2024-25 Upper Deck Extended Series features 30 new Young Guns submitted for your approval. After Macklin Celebrini headlined Series 2, another seriously promising Sharks forward tops this list. The next three cards on my list are a little intriguing. After that, the tea leaves do not provide much reason for excitement.
Click here to shop 2024-25 Young Guns on eBay
- Will Smith • F • San Jose Sharks
The offensively dynamic Will Smith led the NCAA in scoring as a freshman in 2023-24 and jumped directly to the National in 2024-25. After going pointless in his first eight pro games, many expected Smith to be sent down. But Sharks GM Mike Grier stuck to his guns and Smith spent the full year with the big club. And the offense did start showing up in streaks. After those first eight games, Smith tallied 45 points in his last 66 games. Pretty impressive numbers considering it was Smith’s age-19 season.
There is a lot of room for improvement in Smith’s play without the puck, and he is not quite a sure thing to develop into an offensive superstar. But he is one of the rare prospects who is more likely to be a big scorer than not. - Denton Mateychuk • D • Columbus Blue Jackets
Blueliner Denton Mateychuk features an exciting blend of skating and playmaking skills. He piled up points in juniors. In his first 45 NHL games, he has only posted 13 points, but it is a good bet that above average offense will come as he adjusts. Still, it is difficult to foresee a defenseman for the Blue Jackets making a huge splash in the hobby, so there is a dramatic drop-off in how excited I would be to pull this card compared to Will Smith’s. - Sebastian Cossa • G • Detroit Red Wings
I will try to get write-ups done for Sebastian Cossa and Jakub Dobes, but did not want to wait any longer to get my list posted! - Jakub Dobes • G • Montreal Canadiens
- Jonathan Lekkerimaki • F • Vancouver Canucks
- Owen Pickering • D • Pittsburgh Penguins
- Erik Portillo • G • Los Angeles Kings
- Fedor Svechkov • F • Nashville Predators
- Lian Bichsel • D • Dallas Stars
- Will Smith/Jonathan Lekkerimaki checklist
- Nikita Grebenkin • F • Toronto Maple Leafs
- Fabian Lysell • F • Boston Bruins
- Helge Grans • D • Philadelphia Flyers
- Samuel Helenius • F • Los Angeles Kings
- Brett Berard • F • New York Rangers
- Trent Miner • G • Colorado Avalanche
- Isaiah George • D • New York Islanders
- Michael Milne • F • Minnesota Wild
- Nathan Legare • F • New Jersey Devils
- Tyson Kozak • F • Buffalo Sabres
- Chase Bradley • F • Colorado Avalanche
- Adam Wilsby • D • Nashville Predators
- Justin Hryckowian • F • Dallas Stars
- Ales Stezka • G • Seattle Kraken
- Max Sasson • F • Vancouver Canucks
- Juha Jaaska • F • Carolina Hurricanes
- Arttu Hyry • F • Dallas Stars
- Jere Innala • F • Colorado Avalanche
- Tye Felhaber • F • Colorado Avalanche
- Nathan Clurman • D • Pittsburgh Penguins
These rankings are based primarily on my interpretation of data and articles from Hockey Prospecting, The Hockey Writers, The Athletic, and various other media sites, as well as performance to date, player age (the younger the better), and draft position.
Leave a Reply