The Youngster Set to Be the Next Face of Each NHL Club

In a testament to the notion that the NHL’s future has a way of flowing in at air-hockey speed, each of the last four Stanley Cup championship teams have featured a young incumbent franchise face or the logical heir apparent to that distinction.

Similarly, each of the last four No. 1 overall draft picks who have since made their NHL debut are on pace to claim a sole or shared stake of their respective fanbase’s pantheon. A smattering of others have either been recent upper-echelon draft choices or made promising strides at various developmental levels.

With only a couple of exceptions, all selections to be the face of each NHL team within the coming decade and beyond are 25 years of age or younger.

With no exceptions, they have each flaunted enough attributes to make them stand out in appeal to their front office and fanbase alike. In some cases, they demonstrate an unmistakable potential to suitably succeed those who have emboldened the same laundry in a previous era.

Whether it is in the immediate or the not-too-distant future, every NHL team’s likeliest new hero are as follows.

Anaheim: Emerson Etem

The Long Beach native missed the cut last training camp, but he spent his penultimate year of major-junior eligibility making milestones in Medicine Hat.

Even if he does not step in, let alone make immediate ripples to start the next season, Etem has ample time to productively combine the skill set he has honed with the hometown passion he has doubtlessly harbored.

Boston: Tyler Seguin

The Bruins have not had a 40-goal scorer since Glen Murray in 2002-03, a 50-goal scorer since Cam Neely in 1993-94 or a triple-digit point-getter since Joe Thornton in 2002-03.

As much as Boston buffs love their blue-collar Bruins, a pure, prolific producer would equal a key piece for perennial Cup contention and visual pleasure. If anybody on the current roster has a chance to fill that role, it is the 20-year-old Seguin.

Buffalo: Tyler Myers

Zdeno Chara he is not, and will never quite be. But upon getting over the notion that not everyone can have a Chara, it is plain that the Sabres have a towering blueliner with a gratifyingly close resemblance.

The 22-year-old Myers already has a Calder Trophy on his transcript and with more naturally acquired seasoning and a stronger supporting cast, he should blossom into a formidable two-way Cyclops.

Calgary: Lance Bouma

Bouma’s transcript from the Western League and American League is enough evidence to conclude that he will not replace current franchise face Jarome Iginla on the scoresheet.

Everywhere else, though, Bouma has the means to be an exemplary, inspirational leader who makes slightly less glamorous, but no less important appreciated contributions.

Carolina: Jeff Skinner

Once he reaches his scoring ceiling, Skinner will first be at the same level of production and notoriety as the Staal brothers and then gradually supplant them in both areas.

Chicago: Jonathan Toews

The Blackhawks already have their future face in place. Toews, who turned 24 shortly after Chicago was eliminated from the 2012 playoffs, is about to enter his fourth season as team captain and shows no sign of relinquishing that position at any point on the foreseeable horizon.

Colorado: Gabriel Landeskog

So long as Landeskog sustains and builds upon the Calder-caliber game he flaunted as a rookie last year, he will be an endearing power forward for years to come.

Columbus: Ryan Johansen

Who is going to fill the Rick Nash void? How about the only Blue Jacket, Nash included, to have gone to the most recent NHL All-Star game?

Dallas: Jamie Benn

Settling in as the Stars’ top center and coming off his best season in each zone, Benn is the hallmark of the youth movement that will inevitably have to take over when Ray Whitney and Jaromir Jagr are done with their stints and Brenden Morrow’s stock declines.

Detroit: Gustav Nyquist

Since their rise to perennial contention in the mid-1990s, the Red Wings have been defined, in large part, by crafty forwards. It started with Sergei Fedorov and has since transitioned to Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg.

Don’t look now, but Datsyuk is 34 and Zetterberg 31. Not exactly in the twilight of their respective careers, but needing someone to hand the torch down to a little sooner than it might seem.

The 22-year-old Nyquist fits the model of the three aforementioned elite scorers.

Edmonton: Taylor Hall and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

Being the pivot with a knack for playmaking, Nugent-Hopkins is the multifaceted setup man while Hall, his linemate and immediate predecessor as the No. 1 overall draft pick, is a reliable finisher in the making.

The tandem will never be Wayne Gretzky and Jari Kurri by any means, but if they can stay healthy and stay the course, they will grow to co-pilot a pleasing spectacle for Oilers fans.

Florida: Jonathan Huberdeau

The Panthers’ first round draft pick in 2011 has been spearheading the Saint John Sea Dogs for two seasons, including a Memorial Cup championship run that saw him garner tournament MVP accolades.

Odds are Huberdeau will be elevated to the NHL without further delay and be tasked with lending a much-needed boost of offense. There is only so much he can do alone, especially at the start, but he can be the eventual nucleus toward unleashing a steady stream of satisfaction for a long-suffering franchise.

Los Angeles: Drew Doughty

Doughty struggled early in his fourth year of NHL service and first since graduating from his entry-level contract. But he perked back up at the right time to help bolster the Kings’ historic run from eighth place in the conference to the Cup.

Observers are encouraged to look for more of Doughty’s proficiency in every situation, and Los Angeles management is advised to covet his services and keep striving to build teams around him for the next two decades.

Minnesota: Zach Parise or Ryan Suter

This would be one natural exception to the 25-or-younger criteria.

The Wild, who cater to the residents of the State of Hockey, have signed two U.S.-raised WCHA alumni who, if all goes according to plan, are on board for the next 13 seasons.

Both have solid hockey bloodlines—Parise’s father being a former North Stars captain and Summit Series alum and Suter’s father being a Miracle on Ice veteran. And both have nearly boundless upside along with certifiable leadership qualities and track records that prove they have no qualms about being their own Parise and Suter.

