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Jets' Patrik Laine Ranks 14th In The Hockey News' Top Teen Sensations

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The Countdown - Apr. 17 2026 - Vol. 79 Issue 10 - Jared Clinton

JUST AS TIME MAKES fools of us all, so, too, has Macklin Celebrini.

When the now-San Jose Sharks star was in his pre-draft season, the skinny on the then-Boston University center was that he was a talented player with an exceptional, but not elite, ceiling. Comparisons were drawn to top-line, team-leading pivots rather than true superstars. No one, truly, was using the ‘G’ word – generational – when it came to Celebrini. In The Hockey News’ 2024 Draft Preview, for instance, the comparison used was Elias Pettersson.

Yes, yes. Yuck it up. But the fact of the matter is, there is perhaps no player who has flipped any perceived notion of his upside on its head quite as quickly as Celebrini, who has gone from being mentioned as a franchise centerpiece to an MVP-caliber talent. That his name is floating around the Hart Trophy debate this very season is proof positive of his impact.

What makes Celebrini’s surge to stardom all the more incredible, though, is that he’s done it before he’s even old enough to order an adult beverage. In fact, his 19-year-old season ranks up there with the best ever.

Where does Celebrini’s output rank among the NHL’s greatest baby-faced sensations? In this edition of Countdown, we flip through the history books to find the greatest teen scorers in each NHL franchise’s history.

*All ages are as of Jan. 31 in the corresponding season, as per Hockey-Reference.

1 EDMONTON OILERS

WAYNE GRETZKY, 19 – 137 PTS (1979-80)

Who else? Gretzky’s output is double that of the closest Oilers teen, Jason Arnott, who had 68 points in 1993-94.

2 PITTSBURGH PENGUINS

SIDNEY CROSBY, 19 – 120 PTS (2006-07)

Shockingly, both of Crosby’s teen seasons exceed Mario Lemieux’s 100-point best. At 19, ‘Sid the Kid’ won the Hart.

3 LOS ANGELES KINGS

JIMMY CARSON, 19 – 107 PTS (1987-88)

Carson’s great year made him the centerpiece of the infamous Gretzky trade. Sadly, he was out of the NHL by 27.

4 SAN JOSE SHARKS

MACKLIN CELEBRINI, 19 – 115 PTS (2025-26)

Celebrini is smashing a record that he already held. He surpassed Pat Falloon’s 59-point teen total as a rookie.

5 NEW YORK ISLANDERS

BRYAN TROTTIER, 19 – 95 PTS (1975-76)

OK, Trottier has the team record. But Matthew Schaefer is the fifth-highest-scoring teenage blueliner in NHL history.

6 TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING

STEVEN STAMKOS, 19 – 95 PTS (2009-10)

In 2008, then-Bolts coach Barry Melrose said rookie Stamkos wasn’t ready. The next year, ‘Stammer’ potted 51 goals.

7 CAROLINA HURRICANES

RON FRANCIS, 19 – 90 PTS (1982-83)

Francis has the team’s teen point record, but Sylvain Turgeon set the standard for young-gun goals (40) the following year.

8 DETROIT RED WINGS

STEVE YZERMAN, 19 – 89 PTS (1984-85)

After debuting with a 39-goal, 87-point campaign, ‘Stevie Y’ staked claim as the Wings’ future with sophomore year.

9 BUFFALO SABRES

PIERRE TURGEON, 19 – 88 PTS (1988-89)

Sure, Turgeon takes the cake, but 19-year-old Phil Housley’s 77-point 1983-84 campaign was an all-timer.

10 DALLAS STARS

BRIAN BELLOWS, 19 – 83 PTS (1983-84)

Bellows’ 41 goals are the same as Wyatt Johnston’s rookie point total, which was most by a Stars teenager since 1990.

11 CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS

EDDIE OLCZYK, 19 – 79 PTS (1985-86)

A dream for hometown hero ‘Eddie O,’ surpassing both 28-goal and 75-point bests by Denis Savard in 1980-81.

12 PHILADELPHIA FLYERS

ERIC LINDROS, 19 – 75 PTS (1992-93)

Since Lindros’ 41-goal season as a 19-year-old, only four other teens have managed to reach the 40-goal plateau.

