Montreal's Cole Caufield (center), who won gold with the U.S. at the 2021 World Juniors, is one of the young stars making an impact in this year's Stanley Cup final.
Hockey is a young man’s game. That’s more than a truism.
The 2021 Stanley Cup final between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Montreal Canadiens features a crop of great players aged 25 and under...and a trend towards youth that won't stop anytime soon.
The NHL wasn’t always like this. Here’s one simple metric: back in 2001, the NHL’s major individual trophy winners were overwhelmingly closer to age 30 than 20: Patrick Roy (36, Vezina Trophy), Dominik Hasek (36, Vezina Trophy), Joe Sakic (32, Hart Trophy, Lady Byng Trophy), Nicklas Lidstrom (31, Norris Trophy), Pavel Bure (Rocket Richard Trophy, Jaromir Jagr (Art Ross Trophy, 29), and John Madden (28, Selke Trophy).
Twenty years later, the 20-something gang dominates: Jaccob Slavin (27, Lady Byng Trophy) Aleksander Barkov (25, Selke Trophy), Connor McDavid (24, Hart Trophy, Art Ross Trophy), Auston Matthews (23, Rocket Richard Trophy), Adam Fox (23, Norris Trophy). The one big exception is Marc-Andre Fleury (36, Vezina Trophy).
Now, none of the noteworthy 25-and-under kids in the 2021 final has captured a major individual trophy yet. This year’s Conn Smythe Trophy winner is likely to be a player over 25 (albeit not much) like Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov (28) or Andrei Vasilevski (27).
However, we can feel confident that the future of the game is in good hands – both in the NHL and in IIHF competition – when we check out these eight exceptional young players.
The 2021 Stanley Cup final between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Montreal Canadiens features a crop of great players aged 25 and under...and a trend towards youth that won't stop anytime soon.
The NHL wasn’t always like this. Here’s one simple metric: back in 2001, the NHL’s major individual trophy winners were overwhelmingly closer to age 30 than 20: Patrick Roy (36, Vezina Trophy), Dominik Hasek (36, Vezina Trophy), Joe Sakic (32, Hart Trophy, Lady Byng Trophy), Nicklas Lidstrom (31, Norris Trophy), Pavel Bure (Rocket Richard Trophy, Jaromir Jagr (Art Ross Trophy, 29), and John Madden (28, Selke Trophy).
Twenty years later, the 20-something gang dominates: Jaccob Slavin (27, Lady Byng Trophy) Aleksander Barkov (25, Selke Trophy), Connor McDavid (24, Hart Trophy, Art Ross Trophy), Auston Matthews (23, Rocket Richard Trophy), Adam Fox (23, Norris Trophy). The one big exception is Marc-Andre Fleury (36, Vezina Trophy).
Now, none of the noteworthy 25-and-under kids in the 2021 final has captured a major individual trophy yet. This year’s Conn Smythe Trophy winner is likely to be a player over 25 (albeit not much) like Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov (28) or Andrei Vasilevski (27).
However, we can feel confident that the future of the game is in good hands – both in the NHL and in IIHF competition – when we check out these eight exceptional young players.
Cole Caufield - USA (Montreal Canadiens)
Cole Caufield – similar to fellow U.S. National Team Development Program product Quinn Hughes of the Vancouver Canucks – is proving to be one of those guys who produces more readily in the NHL than at the World Juniors. The 20-year-old Wisconsin sniper, who tied Alexander Ovechkin’s single-tournament goals record (14) at the 2019 U18 Worlds in Sweden, was limited to three goals and four assists in 12 career World Junior games, including this year’s gold-medal run in Edmonton.
Cole Caufield – similar to fellow U.S. National Team Development Program product Quinn Hughes of the Vancouver Canucks – is proving to be one of those guys who produces more readily in the NHL than at the World Juniors. The 20-year-old Wisconsin sniper, who tied Alexander Ovechkin’s single-tournament goals record (14) at the 2019 U18 Worlds in Sweden, was limited to three goals and four assists in 12 career World Junior games, including this year’s gold-medal run in Edmonton.
Cauffield won gold at the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship.
Yet Caufield is already sending signals that he could become the single most prolific scorer taken in the 2019 NHL Draft (15th overall), with due respect to Jack Hughes of the New Jersey Devils (#1) and Kaapo Kakko of the New York Rangers (#2). In these playoffs, his 12 points outstrip all other Habs rookies historically except for Claude Lemieux (10+6=16, 1986) and Jacques Lemaire (7+6=13, 1968). Even more impressively, his three overtime points, including an assist on Josh Anderson’s 3-2 game-winner in Game Four to stave off elimination, are the most ever for a rookie in the NHL post-season.
Erik Cernak - Slovakia (Tampa Bay)
Nicknamed “Drago” after the gigantic Russian boxer played by Dolph Lundgren in Rocky IV, Erik Cernak is packing a punch for the Bolts in these playoffs.
Nicknamed “Drago” after the gigantic Russian boxer played by Dolph Lundgren in Rocky IV, Erik Cernak is packing a punch for the Bolts in these playoffs.
Cernak could collect his second Stanley Cup at age 24.
The 24-year-old Kosice-born blueliner has shone on the shutdown pairing with Ryan McDonagh. He’s among the top post-season bodycheckers thus far (61). The four-time World Junior participant, who helped Slovakia win bronze in Montreal in 2015, also made an impact with the opening goal of the final on 28 June, rushing to the high slot to tip Ondrej Palat’s feed past Canadiens netminder Carey Price. It was Cernak’s first career playoff goal.
