There have been some big surprises early into the 2025-26 NHL season, as some young stars are enjoying breakout campaigns and elevating their teams in the process. While the league’s renowned superstars continue to dominate, there’s some fresh young talent that’s been keeping up with, and in some cases outpacing, some of the best veterans in the sport.
Whether it be young talents taking the steps into stardom, or a veteran player that’s enjoying his best start to a season yet, there are plenty of players to celebrate through the first month-plus of the campaign. Here are six forwards who have enjoyed the biggest leaps so far:
Kiefer Sherwood—RW, Vancouver Canucks
Kiefer Sherwood is electric. The Canucks forward has been a racking up goals early into the season, tied with the likes of Sidney Crosby and Brad Marchand among others with 11 on the year. Sherwood has struggled to find a consistent home in the NHL throughout his career, but it seems he’s found that in Vancouver.
After logging a career-high 40 points last season, which included 19 goals, he’s currently on pace to shatter both those marks in 2025-26. If he can maintain this level of production, Sherwood would finish the year with 50 goals. He’s scored on an astounding 29.7% of his shots on goal, so there’s certainly some room for regression in that regard, but he’s been lighting it up offensively, and remains a brute force along the boards too.
He had a league-high 462 hits in 78 games last season, an average of 5.9 per game. He’s once again pacing the NHL in that category with 79 in 18 games, which equates to 4.4 per night. Sherwood is scoring goals and throwing out body checks left and right. It’s been a joy to watch.
Macklin Celebrini—C, San Jose Sharks
Currently tied for second in the league in points, Celebrini is delivering on all of his promise early on this season. The 19-year-old has 26 points in 17 games, including 10 goals––one of which was a game-winner in overtime. He’s taken major steps offensively, and while he has work to do as a defensive forward, he’s been the clear-cut best player on the ice for the Sharks virtually every single night.
As it stands, Celebrini is on pace for a 125-point season. No player aged 19 or younger has scored that many points in a season since Wayne Gretzky had 137 for Edmonton in 1979-80. Talk about some prestigious company.
Look, as a No. 1 pick, Celebrini was expected to be great. But he’s made a massive leap from his rookie season, and for him to be playing at such a high level so early into his career has been truly impressive.
Connor Bedard—C, Chicago Blackhawks
One year before Celebrini heard his name called as the No. 1 pick in 2024, Bedard was the first name off the draft board in ‘23. Now in his age-20 season, he’s proving to any doubters that all of the hype surrounding him as he entered the league was real.
Bedard is on level pegging with Celebrini with 26 points, and like the young San Jose star, he also has 10 goals and 16 assists. After finishing with his first two seasons with a total of -80 in plus/minus, Bedard is off to a much better start playing with an improved Blackhawks team. He’s a +8 through 17 games and has been particularly lethal on the power play, where he’s scored four goals.
After another an up-and-down start to his career, some questions arose about Bedard’s ceiling as a superstar. But, as they say, winning is the best medicine, and after enduring a couple of seasons full of growing pains, Bedard seems to be playing with some re-ignited passion in year three. And the results are plain to see.
Leo Carlsson—C, Anaheim Ducks
Carlsson, the No. 2 pick in the 2023 draft, has been one of the main reasons for the Ducks’ success in 2025-26. He’s racked up 26 points in 16 games, including 11 goals, and is a +9 on the season. In his first two years in the league, the Swede combined for 74 total points. At his current pace, he’d surpass that tally in less than 50 games.
No player in Ducks franchise history has needed fewer games to record 25 points, which Carlsson did in his 15th game. That shattered the previous record set by Hall of Famer Teemu Selänne. When Carlsson’s on the ice, good things happen for Anaheim, and the team looks like a legit contender thus far into the season.
Cutter Gauthier— LW, Anaheim Ducks
Another breakout star for Anaheim, Gauthier has been firing pucks at the net with great success. The second-year standout has 11 goals in 16 games, including a hat trick against the reigning champion Panthers. Gauthier’s 11 goals are tied for fourth-most in the league, and he’s level with Hart Trophy favorite Nathan MacKinnon for the league lead in shots on goal (74).
Gauthier is an elite offensive talent. NHL EDGE indicates he ranks in the 97th percentile for average shot speed, 94th percentile for max skating speed and 97th percentile for 20-plus MPH bursts. In other words, he skates incredibly fast and shoots the puck remarkably hard and often, traits any coach wants from a first-line forward.
Dawson Mercer—C, New Jersey Devils
Mercer is in his fifth season, but he’s never looked better since being drafted by New Jersey in the first round in 2020. Prior to this year, Mercer’s career high was 56 points in a season, set back in 2022-23. He’s struggled since then, finishing the 2024-25 campaign with just 36 points in 82 games.
Now, he’s playing at a near point-per-game rate, enjoying a major breakout in year five. Mercer has 16 points in 17 games on the campaign, including nine goals. That puts him on pace for over 40 goals, which is more than he’s scored in the last two seasons combined. Mercer’s improvements have been a big factor in the Devils’ strong start to the year.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as NHL’s Six Biggest Breakout Stars Through First Month of 2025-26 Season.
