Grading EVERY NHL Rookie So Far!

[@GravitehHockey]

IT'S ROOKIE GRADES SZN!!! Was super excited to put this video together for y'all! What are YOUR thoughts on MY grades for each player? What do YOU agree & disagree with? And who do YOU think have been the most underrated & overrated rookies so far?

[@seguinryan]

Thanks for the content, Grav. Curious to know what you think of Simon Edvinsson? I know he's not a rookie anymore, but he's probably the youngest player on the RW roster with a ton of pressure on his shoulders this season. He's been playing in the toughest matchups as a 21 yr old in his first full season.

[@vSplyontwitch]

grav does that wolf shut out tonight boost his grade lol, as well as the almost shut out in LA

[@qelip]

The narrative around Lane Hutson being bad at defence is so stupid. He’s been playing great defensively

[@BaconNationChannel]

He backchecks like a dog, he always gets in between the puck carrier and the puck and gets away with the puck every time. He locks up his guy defensively all the time, he's actually been very good defensively which in turn gives us opportunities on the rush back up the ice. Ppl who say that, only seen the highlights where he jumps up in the play offensively, ends up behind the opposing net but none of the habs forwards caught on and backed him up. They are doing it better now, but at the beginning of the season I was shaking my head at the rest of the team puck watching him instead of covering for him.

[@alexfrenette2782]

Isn’t it ironic that the two biggest disappointments in this year’s rookie class Cutter Gauthier and Rutger McGrorty Who were both demanding trades to control Their situations are both struggling the most? If that is in poetic justice, I don’t know what is

[@VADR27]

What? Rutger McGroarty being sent down to save him from Sullivan?

[@alex-dj9bx]

@@VADR27 Go watch his AHL stats at the moment..........

[@matthewkabel6246]

Cutter's played well most of the year he's just been extremely snakebitten

[@albertvanular433]

Well said. Serves them right

[@aqn1976]

I love POETIC justice as a Flyers fan and a despiser of ENTITLEMENT (i.e. buttbuddies Quitter & McGoarty)...

[@spyrrex_7541]

as a habs fan, I like heineman. He's good on the forecheck, plays with intensity and has a lethal shot. I don't get why they don't play him more especially considering how bad some of the supposed top players have been. The guy plays with Lucas condotta and like joel armia, not a real chance for him to produce. I could see him become a 20 goal scorer middle 6, intense and reliable.

[@jeddysteve8330]

T’as raison, j’espère que St. Louis va lui donner une vraie chance de faire ses preuves dans le top 6.

[@spyrrex_7541]

@@jeddysteve8330Je comprend juste pas pourquoi St-louis ne lui donne pas de chance. Il peut pas faire pire que les autres😂. Je sais pas si il va s'établir comme top 6, mais pourquoi pas l'essayer ?

[@Tom-sv9cs]

he has a lethal shot that only goes in the glass behind the net

[@joncafe]

Because st louis is a pewee coach

[@daveblanco8271]

Hutson is a dawg, boy will put up 80 point seasons in the future

[@philippejean2052]

Mouhahaha, Lane Makar !

[@eliaminator2313]

wow the Kleven disrespect not even on the list and has played every game and been solid

[@1pbdecoded1pb]

Maxim Tsylapkov, "yes he's like a thousand years old." LOVE YA GRAV YOU'RE A A+ from time to time.

[@ethanmontgomery6099]

As a Caniac, I'm absolutely thrilled at how much Blake has done so far in his rookies season with what little ice time he's gotten. He really reminds me of Jarvis, and it also reminds Brind'Amour of him too. As much as I'm sad about Jarvy being on injury reserve, I'm glad that it means Blake really gets to show what he can bring to the table. He's been fantastic on PK, and just being a super solid winger whose great offense can also be used defensively to great effect.

[@jeffmackin684]

Edvinnson for Detroit I guess doesn't qualify but he's been fantastic, I'd love to hear what you have to say about him. And though he has a lack of production, Marco Kasper has been terrific as well. I think by the middle of the season, he's going to start catching people's attention

[@ryanmerrett9320]

So glad i grabbed Wolf as a backup in fantasy. I always pick goalies far too late but him and Stolarz have been solid for me so far. No matter how gross it was takikng Stolarz as a Habs fan.

[@Natan-ry8nh]

You should’ve included Jonathan Lekkerimäki otherwise great video, just curious what you think of him

[@OCRay1]

As a Ducks fan Cutter hasn’t been what we hoped, but that’s only so far. He’s honestly been snake bit, he’s lighting up the shots but until last night against the Wings they haven’t gone in for him but he’s had the most shots of anyone without a goal and now that he’s put one on the board I think he will settle in. 🤙🏻

[@Sethstrat]

Jackson Blake has been so good! Happy to see his A+!