Montreal: Carey Price

Reigning top scorer Max Pacioretty and energetic defenseman PK Subban, both 23 years of age, can each build upon their respective foundations for years to come, and that will be all good for the Montreal faithful.

But consider who has been the backbone of the Canadiens’ last eight Stanley Cup championships, dating back to 1971. Six of those runs were bolstered by Ken Dryden, the other two by Patrick Roy.

If they are to regain the glory during his tenure with the team, the Habs will need Price to play on a par that makes him a worthy successor to Dryden and Roy in the hearts of their fans.

Nashville: Shea Weber

The Predators matched the Philadelphia Flyers’ 14-year offer sheet, which means, if all goes according to plan, they will be keeping their captain until he is 40 years of age. Not much chance of Nashville bringing in a new face currently on anyone’s radar.

New Jersey: Adam Henrique

Is there more where the overtime playoff-series clinchers against the Panthers and Rangers came from?

Despite the Devils’ notoriously defensive persona, Henrique is the candidate to genuinely electrify the Prudential Center in the coming years.

N.Y. Islanders: John Tavares

The Islanders’ long-term nucleus is already in place, as it has been for three seasons and counting.

N.Y. Rangers: Chris Kreider

The youngest player on the active Rangers roster, Kreider brings a bona fide power-forward frame along with a winning touch honed at Boston College.

Ottawa: Erik Karlsson

Debate his worthiness of the Norris Trophy all you want. What cannot be disputed are the 22-year-old Karlsson’s contributions to the Senators and what more is likely to come with his new contract and beyond.

Philadelphia: Luke Schenn

If Sean Couturier and Claude Giroux stick around and reach their full potential to fill the nets, they will certainly have their place on the pantheon of active Flyers. But given Philadelphia fans’ perennial penchant for rough stuff, fostering the newly acquired Schenn as the man who will make everyone forget about Chris Pronger is only a logical proposition.

Phoenix: Mikkel Boedker

After four professional seasons, including two full NHL campaigns and a not-so-shabby first Stanley Cup playoff, the 22-year-old Coyote is all but ready to step up in the wake of Ray Whitney’s departure.

And whether it happens this summer or when he retires in another handful of years, Shane Doan will eventually be leaving, at which point Boedker will be leaned on all the more.

Pittsburgh: Sidney Crosby

Face it. With Crosby’s new contract, the odds are overwhelmingly against a new face of the Penguins emerging at any time in the next decade-and-a-half.

Potential backup plans, if ever needed, include James Neal, Brandon Sutter, Kris Letang, Simon Despres and Derrick Pouliot.

San Jose: Logan Couture

With the exception of the 28-year-old Joe Pavelski, all of the Sharks’ most leaned-on scorers―Ryan Clowe, Martin Havlat, Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton―will be in their 30s at the start of the coming season. In other words, all are more or less beyond the halfway mark of their peak years, if not their career.

As valuable as Pavelski is and as untouchable as he ought to be, Couture is five years younger and plays a game that has the potential to garner him more name recognition.

St. Louis: Alex Pietrangelo

There was a time when Philadelphia’s aforementioned Pronger was a primal figure in St. Louis.

Just as Pronger regularly did in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Pietrangelo has spent his first two full NHL seasons logging big minutes and logging goals in the teens and assists in the 30s. That output, combined with his defensive proficiency, has been rewarded with irreproachable plus/minus ratings.

None of this is to necessarily assert that Pietrangelo is the second coming of Pronger. But he can distinguish himself by building up to becoming a key cog in St. Louis’ first-ever championship.

Tampa Bay: Steven Stamkos

Incumbent icons Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis most likely will not play beyond the expiration of their current contracts. It’s not out of the question for St. Louis, but Lecavalier’s difficulties sustaining his health and production rate put him on pace to face into the sunset circa 2020.

Even before both players are officially out of the equation, though, Stamkos is the natural pick to pump the hearts of Lightning fans.

Toronto: Jake Gardiner

Odds are the likes of Dion Phaneuf and Phil Kessel are both going to hang around and continue to be the Leafs' ice-time and production leaders for a while. But among the slightly younger, up-and-coming crop, the 22-year-old blueliner made assertive strides in 2011-12.

Gardiner placed third among all Toronto skaters with a nightly average of 21:35 on the ice, including 1:45 while shorthanded and 1:58 on the power play. Seven of his 30 points were tallied with the man-advantage.

In the event he is one day working for the Leafs with neither Phaneuf nor Kessel, nor an equivalent star, the door should be open to make this hallowed franchise Gardiner’s team.

Vancouver: Nicklas Jensen

While the Canucks have been in no rush to bring Jensen into The Show, head coach Alain Vigneault has been all but uncontrollably eager to speak highly of the Danish winger.

Washington: Nicklas Backstrom

The 26-year-old captain, Alex Ovechkin, is not exactly a fogey and has another nine years still to come on his contract. He can, by all means, be an exception to the criteria of this list and remain Washington’s franchise face until someone who is currently not even a mite emerges.

If, however, Ovechkin somehow does not amount to a career Capital who endears himself to the fanbase until he reaches his 40s, his center is a sound backup plan in this department.

Behind the flashy Backstrom, fellow countryman Marcus Johansson deserves an honorable mention here as well.

Winnipeg: Evander Kane

This is, of course, assuming Kane finally agrees to the lengthy contract the Jets have offered him.

When and if both parties can clear that away, the Winnipeg faithful can get back to watching Kane, who turns 21 on Thursday, mature and improve concomitantly with his team. He is already ahead of the group, as evidenced by his team-best 30-goal, plus-11 campaign last year.