It’s that point of yr once more, the leaves are turning golden yellow in Alberta, the combines are going 24/7 within the fields and gamers are in NHL Camps preparing for the season. And, after all, it’s time for TSN’s High 50 Checklist of NHL Gamers.
That is the fifteenth anniversary of the Canadian sports activities community’s high 50 listing, and TSN Hockey will rely down the listing all through the week of Sept. 23-26 till the complete reveal particular on Friday, Sept. 27.
Just a few key Edmonton Oilers have had their names on the listing for the final eight years together with Connor McDavid who, as of 2017 has been voted the number-one participant seven years in a row. McDavid’s buddy and teammate Leon Draisaitl has additionally been on the listing since 2019, rating as excessive as second place within the 2023 ballot. Final season, Oilers ahead Ryan Nugent-Hopkins made the listing coming in because the forty second ranked participant on the earth.
5 Oilers That Need to Be on TSN’s High 50 Checklist in 2024-25
Evan Bouchard
Evan Bouchard is a stud, and given his efficiency in 2023-24 together with main all defencemen in scoring within the NHL playoffs, I feel he’s a shoo-in for making TSN’s high 50 listing for 2024-25.
Zach Hyman
Final season, Zach Hyman completed third within the NHL in objective scoring with 54. He additionally completed with probably the most targets within the playoffs out of anyone with 16. Primarily based on his previous efficiency he nonetheless continues to development upwards, and I’m anticipating one other nice season out of the likable ahead. That’s why he deserves to be on the listing.
Mattias Ekholm
Okay, he’s a little bit of a darkish horse however don’t overlook that the massive Swedish defenceman was injured early within the 2023-24 season and nonetheless completed third in plus/minus within the NHL. He could also be a yr older, however he’s additionally wholesome coming into the 2024-25 season, and I don’t anticipate his play to drop off anytime quickly. Ekholm is probably not flashy, like so many gamers within the high 50, however he’s as stable as a rock and ought to be acknowledged for the truth that he’s one of many high defencemen within the league.
Leon Draisaitl
It’s not a query of whether or not the league’s highest-paid participant will end within the high 50, it’s the place he’ll land. With competitors from Colorado Avalanche ahead Nathan MacKinnon, Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews and final season’s scoring title winner Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Lightning, it’ll be attention-grabbing to see the place the TSN panel locations Draisaitl. If he will get voted out of the highest 5 this season, that implies that not sufficient voters stayed awake lengthy sufficient to actually acknowledge Draisaitl’s expertise on a nightly foundation all through the common season and within the playoffs.
Connor McDavid
I’d guess the farm that McDavid is voted because the primary participant for the eighth consecutive yr within the TSN ballot. He’s coming into the 2024-25 season extra decided than ever to lastly sip from Lord Stanley’s Cup. And I wouldn’t guess in opposition to him doing that both.
High 50 NHL Participant Honourable Mentions
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
Despite the fact that Nugent-Hopkins didn’t put up the numbers final season that he did the season earlier than, he’s nonetheless an important two-way hockey participant and a key member of Edmonton’s deadly powerplay. Sadly primarily based on his latest numbers, I don’t see the long-serving Oilers ahead making the listing in 2024-25.
Stuart Skinner
I don’t suppose the likeable goaltender will make TSN’s listing this season however right here’s a daring prediction: if Skinner backstops the Oilers to the Stanley Cup within the 2024-25 season, you may anticipate to see his title on the listing of high 50 gamers subsequent season. He has improved each season, and deserves to be thought to be one of many high 4 Canadian-born goalies at present enjoying within the NHL (together with the Vegas Golden Knights duo of Adin Hill and Logan Thompson and Pittsburgh Penguins Tristan Jarry). Skinner has performed effectively underneath strain, he’s realized some powerful classes, and is sensible and resilient sufficient to proceed to get higher.
Look For the TSN High 50 NHL Gamers Checklist Sept. 23-27
TSN’s high 50 gamers listing is all the time one thing many hockey followers look ahead to. The listing is legit, and generally I ponder if gamers (and their brokers) who’re on it aren’t utilizing their place to leverage a wage improve when it comes time for contract negotiation. Relating to the Oilers, the listing has turn out to be a little bit of a pleasure level when it comes to McDavid and Draisaitl’s rankings.
Associated: 7 Causes Connor McDavid Is the World’s Finest Hockey Participant
I feel that Bouchard, Hyman and Ekholm have respectable probabilities of making the listing this season, and I feel out of these three, Bouchard might be on the listing for the foreseeable future. One factor concerning the listing, I consider Oilers followers take pleasure in seeing their stars getting the popularity they deserve, however nothing will come near the pleasure Oilers followers would really feel if the crew have been to win the Stanley Cup this season. You gotta have targets in life, proper? (And targets within the NHL.)
