Every new year brings about several notable rookies making their NHL debut. This year will be no different, as there are quite a few highly touted rookies expected to join the league. Here are four of the most prominent NHL rookies to watch for in the 2024-25 season.
Macklin Celebrini: San Jose Sharks
Macklin Celebrini, the first overall pick from this summer’s draft, will be a must watch player this season. The 18-year-old center is a dominant offensive player coming off a tremendous 2023-24 year. He led Boston University in every offensive category, with his 32 goals ranking second in the NCAA and his 64 points ranking third. Celebrini also led the Canadian U20 team in goals, assists and total points in the World Juniors.
He’s also receiving praise as a complete two-way player, exhibiting a responsible defensive game to go along with his offensive prowess. These qualities helped lead him to be the youngest Hobey Baker Award winner in NCAA history at 17-years-old. With all of these accolades, it’s easy to see why Celebrini is being projected as the one league’s next superstars. He’ll be bringing his elite talents to a San Jose Sharks team that desperately needs a player like him. Expect Celebrini to be a leading contender in the Calder Trophy race this season.
Cutter Gauthier: Anaheim Ducks
Celebrini won’t be the only Boston-based NCAA rookie joining the NHL ranks this season. The fifth overall pick in 2022, Cutter Gauthier, is also set to play in his first full NHL season with the Anaheim Ducks. Gauthier already made NHL headlines last season by requesting a trade from the Philadelphia Flyers for personal reasons. With that request being granted, the focus will now shift to what he’ll be doing on the ice.Â
As a player, the 20-year-old Gauthier is just as talented a scorer as the aforementioned Celebrini. He led the entire NCAA in goals with 38 and finished second in total points with 65 while at Boston College. Gauthier also enjoyed a productive run with the USA U20 team, getting a team-high 10 assists and 12 points. He’ll be joining a roster that already has a handful of exciting, young talents in Leo Carlsson, Mason McTavish, Troy Terry and Trevor Zegras. That could lead to a highly productive rookie season for Gauthier, who may find himself in Calder contention.
Matvei Michkov: Philadelphia Flyers
After losing Gauthier, the Flyers will be pinning their hopes on a different top-10 selected rookie to make an impact. That player is 19-year-old Russian winger Matvei Michkov. The seventh overall draft pick in 2023 will be leaving the KHL earlier than most had anticipated to join the Flyers this season. Michkov has garnered a lot of excitement as many believe his skillset could lead him to be a premiere goalscorer. On top of that, he’s coming off of his best season in the KHL, scoring 41 points in 47 games.Â
His career to this point has earned him comparisons to the likes of Vladimir Tarasenko, Kirill Kaprizov and Artemi Panarin. Now he’ll join a Flyers roster that missed the playoffs by a mere four points and have a quality mentor in John Tortorella. Michkov appears to have everything he needs to find immediate success as a goalscorer in the NHL.
Yaroslav Askarov: San Jose Sharks
The Sharks made a big splash by acquiring goaltender Yaroslav Askarov from the Nashville Predators. Askarov was the 11th overall pick in the 2020 draft and is considered to be one of the top goaltending prospects in the NHL. After dominating play as a young player in Russia, he continued to do so upon joining the AHL. Askarov has compiled a career 2.55 GAA and a .911 save percentage across 92 games played. He also got in three games of NHL action, compiling very similar totals across those games.
With no clear road to consistent NHL playing time in Nashville, Askarov requested and received a trade this summer. Now in San Jose, he’ll almost certainly be getting an extended amount of playing time during the 2024-25 season. Only time will tell if he can impress the team enough to win the starting job from the get go or if he’ll have to work his way up. But one way or the other, we’ll be getting our first real look at a goalie that could become one of the next greats.
Featured image courtesy of NHL.com
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