Rising NHL Stars Most Likely to Develop into Franchise Cornerstones

If the 2016 Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins are the right measuring stick to use, hockey in the NHL seems to be shifting back to a game of speed and skill. That's great news for the NHL's young players, who have mostly been living the game since they were barely out of diapers and have energy to burn.

But raw young talents need another dimension before they can be described as future franchise cornerstones. The analytics gurus can track the puck-possession subtleties, but there's also a human side to the game. Leadership, personality and good old-fashioned razzle dazzle are just a few traits that can help a fledgling star rise to the top among their equally talented peers.

At the forthcoming World Cup of Hockey, the Team North America lineup is shining a spotlight on some of the brightest up-and-comers in the game, but the list doesn't stop there. 

Here's a look at the players who stand the best chance of becoming the icons of their respective franchises before too much time has passed.

Players are listed alphabetically by their team names.

Sean Monahan: Calgary Flames

Derek Leung/Getty Images

Age: 21.

Drafted: First round, sixth overall, 2013.

NHL Stats to Date: Three seasons, 237 GP, 80-79-159, minus-18.

Why He'll Be a Cornerstone: Sean Monahan is part of the group of young forwards that was able to bypass a bridge contract this summer. Like Mark Scheifele, Filip Forsberg and Nathan MacKinnon, Monahan signed a big-money, long-term deal after playing out his three-year entry-level contract.

Monahan re-upped with the Calgary Flames for seven years with an average annual value of $6.375 million—and would have signed for longer if the collective bargaining agreement allowed.

“I would sign for 20 years if I could in Calgary,” Monahan told Eric Francis of Sportsnet after his deal was finalized in August.

Francis eloquently summarized why the contract is great for both Monahan and the Flames:

"

With all due respect to Jarome Iginla and [Mark] Giordano, this mega deal is one of the safest in team lore. The coach and the organization know what they can expect from the ultimate pro who has already established himself as a team leader at age 21.

He has size, strength, smarts and bundles it all together with a seriousness, maturity and dedication to fitness few can match.

"

Monahan is missing an opportunity to show his stuff as part of Team North America at the World Cup of Hockey, but the Flames' Twitter account reported he should be ready to get back to action by the beginning of training camp.

Dylan Larkin: Detroit Red Wings

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

Age: 20.

Drafted: First round, 15th overall, 2014.

NHL Stats to Date: One season, 80 GP, 23-22-45, plus-11.

Why He'll Be a Cornerstone: A rink rat who never tires of playing hockey, Dylan Larkin showed he's a special player during his first NHL campaign—stepping straight onto the Detroit Red Wings' first line as a winger to start the season before breaking Mike Gartner's 20-year-old record as the NHL's fastest skater at January's All-Star Game, per Shawn Roarke of NHL.com.

Larkin played just 35 games in his lone season with the University of Michigan in 2014-15 but was unfazed when jumping to the heavier schedule in the NHL. He scored 23 goals and 45 points in 80 games with the Red Wings, then went on to suit up for the United States at May's IIHF World Championship in Russia. After a short summer break, Larkin will be back on the ice with Team North America at the World Cup of Hockey.

Now Pavel Datsyuk has left the Red Wings to return to Russia and the 35-year-old Henrik Zetterberg is spending the World Cup on the sidelines because of an unspecified injury, according to the Associated Press (via Sportsnet), Larkin has a chance to become an even more important cog in Detroit's offense as the team's top-line center.

"I think we see him as a center; that's what he's been," Red Wings general manager Ken Holland told Ansar Khan of MLive at the end of the 2015-16 season of his future plans for Larkin.

A move to the middle will be the next step in Larkin's evolution as part of the next core of Red Wings greats.

Connor McDavid: Edmonton Oilers

Paul Vernon/Associated Press

Age: 19.

Drafted: First round, first overall, 2015.

NHL Stats to Date: One season, 45 GP, 16-32-48, minus-1.

Why He'll Be a Cornerstone: In just one season, Connor McDavid proved the hype that surrounded his selection as the first overall pick in the 2015 draft was not unwarranted. Despite missing 37 games of his rookie season because of a broken clavicle, McDavid delivered as promised on the ice and showed a knack for leadership that could make him the youngest captain in NHL history this fall.

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet suggested that, when the team traded Taylor Hall in June: "A couple of Oilers believe the organization wanted to make it easier for McDavid’s influence to grow in the room. 'Taylor’s a dominant personality,' one said. 'That’s not a criticism. That’s who he is.'"

The Edmonton Oilers went without a captain last season after a hobbled Andrew Ference gave up his leadership role while playing just six NHL games. All signs point to the McDavid era starting in earnest this fall.

Though he's one of the youngest players on Team North America, McDavid earned the captaincy from his Oilers coach, Todd McLellan, at the World Cup of Hockey. A strong performance by the young guns in Toronto will reinforce the idea that McDavid is ready to take the reins for the long term in Edmonton.

Aaron Ekblad: Florida Panthers

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Age: 20.

Drafted: First round, first overall, 2014.

NHL Stats to Date: Two seasons, 159 GP, 27-48-75, plus-30.

Why He'll Be a Cornerstone: With his 6'4" frame and his Grizzly Adams beard, Aaron Ekblad is 20 going on 40 in the best possible way. The Florida Panthers' first-overall pick from 2014 first belied his youth by stepping onto the blue line straight out of the draft.