[@slayermcrx7519]

Stankoven is gonna do it this year. He's gonna bring the first ROTY award to Dallas, Texas. Robertson barely missed out as he was runner up to Kaprizov in his rookie year. Johnston I'm not entirely sure where he ranked again but he was up there, but wasn't enough. Logan is leading the way right now and I think this is the year

[@aqn1976]

Unless that lil Napoleon Torts doesn't retard his growth, it will be Stankoven & Michkov vying the be the 1st ever ROTY winner for in franchise history ;-)

[@habsborn690]

Lane Hutson will improve better than anyone on this video

[@philipperousseau8679]

He is already.

[@1pbdecoded1pb]

Trade Rutger McGroarty for Trevor Zegras.

[@wild_insomnia]

good job,Grav

[@oldhab7890]

It will be interesting to see the year end rankings.

[@jonahcraft7]

As ranger fan I was impressed by Mancini play

[@jmc8626]

A stars fan giving Stankoven a A+ who could of guessed...😂 Blomqvist gets a A but Annunen gets a C? Haha

[@chadrichards6607]

What do you think of Lekkerimaki? Hasn’t looked out of place and oh heavens that shot!

[@troysander5731]

looks like the steal of the draft imo. has the best overall shot in the draft by a large margin and looks like his defensive game has some upside as well

[@AnaheimRob]

Well, he still has a very long way to get back into any kind of Calder contention, but Gauthier did net his first goal this season. It wasn't junk either. Sooo, maybe move that D- up to a solid D?

[@matthewkilbride1669]

Annunen numbers have gotten pulled way down by the games he came in for Georgiev. If you just look at his starts, the numbers are much better

[@antoinepallascio3944]

Aged well 🤣🤣🤣

[@albertvanular433]

Most people would give Lane Hutson an A or even an A+ because of his offensive creativity and brilliance but I agree he has some defensive deficiencies. That's mostly due to his teammates and circumstances surrounding the Habs. He should be on PP 1 playing with Caufield and Suzuki. He is in the mix for the Calder Trophy. I give him straight up A

[@JTD3]

update on celebrini now?

[@memphissander3512]

Stankoven should have higher standards to win the calder

[@RealMoneybags]

Simon Edvinsson Grade? Hes not technically a rookie by like 2 games but cmon, he deserves some cred imo

[@troysander5731]

hes not technically not a rookie he is just not a rookie lmao

[@ktowniecity7269]

wtf

[@Kohl-vi4rg]

Michkov tops this list easily

[@215rodsquad2]

He’s just butt hurt

[@Skynertia]

Wolf is top 5 in SV%. Michkov is top 92 in points and top 70 in goals. He definitely doesn't top this easily.

[@debbywillan5165]

One month later Hutson is the boss.

[@ModernKBM]

What do you think of Jonathan Lekkerimaki?

[@Xerxsion]

Stankoven A+ but Michkov only an A??

[@215rodsquad2]

He’s butt hurt

[@jmc8626]

Yea bro..these rankings are trash honestly haha

[@Lebowski55]

If you included Jack Thompson, you forgot Nolan Allan.

[@mariovaccarella6854]

Great Video, as usual, Nathan

[@leafsfanforever2896]

Greg Cronin = Dallas Eakins (took away the potential of a promising youngster)

[@rubysardes4733]

Michkov is the best rookie stop it

[@braydoncarter7448]

you missed my boy Marco Kasper

[@Jmulk96]

The Rutger McGroarty hype was so insane to me, no one with that skating will be an NHLer. He’s a middle 6 guy down the line at most. Not even a 5on5 playdriver at Michigan

[@shmoo232]

Give me a break. Rutger got 52 points in his final year at Michigan in 36 games. Great production in the NCAA where he ABSOLUTELY drove play. He played 3 games in the NHL and is gonna develop in the AHL like most players his age. He will be fine, despite the freak haters dissecting his every move.

[@Jmulk96]

@ He wasn’t really a 5on5 playdriver. Scoring a lot doesn’t equal playdriving does it, Is Terik Parascak a playdriver?. Players with that poor skating aren’t playdrivers in the NHL. It will limit him a ton. If he had 15 less points last year he wouldn’t get hyped anywhere near as much as he does by stat sheet watchers like yourself.

[@reign2204]

@@shmoo232he actually wasn’t a play driver on Michigan. Hate to break it to you lol. I watched practically every game. Gavin brindley and Frank nazar were the play drivers. Mcrgoarty had good physical presence and good iq of where to be, to finish off plays or set them up. But with that skating he did not drive any sort of plays.

