The NHL’s Under-23 Team for 2025-26 – The Hockey Writers – Commentary

Among the many notable stories during the 2025-26 NHL season was the influx of young talent. Newly drafted players are more big-league ready today, with some becoming franchise stars off the bat. As a result, this year’s under-23 team was very tough to narrow down. However, here are the brightest stars of the bunch.

First-Team Left Winger: Cutter Gauthier, Anaheim Ducks

Say what you will about Cutter Gauthier’s exit from the Philadelphia Flyers, but the Anaheim Ducks benefited mightily from having him on the roster this season. Gauthier led the Ducks in goals (41) and points (69).

Through his first season in Anaheim, Gauthier was a talented-but-inconsistent forward. However, after management replaced head coach Greg Cronin with Joel Quenneville, he broke out. He’s already one of the best goal-scorers in the league, and expectations are that he can reach 50 goals in a Ducks uniform. Anaheim is full of young talent, and the youth revolution has led them to a playoff spot for the first time since the 2017-18 season.

Second-Team Left Winger: Lucas Raymond, Detroit Red Wings

Raymond has more points than Gauthier, with 76 – although Gauthier has more goals created (29.2) than Raymond (27.0), along with more total point shares (8.3) than Raymond (7.9). Still, the 23-year-old Swedish right-winger might be more impactful to his team than Gauthier.

The Red Wings ranked 21st in goals scored (239), but Raymond was excellent, with 25 goals and 51 assists through 80 games. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to stop the Red Wings from collapsing at the end of the season after sitting in one of the top three spots in the Atlantic Division for much of the campaign.

First-Team Center: Macklin Celebrini, San Jose Sharks

Celebrini is the easy choice here. The 19-year-old is already a top-five player in the NHL. When he was drafted first overall by the San Jose Sharks in 2024, many expected him to become a Connor McDavid-like talent three or four years later.

He’s already there in just his second season. Celebrini had 45 goals, 70 assists, and a franchise-record 115 points in 2025-26 – ranked third all-time in points by a teenager in a season, behind Wayne Gretzky (137) and Sidney Crosby (120).

Celebrini almost propelled the Sharks into the playoffs on his own, but subpar goaltending and a rough defensive structure kept them from making it. With 84 points, they were just six behind the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference. However, Celebrini is already one of the best NHL talents in the league, so San Jose should easily make the playoffs in the future, with more defensive depth.

Second-Team Center: Wyatt Johnston, Dallas Stars

Celebrini might overshadow Johnston, but Johnston deserves his props, too. He scored 45 goals and added 41 assists this season, making him and Celebrini the only two skaters 22 or younger with more than 40 goals and 40 assists.

He also broke his team’s single-season power-play goal record, with 22 goals on the man advantage. He’s taken the top-line center role from Roope Hintz, and his ascension is big for a Dallas Stars team that needed more high-end talent in the middle to compete with the Colorado Avalanche this season.

Shoutout to Connor Bedard, too, who has 30 goals and 45 assists, but he missed a few games due to various injuries and cooled off a little after a great start to the campaign. He had 37 points through 25 games in October and November, but after he suffered a right-shoulder injury on Dec. 12, 2025, against the St. Louis Blues, he wasn’t the same.

First-Team Right Winger: Dylan Guenther, Utah Mammoth

Dylan Guenther has been one of the most underrated skaters since he entered the NHL in 2022-23. He’s improved in each of his four seasons in the league, but this season was his magnum opus as in 79 games, he scored 40 goals and added 33 assists. He is one of the biggest reasons the Mammoth made the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time and is a franchise superstar through and through.

Second-Team Right Winger: Ivan Demidov, Montreal Canadiens

Similar to the Ducks, the Montreal Canadiens are having a youth revolution. They have two players on this list: Ivan Demidov and defenseman Lane Hutson.

Demidov could be the next Canadien to win the Calder Trophy. The Russian winger had 19 goals and 43 assists in 82 games, and he’s already shown flashes of being an elite playmaker. With players like Demidov and Hutson, Montreal’s future is bright.