13 COLORADO AVALANCHE

OWEN NOLAN, 19 – 73 PTS (1991-92)

The 1990 draft’s No. 1 pick had just three goals and 13 points as a rookie before exploding for 42 goals as a sophomore.

14 WINNIPEG JETS

PATRIK LAINE, 19 – 70 PTS (2017-18)

Laine’s 44 goals are fifth most by a teen. Coincidentally, Jets 1.0 icon Dale Hawerchuk netted 45 at 18 in 1981-82.

15 TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS

AUSTON MATTHEWS, 19 – 69 PTS (2016-17)

Prior to Matthews’ brilliant season, Ted Kennedy’s 49-game Original Six Era 54-point mark had stood for 72 years.

16 WASHINGTON CAPITALS

BOBBY CARPENTER, 19 – 69 PTS (1982-83)

An asterisk for Carpenter? The lockout delayed Alex Ovechkin’s NHL debut. At 20, he posted 106 points as a rookie.

17 MINNESOTA WILD

MARIAN GABORIK, 19 – 67 PTS (2001-02)

Gaborik set the benchmark at 18 and surpassed it the next campaign. No teen has scored for Wild since 2013.

18 NEW JERSEY DEVILS

KIRK MULLER, 19 – 66 PTS (1985-86)

Muller was a star upon his NHL arrival. He spent seven years as a Devil but remains franchise’s fourth-highest scorer.

19 BOSTON BRUINS

RAY BOURQUE, 19 – 65 PTS (1979-80)

Bourque won Calder and finished fourth in Norris voting after brilliant debut. He’d go on to win the Norris five times.

20 NEW YORK RANGERS

MIKE ALLISON, 19 – 64 PTS (1980-81)

Only teens to score 30 points for Rangers since Allison: Alex Kovalev (1992-93) and Michael Del Zotto (2009-10).

21 ST. LOUIS BLUES

ROD BRIND’AMOUR, 19 – 61 PTS (1989-90)

Best known as a Cane, Brind’Amour has high-water mark in St. Louis and third-best Blues rookie year ever.

22 VANCOUVER CANUCKS

TREVOR LINDEN, 18 – 59 PTS (1988-89)

Ultimately, Linden’s 30-goal, 59-point rookie year wound up as the sixth-highest-scoring season of his NHL career.

23 CALGARY FLAMES

DAN QUINN, 19 – 58 PTS (1984-85)

Thanks to Quinn and Sean Monahan, Flames legend Jarome Iginla has neither the team’s teen goal nor point record.

24 COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS

RICK NASH, 19 – 57 PTS (2003-04)

Most lopsided production ever? Nash was first player since 1918 with more than 40 goals and fewer than 20 assists.

25 OTTAWA SENATORS

ALEXANDRE DAIGLE, 18 – 51 PTS (1993-94)

Make your jokes, but Daigle was a threat for Ottawa. He was second in Sens scoring behind Alexei Yashin in 1993-94.

26 MONTREAL CANADIENS

JURAJ SLAFKOVSKY, 19 – 50 PTS (2023-24)

When he netted point No. 41 in 2023-24, Slafkovsky surpassed a total set by Henri Richard nearly 70 years earlier.

27 NASHVILLE PREDATORS

SCOTT HARTNELL, 19 – 41 PTS (2001-02)

Forget chasing Hartnell. The Preds have had just one teenager with a double-digit point total in the 23 seasons since.

28 ANAHEIM DUCKS

CAM FOWLER, 19 – 40 PTS (2010-11)

Of the five best seasons by Ducks teens, three have been by defensemen: Fowler, Jamie Drysdale and Oleg Tverdovsky.

29 FLORIDA PANTHERS

RADEK DVORAK, 19 – 39 PTS (1996-97)

Dvorak gets the nod on points per game and goals, but an 18-year-old Aaron Ekblad also posted 39 points in 2014-15.

30 SEATTLE KRAKEN

MATTY BENIERS, 19 – 9 PTS (2021-22)

Post-college, Beniers burst onto the scene. But his offense has peaked with Calder-winning 57 points in 2022-23.

31 VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS

N/A – 0 PTS

The youngest Golden Knight to collect a point is Peyton Krebs – 20 years, three months and seven days. Just missed it.

32 UTAH MAMMOTH