bet on himself more than Kevin Labanc last summer with a one-year, $1 million deal to see whether the Sharks will open up the bank for him.

 

 

29. Nashville (2018: 27)

Aged Out From 2018: Juuse Saros, Kevin Fiala (traded)

Scoop: Eeli Tolvanen has quickly arrived at the crossroads his career. Just two years ago, Tolvanen was considered the best prospect not playing in the NHL, starring for Jokerit in the KHL as an 18-year-old. He’s now played just seven NHL games and isn’t yet producing in the AHL.

 

 

30. Pittsburgh (2018: 31)

Aged Out From 2018: Tristan Jarry

Scoop: Who said Jim Rutherford was allergic to first-round picks? Samuel Poulin became Rutherford’s first, first-round draft pick (No. 21 overall) in his five-year tenure as Pens GM last spring. Hey, the Hall of Famer can do so without judgment, since the focus is clearly on wringing out as many Cups with Sid and Geno still skating.

 

 

THE FINAL FOUR

 

31. St. Louis (2018: 29)

Aged Out From 2018: Robby Fabbri (also traded to Detroit)

Scoop: This year’s ranking is a little bit easier to swallow after hoisting Lord Stanley. All four players - and Sammy Blais (not ranked) - were contributors to last spring’s Cup run; it’s just that none of them are likely to be front-line players in the next number of years.