The release of Upper Deck Series 2 is slated for March 24th, and the Young Guns checklist has hit the series of tubes. Take a look below for my ranking of the desirability of all 50 cards:
Tier 1: The Potential Super-Stars
- Kirill Kaprizov – F – Minnesota Wild
Kirill the Thrill is the odds-on favorite to take home the Calder Trophy this season. Wild fans had to wait five years between him being drafted and him finally making his way to the NHL, but he has already proved to be worth the wait. As of this writing, he leads all rookie scorers with 20 points in 24 games, and many of those points have been tallied with pizazz.
2. Tim Stützle – F – Ottawa Senators
Stützle has put up 15 points in his first 26 games while playing on a bad team. Stützle is also nearly five years younger than Kaprizov, so while Kaprizov is the better player right now, Stützle’s ceiling remains higher. Any 19 year-old that can immediately put up some points in the NHL has an intriguing future.
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Tier 2: Solid NHLers With a Shot at Stardom
3. Dylan Cozens – F – Buffao Sabres
Cozens, 20, also has youth on his side but has managed just five points in his first 20 games skating for a struggling Sabres squad. 20 games is obviously a tiny sample, and the future remains bright for Cozens.
4. Ty Smith – D – New Jersey Devils
Smith began his NHL career with a bang, reeling off six points in his first five games. He of course has not kept up that torrid pace, and needed another 17 games to record his next six points, but he has already shown that he belongs in the show and will likely be there for many years to come. Some of his underlying numbers are positive indicators. For example, his team has gotten 56% of the even strength scoring chances when he’s been on the ice (via Natural Stat Trick).
5. Ilya Sorokin – G – New York Islanders
Goalies are always a volatile, mysterious lot to try to project, but Sorokin has been highly touted and is starting to show some real NHL chops (even if he is aided by the impressively sound Islanders defense). After he and the Isles dropped his first three starts, they have reeled off five straight wins in his starts since, including a pair of shutouts.
6. Alexander Romanov – D – Montreal Canadiens
Romanov can lay claim to the best early “advanced” numbers among this crop of Young Guns, i.e. 56% Corsi for and 54% scoring chances for. Romanov is not expected to put up a lot of points, which limits a player’s profile when it comes to cards, but any effective player on the Canadiens will get some attention.
7. K’Andre Miller – D – New York Rangers
Miller is a rare breed: the young defenseman ready to step from the amateur ranks directly into the big league and perform at a high level. His combination of size, speed, and agility is a marvel. I don’t think many others in the league can cover as much ground as Miller can in a just few strides.
8. Nils Höglander – F – Vancouver Canucks
Höglander’s 11 points put him amongst the top 10 rookie scorers as of this writing, and his 10 points at 5-on-5 are fourth best among rookies.
9. Kevin Lankinen – G – Chicago Blackhaws
As far as I can tell, Lankinen was not heralded as a prospect, but he has quickly garnered attention after backstopping the ‘Hawks with a .919 save percentage in 18 starts.
Tier 3: The Checklist!
10. Tim Stützle and Dylan Cozens
The Young Guns checklists don’t typically maintain a lot of hobby interest unless one or both of the players becomes an elite star. Stützle especially gives this checklist a chance to be a decent pull.
Tier 4: Guys Who’ll Belong in the League For a Bit to a Long While
11. Pius Suter – F – Chicago Blackhawks
This might seem a little low for the rookie goals leader, but I just don’t see Suter maintaining a 15% shooting percentage or suddenly blossoming into a star as an unheralded 24 year old. But I hope he proves me wrong! Plenty of guys on this list will.
12. Yegor Sharangovich – F – New Jersey Devils
13. Alec Regula – D – Chicago Blackhawks
14. Cal Foote – D – Tampa Bay Lightning
15. Stuart Skinner – G – Edmonton Oilers
16. Ian Mitchell – D – Chicago Blackhawks
17. Nicolas Meloche – D – San Jose Sharks
18. John Leonard – F – San Jose Sharks
19. Chase Priskie – D – Florida Panthers
20. Brandon Hagel – F – Chicago Blackhawks
21. Lukas Vejdemo – F – Montreal Canadiens
22. Maxim Letunov – F – San Jose Sharks
Tier 5: The NHL Fringe Guys
23. Jani Hakanpaa – D – Anaheim Ducks
Hakanpaa, 28, lays claim to the least-young Young Gun in Series 2.
24. Calvin Thurkauf – F – Columbus Blue Jackets
25. Giles Senn – G – New Jersey Devils
26. MacKenzie Entwistle – F Chicago Blackhawks
27. Niko Mikkola – D – St. Louis Blues
28. Brian Pinho – F – Washington Capitals
29. Keegan Kolesar – F – Vegas Golden Knights
30. Anthony Angello – F – Pittsburgh Penguins
31. David Kase – F – Philadelphia Flyers
32. Steven Lorentz – F – Carolina Hurricanes
33. William Lagesson – D – Edmonton Oilers
34. Philippe Desrosiers – G – Florida Panthers
35. Austin Poganski – F – St. Louis Blues
36. Brandon Crawley – D – New York Rangers
37. Brayden Burke – F – Arizona Coyotes
38. Nikolai Knyzhov – D – San Jose Sharks
Tier 6: The Cup of Coffees
39. Alexander Barabanov – F – Toronto Maple Leafs
40. Mathias Brome – F – Detroit Red Wings
41. Matiss Kivlenieks – G – Columbus Blue Jackets
42. Jalen Chatfield – D – Vancouver Canucks
43. Darren Raddysh – D – New York Rangers
44. Alexander Yelesin – D – Calgary Flames
45. Gage Quinney – F – Vegas Golden Knights
46. Joel Kellman – F – San Jose Sharks
47. Philippe Maillet – F – Washington Capitals
48. Cole Smith – F – Nashville Predators
49. Mason Marchment – F – Florida Panthers
50. Jordan Gross – D – Arizona Coyotes
I’m no expert when it comes to prospects, so let me know what I got wrong! And happy collecting.
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