Here it is: the end of this list means the start of a new regular season. Let us get to it.
5. Arseny Gritsyuk (W) — Last Rank: 5 — Age: 24 — 2024-25 Team: SKA St. Petersburg (KHL — 49 games)
Since breaking
out for Avangard Omsk in the 2021-22 season, Arseny Gritsyuk has captivated Devils fans as a potential boon to the team’s group of skilled forwards. Gritsyuk never took a step backwards in the KHL after that first big year, in which he had 16 goals and 28 points in 39 games. Since then, he had 15 goals and 40 points in 66 games, followed by 19 goals and 38 points in 50 games, and finishing with 17 goals and 44 points in 49 games in the 2024-25 season. Of course, Gritsyuk signed with SKA St. Petersburg after his contract with Omsk expired in 2023, so he even took a back-seat to big-name veterans on the roster over the last two seasons, especially as it came to power play usage.
He might have to play again on the second power play in New Jersey, but there should not be any worries about his ability to function in an NHL offense after skating with the team in the preseason. Gritsyuk played all six possible games, leading the team with five points (two goals and three primary assists). Beyond those five points, Gritsyuk had 14 individual scoring chances with 15 shots on goal, also throwing nine hits and drawing a penalty. While most people will not miss Gritsyuk’s skill, they might forget that he’s not an average rookie: he’s coming off of four seasons in the second-best professional league in the world, in which he was one of the best young players. With SKA last season, Gritsyuk was second to just Evgeni Kuznetsov in points per game, though Kuznetsov had nearly twice as much power play ice time per game. At even strength, Gritsyuk scored roughly 1.2 goals per 60 minutes, which would be a near-elite clip if it translated to the NHL.
Gritsyuk is starting this season on the fourth line, but that may shift around based on how he plays. I like that Gritsyuk seems to have good chemistry with Paul Cotter so far, but Gritsyuk could really elevate the scoring potential of a middle six line if he got an opportunity there. On the other hand, the fourth line may be the best place for Gritsyuk to get going on his off-wing, where he can fire one-timers off effectively. Once Stefan Noesen returns to the lineup, I think it might be hard to find Gritsyuk a line to play right wing on, though Gritsyuk’s tenacity, intelligence, and skill should allow him to have success anywhere in the lineup.
4. Simon Nemec (RD) — Last Rank: 4 — Age: 21 — 2024-25 Teams: Utica Comets (AHL — 24 games) New Jersey Devils (27 games)
Drafted out of Slovakian professional hockey, Simon Nemec was the beneficiary of European draftee rules that allowed him to immediately play in the AHL after being drafted by the Devils in 2022. After playing with Slovakian professionals from the age of 15, Nemec immediately became a solid AHL defenseman at 18 and earned a call-up in 2023 when Dougie Hamilton tore his pectoral muscle. With a promising rookie season that saw him score three goals and 19 points with some of the best defensive results on a rather poor Devils team, things were looking great for Nemec.
A shoulder injury in Olympic qualifiers last season really hurt Nemec’s ability to continue growing, and it hurt his image among fans and talking heads. Only playing 27 games with the Devils in the regular season last year thanks to the signing of Brett Pesce and the emergence of Johnny Kovacevic, Nemec had a paltry four points and some of the worst defensive results on a much better Devils team than the prior season. Nemec also played quite a bit in the AHL to regain his confidence, showing that he still did not have much to learn from playing in Utica — but he did regain his confidence over time. In the playoffs, the Devils had to turn to Nemec to try to salvage the first-round series against the Carolina Hurricanes. In Game 4, facing elimination, Nemec played one of the biggest games of his career next to Jonas Siegenthaler, keeping the Devils alive with a game-winning goal in overtime.
With Johnny Kovacevic out until after New Year’s, Nemec will have the opportunity to play regularly for at least half of the season. His goal for this season should be to pick up where he left off in the playoffs, showing he can produce offensively while being responsible in Sheldon Keefe’s defensive system. With a new assistant coach in Brad Shaw to help him, Nemec needs to play at a level even higher than he showed in his rookie season. If Nemec proves to be a quality third-pairing defenseman, that would be fine for this year. But if Nemec shows more, it can open up the door to more roster questions for the Devils. Nemec was drafted to be a franchise defenseman, and he can get back on the path with a good season.
3. Dawson Mercer (RW/C) — Last Rank: 3 — Age: 24 — 2024-25 Team: New Jersey Devils (82 games)
Ready for his fifth season in the National Hockey League after not missing a single game in each of his first four years, Dawson Mercer will look to return his productivity to 2022-23 levels. Since scoring 27 goals and 29 assists in that season, Mercer has 39 goals and 30 assists in 164 regular season games. The decline in goal scoring has not been terrible, finishing 2024-25 just one shy of a third straight 20-goal season. Mercer’s playmaking, however, has not been there.
While his playmaking has been disappointing over the last two seasons, Mercer is still one of the most accomplished and one of the most skilled players in this list, putting him in third place again in his final year on the list. Early lineup projections for the Devils this year place Mercer on Nico Hischier’s right, and this would be great for Mercer getting more scoring opportunities. Last season, when Timo Meier, Nico Hischier, and Dawson Mercer skated together, the Devils outscored opponents 9-4. In all minutes where Meier played with Mercer, the Devils outscored opponents 24-9. With all of the rebounds that Meier creates with his high volume of shots on goal, Mercer is generally a good fit on the same line as one of the most effective netfront scorers on the Devils.