[@shmoo232]

@@reign2204 Nazar and Brindley also drove play, but if you watched every Michigan game you would know Mcgroarty actively improved his skating over the course of his last year. I'm watching his highlights as I'm typing and there are a ton of plays where he enters the zone with the puck and makes a deft pass for a goal. There is just bullshit scrutiny on this player because of circumstances outside of hockey.

[@reign2204]

@@shmoo232 highlights are completely different than every game, and his plays. Of course there’s plays where McGroarty can enter a zone, if your a first round selection I hope you have ability to do that. Once again, nazar and brindley drove the play. You could say McGroarty was a physical presence with scoring ability, sure there’s no disagreement to that. But he is definitely not a play driver. The tough thing is, the penguins actually gave up a play driver in order to get McGroarty. But I guess when you got Crosby, you’ll be fine.

[@mikemartinez5079]

No Adam edstrom love 😭😭

[@cocomarsh1]

edstrom?

[@cloaxisbad5773]

Bro just forgot kleven

[@chuck7850]

A- for hutson is a disrespect

[@Notflexkex]

Why?

[@hammercoq25]

​@elliotpersson7258 i might be biased but as a habs fan who watches every game, hutson has been SO good like he creates so many chances that the habs players can't finish because Hutson is never playing the habs good players because our dumb head coach prefers Matheson who is horrendous

[@jjjfo1818]

@@hammercoq25lmao habs fans are so delusional, only thing Hutson is gonna lead the league in this year is head fakes

[@hammercoq25]

@@jjjfo1818 it's kinda sad to hate on rookies who are gonna be stars like I'm disappointed we passed on michkov but I'm not hating on him, you would be saying the same thing if he was on your team but your just a hater for talent lmao

[@zcohen17]

He is like a B at best. Looks like a lost kid in his own zone

[@derekgirard6803]

Top g

[@andrewptob]

Michkov A++

[@sirwiziz]

❤

[@BarDownBrendan]

first

[@revanxl5612]

“Technically” he’s a rookie but stankoven isn’t a rookie. Dude played 40 games last year between regular and post season.

[@irvinepoker3187]

technicaly he is a rookie still , still less then 82 games dont matter if its between two seasons

[@revanxl5612]

@ 2 things. One, that’s what I said. Two, 82 games has nothing to do with it. It’s 25 games or 6 games in 3 or more seasons.

[@jmc8626]

A+ is insane..but hes a Stars fan so we should of known haha

[@zcohen17]

Hutson is an A in the offensive zone and an F in his own zone.

[@PotatoNuts]

He is the 2nd best defender on his team behind ghule. Idk where the narrative that he can't play defense is coming from, his defense analytics are good and he plays with bums

[@michaelwhelan1481]

Wrong

[@hoover573]

Outstanding defending with his stickwork and will be right in front of the opposing netminder at possession change and beat his defensive partner back to his defensive zone. What are you talking about? He's not a big contributor on blocked shots or hits but he is elite at everything else he does. Often the best player on the ice and doesn't get awarded for it because his linemates.

[@zcohen17]

@ you right, A-, no goals is sad

[@zcohen17]

@@hoover573 watching him in his own zone is hilarious. Constant bad coverages and so many goals going in whe he is out of position and looking the wrong way. I mean, he is one of the huge reasons the defense is so poor atm

[@matthewkabel6246]

Way too harsh of a grade for Cutter. The first 3 games of the year were rough, no doubt. But ever since then he's managed the puck significantly better, and has generated so many clean looks for himself. He's extremely snakebitten right now. His north south speed and usage of crossovers in transition to gain momentum on entries is noticeable. His lack of production (and the Ducks' overall offense) can be attributed to Cronin's system which is actively stifling the creativity/overall puck play of Anaheim. He's been much better than his production leads on (which can be said for guys like Zegras, Zellweger, Mintyukov and Carlsson as well) and is already a net positive defensively.

[@andrewptob]

He’s been quite unimpressive when I watch their games. What grade would you give him?

[@jjjfo1818]

Quitter Gauthier is booty deal with it

[@matthewkabel6246]

@@andrewptob C but no lower than a C-. He's done well to support play and generate rush chances himself lately, especially when he was paired with Zegras for a few games. They read off one another seamlessly then Cronin decided to blend the lines again, killing chemistry like he always does.

[@andrewptob]

@@matthewkabel6246 Fair enough. I think a good bit of it is some bad puck luck with him, but he can play better, too. I wonder if they’ll send him down to the Gulls to get his confidence up

[@matthewkabel6246]

@@andrewptob He's definitely fighting it right now trying to get that first one. Analytically he's actually performed decently at both ends of the ice, just zero finishing right now which is ironic considering his shot is his most potent tool.