NHL: Top 25 Players Aged 25 and Under

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is only 18 years old. Tyler Seguin and Jeff Skinner are only 19 years old. Steven Stamkos is only 21 years old. 

How crazy is that? 

Most NHL players do not hit their prime until their mid- to late-20s and spend a few years at the height of their career.

There are plenty of outliers currently in the NHL, though. 

Many of today's top players are under 25. Let's take a look at some of them. 

Jordan Staal

Date of Birth: September 10, 1988 (age 23) 

Like his two older brothers, Jordan Staal is one of the top young players in the NHL. 

He gets overshadowed by two of his superstar teammates on the Pittsburgh Penguins, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, but Staal is a fantastic player, too.

This season so far, he has 12 points in 15 games, including eight goals.

That's a big boost for the team, since their captain has been out of the lineup for so long.

Taylor Hall

Date of Birth: November 14, 1991 (age 20) 

Taylor Hall just celebrated the end of his teenage years this week, yet he's already proving himself to be a core part of the Edmonton Oilers' success.

Hall is showing that he won't experience any sophomore slump, scoring 10 points in 16 games so far this season.

He's going to be a name on this type of list for the next five years, for sure. 

Logan Couture

Date of Birth: March 28, 1989 (aged 22) 

Logan Couture is quite the impressive player and is poised to be a top young star in the league for years to come.

This year is no exception. 

Couture has tallied 11 points in 15 games to this point, including six goals. 

James Neal

Date of Birth: September 3, 1987 (age 24)

When the Pittsburgh Penguins acquired James Neal from the Dallas Stars before the trade deadline this past February, they probably expected Sidney Crosby to be back soon afterward and for Neal to serve as a good winger alongside him.

Things change.

Now, Neal is one of the keys to the Penguins' success, with 17 points in as many games, including 11 goals.

Bobby Ryan

Date of Birth: March 17, 1987 (age 24)

Bobby Ryan is one-third of one of the NHL's current best lines—the first line of the Anaheim Ducks, alongside Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry.

Getzlaf is the captain and Perry was the Rocket Richard Award winner last year, so they garner most of the attention—but Ryan is just as deserving.

This season, he has nine points so far, including five goals. 

Keith Yandle

Date of Birth: September 9, 1986 (age 25)

This is one of the last times that Keith Yandle will be able to appear on a list like this, as he just turned 25 a couple months ago.

Yandle is one of the best young defenseman and an integral part of the Phoenix Coyotes. 

That's why it was so critical that they re-sign him, which they did when they locked him down for five years, $26.25 million. 

Tyler Myers

Date of Birth: February 1, 1990 (age 21) 

Tyler Myers is one of the tallest players in the NHL, aside from Zdeno Chara. 

With his size and his skill, Myers is a highly coveted defenseman, and that's why the Buffalo Sabres extended him before his deal even came up at the end of the season.

Next year, he'll begin his seven-year, $38.5 million extension.

John Carlson

Date of Birth: January 10, 1990 (age 21)

John Carlson is emerging as one of the core players on the Washington Capitals' defense, especially when other key players have been injured.

His contract is up at the end of this season, but he's sure to get a nice new deal after his performances the past couple of years.

Carey Price

Date of Birth: August 16, 1987 (age 24)

After battles with inconsistency and for the starting role with the Montreal Canadiens, Carey Price is emerging as one of the elite goaltenders in the game today. 

This season has been no different, with his save percentage of .908 and GAA of 2.44. 

His contract runs out at the end of this year, and if he continues as he has been, he should be in for a large pay increase next season.

Nicklas Backstrom

Date of Birth: November 23, 1987 (age 23, for another week) 

Nicklas Backstrom was often overshadowed by his Russian superstar linemate, but somewhere along the way, someone determined that maybe Backstrom was a main cause of Alex Ovechkin's success. After all, Backstrom often feeds the passes that Ovechkin put in the net.

Now he's come into his own, with his new 10-year, $67 million deal. 

Oh, and his 20 points in 15 games this season doesn't hurt, either. 

Matt Duchene

Date of Birth: January 16, 1991 (age 20)

Matt Duchene is another young player who, for whatever reason, doesn't get as much recognition as he deserves.

He's already in his third NHL season. He's scored 55 or more points in both of his previous two seasons and seems primed for another successful year.

At the moment, he has 13 points in 17 games.

John Tavares

Date of Birth: September 20, 1990 (age 21)

The former first-overall draft pick John Tavares rarely warrants a mention when talking about some of today's best players, probably because he plays for the New York Islanders.

However, his first season in the league (2009-10), he scored 54 points; and last year he scored 67. At the moment, he 14 points in as many games, with eight goals.

Imagine what he could do if he were on a higher-scoring team.

