Juraj Slafkovsky , just like Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, Auston Matthews, Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid and Connor Bedard. The spotlight, however, has not been quite as bright or the hype train as strong for him in Montreal.
鈥淚 like it that way,鈥� Slafkovsky said.
Regardless of the attention or lack thereof, Slafkovsky is on the vanguard of hockey's next generation of stars, along with the likes of and Will Smith, Buffalo's JJ Peterka and New Jersey's Luke Hughes.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really cool to be a part of it, and I hope I will be a part of it,鈥� Slafkovsky said two years after the Canadiens took him at No. 1 in 2022. 鈥淗opefully we can do some things as the younger generation.鈥�
Slafkovsky, Peterka, Hughes and Quinton Byfield of the Los Angeles Kings have been around a bit, and now is the time to show they can be among the league's best. Newcomers like Celebrini, Smith, and even teammate Lane Hutson are front-runners in the race for the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year.
Macklin Celebrini
The most recent No. 1 pick does not have the so-called 鈥済enerational talent鈥� label like Crosby, McDavid or Bedard, but he still won the Hobey Baker Award last season at Boston University as the top college player in the country with 64 points in 38 games.
Sharks forward William Eklund was not too familiar with Celebrini's game until the draft, so he made it a point to check out his highlights.
鈥淚 looked him up a little bit, and obviously he鈥檚 a great skill guy,鈥� Eklund said. "He's a high-caliber player, and it鈥檚 going to be fun to see.鈥�
Calder Trophy odds: 4-1
Will Smith
Rivals at Boston-area schools, Smith and Celebrini are now front and center as the faces of San Jose's rebuild.
鈥淚t's going to be a fun relationship,鈥� said Smith, the fourth pick in 2023 who after starring last season at Boston College. 鈥淩eally cool. We were talking about it earlier just how crazy it is that we鈥檙e on the same team now.鈥�
Smith, a year older than Celebrini, is coming off a 71-point season, helped the U.S. win world junior gold and played at the world championships.
鈥淗e鈥檚 a kid that has a really bright future and a ton of talent,鈥� said Washington goaltender Charlie Lindgren, who was a teammate at worlds. 鈥淎 really good kid, too, and I think he鈥檒l go in and play for San Jose this year and I think you鈥檒l see him do pretty well.鈥�
Calder Trophy odds: 5-1
Juraj Slafkovsky
The MVP of the 2022 Beijing Olympics without NHL players struggled in his rookie year. Last season, he quintupled his production with 20 goals, 30 assists and 50 points and said, 鈥淚鈥檓 ready to start where I finished.鈥�
Slafkovsky in the spring signed an eight-year contract extension worth over $60 million. Now it's up to the to earn it.
鈥淚 just want to show them that they made the right decision,鈥� Slafkovsky said. 鈥淚 feel like the only way I can do it is showing up every day and playing hard and being there.鈥�
JJ Peterka
A 2020 second-round pick of the Sabres, Peterka is older at 22 but could get a look on the first line this season after establishing himself as a full-time NHL player and scoring 28 goals. The Germany-born forward is in a contract year looking to get the kind of guaranteed deal Slafkovsky and others have.
Peterka thinks the key is not putting too much pressure on himself, especially while trying to help Buffalo end the league's longest playoff drought.
鈥淚 want to be put more in situations where I鈥檓 maybe not too uncomfortable,鈥� Peterka said. 鈥淚 want to be more responsible, more consistent. For me it鈥檚 just take the next step to just grow as a player, as more of a complete player.鈥�
Quinton Byfield
The 6-foot-5, 220-pound power forward is expected to play center after . He spent the summer working on his shot to be more of a threat from further away from the net and prefers center offensively and defensively.
鈥淚 like playing good defense and shutting down their top lines, so when I can be in my own end kind of playing those guys down low, that鈥檚 where I want to be,鈥� Byfield said. 鈥淎lso I don鈥檛 want to just be on the wall standing there going up the ice. I want to be able to use my speed and kind of demand the middle of the ice.鈥�
Luke Hughes
from summer training could cause the Devils defenseman to miss the start of the season. That absence should not keep Hughes from building on a 47-point rookie year that left him third in Calder Trophy voting.
"He鈥檒l take another step," older brother and New Jersey teammate Jack Hughes said. 鈥淟uke will be even more mature this year. He鈥檒l know the league a little bit more and know the players and he鈥檒l know things he can get away with and where he can capitalize on certain things. I think he鈥檒l have a better year offensively, obviously, and just keep getting better.鈥�
Matvei Michkov
is the new face of the Flyers with the weight of the franchise's nearly five-decade Stanley Cup drought on his shoulders. Michkov was the seventh pick in 2023, with some teams concerned he might not be able to leave the KHL or was under-scouted given the war in Ukraine.
Early returns are positive.
鈥淓veryone鈥檚 really excited to have him, and when you see him on the ice it鈥檚 pretty special and gives our team a positive boost,鈥� forward Owen Tippett said. 鈥淪uper skilled. We鈥檙e all really excited to have him on our side, and we鈥檙e excited to see what he can do.鈥�
Calder Trophy odds: 7-2
Lane Hutson
A saucer pass from Hutson during an early training camp scrimmage that landed right on the stick blade of teammate Emil Heineman in hockey circles. It's just a taste of what the 20-year-old defenseman might be able to do when he gets used to life in the NHL, but he already has big expectations in Montreal.
鈥淚 haven鈥檛 proved anything yet,鈥� Hutson said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot to prove before I鈥檓 even close to a face of the team."
Calder Trophy odds: 7-1
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AP Sports Writer Mark Anderson and freelance writer W.G. Ramirez in Las Vegas contributed.
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AP NHL:
Stephen Whyno, The Associated Press