First-Team Left Defenseman: Lane Hutson, Montreal Canadiens

Hutson’s journey to stardom is wild. Unlike every other player on this list so far, he was drafted by the Canadiens in the second round, 62nd overall, in 2022, and so far, he’s been one of general manager Kent Hughes’ best finds. He won the Calder last season, and his sophomore season was even better.

Through 82 games, Hutson had 12 goals and 66 assists. He ranks third among all defencemen in assists, behind Quinn Hughes (69) and Evan Bouchard (71). He’s also outstanding in his own zone, boasting a plus-36 plus rating and 6.4 defensive point shares, which is second behind Moritz Seider (6.6) and Esa Lindell (6.6).

Second-Team Left Defenseman: Matthew Schaefer, New York Islanders

Matthew Schaefer, like Celebrini, almost willed the New York Islanders into the playoffs on his own. The first-overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft had 23 goals and 36 assists through 82 games and tied the NHL’s goal record for rookie defensemen with Brian Leetch.

His excellence piloted the Islanders to a surprising start to the season, sitting in one of the top three spots in the Metropolitan Division, but a 1-5-0 record in April dropped them out of a playoff spot. Schaefer is already one of the best two-way defenseman in the league, but the Islanders are an old team around him. Viktor Eklund and Calum Ritchie’s development will be key in helping Schaefer in the future.

First-Team Right Defenseman: Brock Faber, Minnesota Wild

After acquiring Hughes this season, Brock Faber’s elite talent on the Minnesota Wild’s right side was easy to overlook. He’s had a career-high 15 goals and 36 assists through 80 games. The Wild acquired Faber from the Los Angeles Kings for Kevin Fiala in 2022, and while Fiala has been great for the Kings (when healthy), Faber will be a mainstay on the Wild’s defense for a while.

Second-Team Right Defenseman: Brandt Clarke, Los Angeles Kings

Brandt Clarke’s inclusion on the list illustrates how rare it is to see a young right-shot defenseman contribute meaningfully. The crazier part is that Clarke still has room to grow. This season, he had eight goals and 32 assists through 82 games. He led all Los Angeles Kings defenseman in points, even surpassing Drew Doughty. He should be the blue-line anchor once Doughty hangs up the skates.

However, after his elite showing at the 2023 World Junior Championships, Clarke still has some untapped potential. Next season will be critical for his development, and the Kings would be wise to get him a better partner than Joel Edmundson.

First-Team Goaltender: Jesper Wallstedt, Minnesota Wild

I’ve been waiting for the emergence of top prospect Jesper Wallstedt, and he didn’t disappoint this season. Wallstedt went 18-9-6 in his 35 games, boasting a .915 save percentage (SV%) and 2.61 goals-against average (GAA).

Now the Wild have a quandary. Starter Filip Gustavsson is very good, but Wallstedt could be even better. Does Minnesota trade one of them for improved center depth? Some teams, such as the New Jersey Devils, are a goaltender away from a deep playoff run.

Second-Team Goaltender: Yaroslav Askarov, San Jose Sharks

When Askarov was coming up in the NHL ranks, his Nashville Predators had the same dilemma the Wild have now. Nashville had Juuse Saros in net, but Saros was becoming an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2023-24 season, and Askarov looked to be the long-term play.

The Predators decided to extend Saros, and they traded Askarov to the Sharks. So far, the 23-year-old has yet to live up to his potential. He went 21-20-4 through 47 starts, with a .883 SV% and 3.63 GAA.

Still, there aren’t many goaltenders who’ve started as many games as Askarov at his young age, so the hope is he’ll eventually grow into the Sharks’ long-term netminder. Perhaps a steady veteran in net would help Askarov’s development.

Full First and Second Teams:

First-Team:

Forwards:

Cutter Gauthier – Macklin Celebrini – Dylan Guenther

Defensemen:

Lane Hutson – Brock Faber

Goaltender:

Jesper Wallstedt

Second-Team:

Forwards:

Lucas Raymond – Wyatt Johnston – Ivan Demidov

Defenseman:

Matthew Schaefer – Brandt Clarke

Goaltender:

Yaroslav Askarov