If Mercer stays in a top six wing role this year, there will be no excuses for a repeat of the last two years of offensive production. He does not have to carry his line, he just needs to be the offensive playmaker he showed he was capable of being as a rookie and a second-year player under Lindy Ruff. With his tenacity around the crease and propensity for deflections and batting pucks out of the air, as well, Mercer needs to get back to setting himself on a 30-goal path.
2. Luke Hughes (LD) — Last Rank: 2 — Age: 22 — 2024-25 Team: New Jersey Devils (71 games)
It took long enough, but Luke Hughes did sign with the New Jersey Devils last week. Set to be with the Devils until July 2032, Luke’s next step as a professional needs to be playing as a number one defenseman. I asked if he was capable of that back in July, but the true test will be the games in the coming weeks. For now, it seems that Hughes is slated to start on the first pairing with Brett Pesce. One reason to have hope there: Hughes did a very good job of creating offense when playing with top six teammates last season. By playing on the top pairing, he should play most of his minutes with his brother Jack and Nico Hischier.
I would lean towards saying that Luke was unlucky last season. When Luke was playing with Hischier, the Devils were outscored 15-14 despite outshooting opponents 193-148. When the brothers played together, the Devils fared better, outscoring opponents 17-12 with good underlying metrics to back it up. It was when Luke played with bottom six centers that things went wrong. In those minutes, the Devils were outscored 21-13 while being outshot, carrying a rather poor 5.22 team shooting percentage. I would hope that those numbers improve with the Devils’ well-tweaked bottom six, but it remains clear that the Devils will be most productive by having the Hughes brothers on the ice together.
Of course, as a defenseman, Luke Hughes has some things in his own end that he needs to work on. By being more effective around the net, the Devils can spend less time playing defense and more time rushing up the ice — which is the thing Luke is best at. Still, his tools as a defenseman stand out around the league. In NHL EDGE’s tracking data, Luke was in the 97th percentile or better in:
- Top Speed (23.58 MPH — 97th)
- 22 MPH bursts (16 — 99th)
- 20-22 MPH bursts (109 — 97th)
- 18-20 MPH bursts (496 — 98th)
Had Luke reached the 24.19 MPH mark he set in 2023-24, he would have been tied for second with Jaccob Slavin among defensemen last year, just behind Quinn Hughes’s 24.56 MPH record. In addition to his skating ability, though, I am looking forward to seeing what his shot looks like after undergoing shoulder surgery following his Game 1 injury against the Hurricanes. NHL EDGE’s shot tracking data noted a dip in average and top shot speed for Hughes last year, and getting a few ticks back on his shots would help him be the goal-scoring defenseman he came into the league to be. I don’t think we have to be worried, though. He’s been working hard:
My body feels great, and my shoulders are strong. I’ve been skating five days a week, bag skating, and I just got to acclimate myself to the team and to playing real hockey. I don’t think it should be long. It’s just good to be back to work.
And back to work he’ll go.
1. Jack Hughes (C) — Last Rank: 1 — Age: 24 — 2024-25 Team: New Jersey Devils (62 games)
Jack Hughes has been fixed upon the top spot of the All About the Jersey Top 25 Under 25 since the 2021 list. But today will be the last time he is posted on these lists. So where has he gotten since starting in the second spot in 2019? He has 141 goals and 351 points in 368 regular season games along with six goals and 11 points in 12 playoff games. Since the 2022-23 season, Jack has averaged 40 goals and 58 assists per 82 games played, doing this while largely delaying treatment for some nagging shoulder issues that came to a head when he was sent flying into the end boards by Jack Eichel last year.
Some will ask, “can he stay healthy?” I am not as concerned. All things considered, Hughes only missed 40 games over the last two regular seasons and needed some bad luck to make him miss the 20 games he missed at the end of last season. I think the question should be: will he be even better after getting shoulder surgery? Jack Hughes turned 24 less than two weeks after getting surgery: he isn’t a 38 year old dealing with repetitive, nagging injuries. The numbers themselves show that he recovers well even when he doesn’t go as far with treatment as he could. But with a surgically-repaired shoulder, there shouldn’t be any limits for him this season.
Hockey players are generally “in their prime” between the ages of 24 and 27. Elite players like Jack tend to enter their “prime” early and often leave it later than most. This is just the beginning for Jack. What is the ceiling for a guy who had 99 points at 21 years old? If Jack plays this whole season, you could see him blow past that mark. And as he departs this list and goes firmly into the realm of “veteran” hockey players, there wouldn’t be anything better for him or Devils fans than a 110 or 120-point season.
The Rankings
As expected, the rankings look quite a bit more uniform this time around. James, the community, and I all matched the ultimate top five.
Of course, we had one final tie between Mercer and Nemec. With James and the community voting Mercer third, he got the advantage to take that spot. And a fun fact? This was the exact same top five as last year. It was close: just over half a point of average vote separated Gritsyuk from Seamus Casey, but Gritsyuk (I’d say rightfully) retained his spot in the top five.
Well, that concludes this year’s Top 25 Under 25. I hope you all enjoyed it, and feel free to share your ballots and your thoughts in the comments.