Anthony Cirelli - Canada (Tampa Bay)
Like Cernak, Anthony Cirelli could soon add a second Stanley Cup ring to his collection. The 23-year-old Lightning centre has come to life offensively after a 28-game goal drought at the end of the season. He has proven effective both on the second line with veterans Tyler Johnson and Steven Stamkos and on the lethal top power-play unit. Delivering strong two-way hockey, Cirelli (5+7=12) has surpassed the nine points he posted in the 2020 run.
Like Cernak, Anthony Cirelli could soon add a second Stanley Cup ring to his collection. The 23-year-old Lightning centre has come to life offensively after a 28-game goal drought at the end of the season. He has proven effective both on the second line with veterans Tyler Johnson and Steven Stamkos and on the lethal top power-play unit. Delivering strong two-way hockey, Cirelli (5+7=12) has surpassed the nine points he posted in the 2020 run.
Cirelli competed at the 2017 and 2019 World Juniors, earning silver both times.
Hailing from Woodbridge, Ontario, Cirelli settled for silver medals at the 2017 World Juniors and 2019 Worlds. But the 2015 Memorial Cup champion with the OHL’s Oshawa Generals knows what it takes to go all the way in the NHL.
Jesperi Kotkaniemi - Finland (Montreal)
Montreal coach Dominic Ducharme made Jesperi Kotkaniemi a healthy scratch for the Game Four win at the Bell Centre. Yet regardless of whether the young Finnish centre’s post-season is over or not, “KK” took important strides forward here after struggling the last two seasons to match the success of his 2018-19 rookie campaign.
Montreal coach Dominic Ducharme made Jesperi Kotkaniemi a healthy scratch for the Game Four win at the Bell Centre. Yet regardless of whether the young Finnish centre’s post-season is over or not, “KK” took important strides forward here after struggling the last two seasons to match the success of his 2018-19 rookie campaign.
Kotkaniemi won gold at the 2018 U18 Worlds in Russia.
Kotkaniemi’s Game Six overtime winner against the archrival Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round is already part of Habs lore. The Pori native has become one of just nine players in NHL history to score nine playoff goals before turning 21.
Brayden Point - Canada (Tampa Bay)
Brayden Point is only 24 years old, but even if he retired tomorrow, he would go down in history as a playoff goal-scoring legend. Having matched the 14 goals he scored in the 2020 run, the Calgary native is a virtual lock to join the likes of Mike Bossy (1981-83) and Mario Lemieux (1991-92) among players who led the Stanley Cup playoffs in goals in consecutive years.
Brayden Point is only 24 years old, but even if he retired tomorrow, he would go down in history as a playoff goal-scoring legend. Having matched the 14 goals he scored in the 2020 run, the Calgary native is a virtual lock to join the likes of Mike Bossy (1981-83) and Mario Lemieux (1991-92) among players who led the Stanley Cup playoffs in goals in consecutive years.
Point is an MVP favourite for the Stanley Cup playoffs.
If Point gets just one more goal this year, he’ll tie Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin for the most playoff goals in a single year in the 21st century.
Alexander Romanov - Russia (Montreal)
As Zinetula Bilyaletdinov’s grandson, Alexander Romanov hasn’t yet matched the Olympic gold medal his grandfather won as a player at the 1984 Games in Sarajevo.
As Zinetula Bilyaletdinov’s grandson, Alexander Romanov hasn’t yet matched the Olympic gold medal his grandfather won as a player at the 1984 Games in Sarajevo.
Romanov (centre) at the 2020 World Juniors in Ostrava.
Yet the 21-year-old Moscow-born defenceman, whose resume includes World Junior bronze (2019) and silver (2020), has delighted Montreal fans all season with his infectious enthusiasm. And becoming the youngest Habs defenceman ever to score in the Stanley Cup final in Game Four won’t exactly hurt sales of his jersey either.
Mikhail Sergachyov - Russia (Tampa Bay)
Lightning head coach Jon Cooper has been thrilled with Mikhail Sergachyov’s emergence since the Habs traded him to Tampa Bay for Jonathan Drouin in 2017.
Lightning head coach Jon Cooper has been thrilled with Mikhail Sergachyov’s emergence since the Habs traded him to Tampa Bay for Jonathan Drouin in 2017.
Sergachyov last played for Russia internationally at the 2019 World Juniors.
Sergachyov, 23, has been a rock alongside David Savard on the third defensive pairing, skating miles, playing physical, and vying with Victor Hedman and Ryan McDonagh for the team lead in blocked shots (45). On many other NHL clubs, Sergachyov would already be a top-two D-man.
Nick Suzuki - Canada (Montreal)
Nick Suzuki has stepped up as Montreal’s overall scoring leader (7+9=16) in this Cinderella run to the Cup final. With two goals and an assist in his last three games, Suzuki, 21, is now the youngest player in franchise history to record a three-game point streak in the final, outstripping the 22-year-old likes of Maurice “Rocket” Richard (1944) and Pierre Mondou (1978).
He’s also only the third Canadien ever to get 10 career playoff goals prior to turning 22, joining Claude Lemieux (14) and Stephane Richer (14).
Nick Suzuki has stepped up as Montreal’s overall scoring leader (7+9=16) in this Cinderella run to the Cup final. With two goals and an assist in his last three games, Suzuki, 21, is now the youngest player in franchise history to record a three-game point streak in the final, outstripping the 22-year-old likes of Maurice “Rocket” Richard (1944) and Pierre Mondou (1978).
He’s also only the third Canadien ever to get 10 career playoff goals prior to turning 22, joining Claude Lemieux (14) and Stephane Richer (14).
Suzuki playing in the 2019 World Juniors in Vancouver.