Toronto Maple Leafs: Where Does Auston Matthews Rank Among Young NHL Stars?

#1 – Connor McDavid

This is probably somewhat anti-climactic, since McDavid is such an obvious number-one.  You could widen the age parameters to include everyone, and he’d still probably be the  top player.

Two Art Ross trophies, three All-Star selections, three consecutive seasons with 100+ points, do I need to go on?

McDavid has already established himself on the plane of Lemieux, Gretzky, and Crosby as one of the most talented players to ever play the game.  He’s the league’s fastest player, and by far the best offensive talent to come into the NHL since Crosby and Ovechkin debuted after the NHL’s 2005 lockout.

Connor McDavid is not only the best player under 25 years of age, he is the best player in the NHL.

Crosby’s international accolades and post-season success still hold weight in terms of overall hockey legacy, but it will be interesting to see what the conversation will be 10 years from now when discussing who has been the better player.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have some well represented young talent on this list in Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews, and I would not be surprised if someone like William Nylander would even be able to be considered among these great players at some point.