Flashscore took a look at five young NHL players who could experience a breakout 2025-2026 season. Who should fans look forward to seeing when the year begins on October 7th?
Ivan Demidov
The 19-year-old forward was the No. 5 overall in 2024. After an excellent season in the KHL, where he put up 22 goals and 32 assists in 71 games (including playoffs), he came to Montreal before the end of the regular season and immediately showed that he can be one of the best players in the league for years to come.
Demidov shone in his debut against the Chicago Blackhawks, scoring a goal and adding an assist. He played in seven games total (incl. playoffs) before the Canadiens were eliminated in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the Washington Capitals.
He won over the discerning Montreal fans from the start. Demidov could be a crucial piece to the Habs puzzle as they look towards more successful seasons in the coming years as a young team with a lot to offer.
The group around Juraj Slafkovsky is expected to gradually become one of the Stanley Cup aspirants. The first line with Caufield, Suzuki, or even Laine could be very interesting this season.
Frank Nazar
Nazar was selected by Chicago with the 13th overall pick in 2022. He entered the NHL before the end of the 2023-2024 season and, like Demidov, scored in his debut. He averaged over a point per game during his previous season on the farm, and made 53 appearances at the pro level with a very respectable 12 goals and 14 assists.
In May, with twelve points in ten games, he led the USA to win the World Championship. During the summer, he agreed to a new contract with the Blackhawks that will bring him an average of $6.6 million for seven consecutive years starting with the 2026-2027 season. It clearly shows the kind of trust he's getting from management.
The Detroit native is expected to be one of the main drivers of a young and growing team. Alongside Bedard, he could bring the joy of success back to Chicago, as the Toews, Kane, and Hossa bunch had done.
Zeev Buium
He was born in California, but his family is from Israel. Still only 19 years old, the defenseman was picked 12th overall by Minnesota during the draft a year ago and left for the University of Denver in the NCAA, where he has played 43 games and scored an impressive 98 points (24 goals, 74 assists) over the past two seasons.
In addition to one title, he added a significant number of individual accomplishments, including NCAA Rookie of the Year and NCAA Best Offensive Defenseman. Buium then joined the Wild and became the first player from that organization to make his playoff debut.
Although the first-round series didn't go the team's way, the fact that he immediately played the power play at the expense of Brock Faber or Jared Spurgeon shows how much Minnesota believes in the youngster.
The modern offensive defenseman won gold at the turn of the year in the junior championship. During May, he was a member of the U.S. at the Senior World Championships to also hoist the world championship trophy.
The future of Minnesota's back line looks bright.
Artyom Levshunov
The Belarusian number two overall pick in the 2024 draft is expected to be a defensive mainstay in Chicago for the next two decades, perhaps. As necessary as Bedard or Nazar are for eventual success on the offensive end, the same is true on the other side of the rink for this runner. He spent two years getting used to the overseas style of hockey in the USHL and NCAA before moving up to the seniors.
He primarily played on the farm in Rockford during his senior year, but for eighteen games, Chicago gave him a shot in the NHL and he certainly didn't lose it. He scored six points, averaging over twenty minutes of ice time.
Even now, the Blackhawks are intending to get their young guns involved as much as possible.
That's why Leveshunov should almost certainly have room. He appears to be a leader for many years to come, while at the same time, a group is forming around him with names like Korchinski, Vlasic, Rinzel, Kaiser and Crevier.
The Windy City club currently has everything in place to be successful in the coming seasons.
Zayne Parekh
Perhaps a lesser-known name to some, but Calgary knows full well why they selected him ninth overall in the 2024 draft ahead of players like Dickinson, Buium, and Luchanko. Parekh put up 96 points in 61 regular-season games at the OHL level in 2023-2024, a season in which he was still just 17 years old.
He then improved those numbers in the previous season. For the Saginaw Spirit, he hit the mark in 61 games, getting over the magic 100 mark for 107 points (33 goals, 74 assists). The last time Jamie Rivers was better among defensemen in this competition was 31 years ago. Parekh later made his pro debut in Los Angeles with a goal, two shots, and a +3 +/-.
He has all the tools to be one of the NHL's most productive defensemen.
Ironically, the Nobleton native has never represented Canada at a youth world championship. If he follows up on previous performances, he's unlikely to do so, as the Flames won't allow him to play in the U20 World Championships.