Jeff Skinner

Date of Birth: May 16, 1992 (age 19)

Jeff Skinner took the entire NHL by storm with his Calder Trophy-winning breakout year last season, scoring 63 points in 82 games.

Currently, he's set to do even better this season, already accumulating 18 points in 18 games.

It's crazy that this kid is just 19.

Tyler Seguin

Date of Birth: January 31, 1992 (age 19)

Not many people can say that they won the Stanley Cup as a 19-year-old, but Tyler Seguin can. 

While he didn't exactly break out during that Stanley Cup championship season, he played his part well.

He's playing a bigger part already this season, though, with 19 points in his first 15 games. 

Jamie Benn

Date of Birth: July 18, 1989 (age 22)

Over the summer, the talk about the Dallas Stars was how would they do without the star power of Brad Richards?

They have found the answer in Jamie Benn.

With Richards not clogging the spotlight, Benn has been able to shine, with 19 points in 15 games helping the Stars to prove that they don't need Richards in order to be a good team. 

Phil Kessel

Date of Birth: April 28, 1987 (age 24)

If there were questions about whether or not Phil Kessel would be traded before this season, his performance so far has shut those rumors down pretty quickly.

Kessel currently leads the league in points (25) and goals (13) and shows no signs of letting up anytime soon.

Even better, his resurgence has helped the Toronto Maple Leafs become a serious contender in the division and conference—to this point at least.

Anze Kopitar

Date of Birth: August 24, 1987 (age 24)

Anze Kopitar is another severely underrated player in the NHL. 

In the past two seasons, Kopitar has scored 70 or more points and looks like he'll do well this year if he keeps up his pace.

He currently has 21 points in 17 games, including eight goals. 

Patrick Kane

Date of Birth: November 19, 1988 (age 22, for a few more days)

The Chicago Blackhawks have a plethora of young stars on their roster and Patrick Kane is one of them.

Kane is definitely one of the top young stars in the league, scoring at least 70 points in each of his NHL seasons in his career.

He seems poised to continue that this year, with 19 points in 18 games so far.

Jonathan Toews

Date of Birth: April 29, 1988 (age 23)

In addition to Patrick Kane, the Chicago Blackhawks are fortunate enough to have Jonathan Toews on their roster.

He has scored at least 65 points in each of his past three seasons, and this year should be no different than usual.

Toews has 15 points in 18 games thus far, including nine goals. 

Drew Doughty

Date of Birth: December 8, 1989 (age 21)

Drew Doughty was the most coveted RFA this summer, and the delay in re-signing him caused many teams (or at least their fans and the blogosphere) to speculate on what it would take to get him to join their team.

Why such a hoopla around Doughty?

Because he's a great defenseman, one who has already been nominated for one Norris Trophy and has many more nominations in his future. 

David Krejci

Date of Birth: April 28, 1986 (age 25)

David Krejci will not be eligible for inclusion on these kind of lists much longer, but for right now he fits all parameters of this list.

His contributions to the Boston Bruins Stanley Cup victory this past season helped to push Krejci into the spotlight.

He should do just as well again this year, as he has during the previous seasons. 

Evgeni Malkin

Date of Birth: July 31, 1986 (age 21)

Evgeni Malkin is among the top few players in the entire NHL, so his inclusion near the top of his list doesn't need to be justified.

Injuries the past couple of seasons have derailed some fantastic times he's had, and he hasn't been able to score over a 100 points since the Penguins won the Stanley Cup in 2009.

Maybe this will be the year where that changes.

Malkin has 12 points in 10 games to this point. 

Claude Giroux

Date of Birth: January 12, 1988 (age 23)

Between last season and this one, Claude Giroux has confirmed that he deserves to be recognized among the top current NHL players.

Last season, he had a breakout year with 76 points.

This year could be even bigger. He already has 22 points in 17 games, good for second-best in the league.

Steven Stamkos

Date of Birth: February 7, 1990 (age 21)

A couple years ago, it was all about Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby. Now, it's all about Steven Stamkos, or at least it should be.

In the past two seasons, Stamkos has scored at least 90 points and at least 45 goals.Two years ago, he scored 51 and tied for the Rocket Richard Trophy.

This season, again Stamkos is off to a hot start, with 18 points in 17 games, including 11 goals.

He's also emerged as possibly the most dangerous goal-scorer in the league; possibly even more so than Ovechkin.  

Sidney Crosby

Date of Birth: August 7, 1987 (age 24)

Even though Stamkos has been making the case to earn top billing among the league's young stars, you have to still give it to Sidney Crosby.

Before last season, Crosby had never ended a season with less than 100 points.

Last season, he scored 66, but in only half the season. That means he was on pace for a career-best 132 points. 

It will be interesting to see once Crosby returns if he can be that same player again or if he has suffered irreparable damage.