Ekblad scored 12 goals and 39 points and logged the second-highest average ice time on the Panthers on his way to winning the 2015 Calder Trophy as the NHL's rookie of the year.

That was just the beginning for the blueliner, who followed up with 15 goals and 36 points in his sophomore campaign, helping the Panthers return to the postseason and setting up Florida as a team to watch going forward.

With a year remaining on his entry-level deal, the Panthers moved swiftly to lock in Ekblad on June 30, signing him to an eight-year contract extension that'll pay him an average of $7.5 million per season until 2024-25, according to General Fanager.

Jonathan Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov are other young players who will be important parts of Florida's future, but Ekblad has earned the biggest contract and looks most likely to become the team's next leader.

When announcing Ekblad's contract extension, general manager Tom Rowe said, per NHL.com: "Aaron is an integral part of the foundation of our future and a cornerstone player who is continuing to develop into a true leader and one of the league's elite defensemen."

Sean Couturier: Philadelphia Flyers

Elsa/Getty Images

Age: 23.

Drafted: First round, eighth overall, 2011.

NHL Stats to Date: Five seasons, 350 GP, 56-101-157, plus-23.

Why He'll Be a Cornerstone: Another prodigy who was able to step straight into the NHL at 18 years old, Sean Couturier already has five NHL seasons on the books at the ripe old age of 23. Though he missed 19 games with injuries in 2015-16, he was still able to match his career high of 39 points while logging the second-highest average ice time on his team behind captain Claude Giroux.

The Philadelphia Flyers are a team in transition, getting younger while slowly shedding some of the cumbersome contracts that have limited their flexibility in recent seasons. Giroux, 28, and Jakub Voracek, 27, are the horses who will lead the charge through the next stage in Philadelphia while Couturier does the heavy lifting as the team's defensive conscience and supreme shutdown forward.

Morgan Rielly: Toronto Maple Leafs

Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Age: 22.

Drafted: First round, fifth overall, 2012.

NHL Stats to Date: Three seasons, 236 GP, 19-73-92, minus-47.

Why He'll Be a Cornerstone: Auston Matthews is tagged as the Toronto Maple Leafs' future leader, but Morgan Rielly will be anchoring the blue line. More immediately, Rielly will help Matthews and the Leafs' other young prospects as they adjust to NHL life.

Now 22, Rielly has already survived three tumultuous years in Toronto. He and the 25-year-old Nazem Kadri are the holdovers from the old regime who are signed to long-term deals, and they will be expected to use their experience to help ease the transition as talented greenhorns transform into skilled big-leaguers.

When asked at an informal August skate in Toronto about how he'll work with Matthews, William Nylander and Mitch Marner, who could all crack the Leafs' lineup this fall, Rielly said all the right things to Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star:

"

When you get that many young guys that are extremely talented that have a chance to make the jump, you have to take it upon yourself to help them out. But they are mature young men who know what they have to do.

It comes down to making them feel comfortable, treating them like equals like you would anyone else. It goes without saying. It’s important but it can go a long way to making people feel comfortable.

"

The Leafs didn't re-assign the captaincy when they traded Dion Phaneuf to the Ottawa Senators last February. Rielly's probably not ready to be the captain just yet, but he should be named as part of Toronto's leadership group this fall—a role that will continue to grow as the steady defenseman moves into his prime.

Mark Scheifele: Winnipeg Jets

Tom Mihalek/Associated Press

Age: 23.

Drafted: First round, seventh overall, 2011.

NHL Stats to Date: Four seasons, 227 GP, 58-87-145, plus-36.

Why He'll Be a Cornerstone: Before Connor McDavid got the nod as the captain of Team North America, Frank Seravalli of TSN named Mark Scheifele as one of the top candidates for the job.

Scheifele's evolution as a player has been impressive. He has gotten better every year he has been in the NHL and finished 2015-16 leading the Winnipeg Jets with 29 goals and sitting second in overall scoring with 61 points.

A multidimensional center who can play a defensive role as well as putting up points, the Jets awarded Scheifele an "A" for the first time at the end of August. Blake Wheeler, 30, was given the "C" to replace the departed Andrew Ladd.

Paul Friesen of the Winnipeg Sun said at the time that "youth movements are nice and all. But naming Mark Scheifele the captain so soon in his career would have been putting the cart way before the horse."

Scheifele's time will come. And it won't be too far into the future.

Evgeny Kuznetsov: Washington Capitals

Elsa/Getty Images

Age: 24.

Drafted: First round, 26th overall, 2010.

NHL Stats to Date: Three seasons, 179 GP, 34-89-123, plus-35.

Why He'll Be a Cornerstone: Most of the players on this list are cut from similar cloth. Whether they're forwards or defensemen, they're staunch leaders who can be counted on when the going gets tough.

Evgeny Kuznetsov is a bit different—a future franchise cornerstone who more closely resembles his Washington Capitals captain, Alexander Ovechkin.

Kuznetsov possesses that same unstoppable scoring ability. He exploded for 77 points last season, tying him for ninth place in the NHL after just 37 points in his first full campaign in North America in 2014-15.

Ovechkin, 30, still has five years left on his contract and, more than likely, several-hundred goals still lurking in his stick. At 24, Kuznetsov is the oldest player on this list. He's versatile—a forward who can play all three positions—and he is as crafty a setup man as he is a scorer.

Expect to see Kuznetsov get a lot more press this season as he works his way toward becoming one of those explosive offensive talents whom fans around the league will buy tickets to see.

All stats courtesy of NHL.com. Salary information from General Fanager.