Top 5 NHL Players for the 2023-2024 season
With so many incredible talents around the league, you could debate all day about the top NHL players of 2023. But, after watching the first few weeks of the season, these are our picks for the top five NHL players of the 2023-24 season.
5. Cale Makar
It’s fair to say that Cale Makar has taken the throne as the best defender in the NHL. At just 24 years old he’s already the fastest defenseman in history to reach 250 career points according to this article by Overtime Heroics.
A world-class skater who adds an unrivaled sense of dynamism to the Avalanche’s high-octane offense, Makar is the type of defenseman you’d build in a lab to dominate the modern NHL. If his Conn Smythe-winning playoff run in 2022 didn’t already cement him as a top-five player, his improvement as a two-way defenseman in 2023 certainly did. The former top-five pick is never going to be a bruising defensive force, but his elite positioning and stick skills have helped turn him into a well-rounded monster.
4. Jack Hughes
You could go with a more established pick like David Pastrnak, Nikita Kucherov, or Mikko Rantanen here, but sometimes it makes sense to go with an ascending talent. The #1 overall pick in the 2019 draft, Jack Hughes was arguably the most hyped prospect of the 2010s not named Connor McDavid. And, while it took him a few seasons to truly get off the ground, mainly due to some injury trouble, it’s hard to deny his talent now.
The catalyst behind the New Jersey Devils’ largest single-season turnaround in NHL history, Hughes has been even better to start 2023-24. He might be on the injury list for the next few weeks, but the superstar center made the most of the first ten games, racking up 20 points, including a league-leading 15 assists. Is it a bit too early to put him this high? Maybe. But we think Hughes is a top-level talent with serious MVP consideration this season if he can stay on the ice.
3. Leon Draisaitl
Part of one of the greatest 1-2 combinations in the history of hockey, former MVP Leon Draisaitl is right in the prime of what will undoubtedly be a Hall of Fame career. Voted the best passer in the NHL by his peers each of the past two seasons, Draisaitl is a legendary playmaker who is somehow almost just as good at scoring the puck.
Perhaps the league’s most potent powerplay threat (besides maybe his teammate), he’s led the NHL in power play goals for two of the last three seasons. It would also be very remiss of us to not mention his legendary performance in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs when he dropped 15 points in five games in the Battle of Alberta while playing with a high ankle sprain.
2. Nathan MacKinnon
The definition of work ethic, Nathan MacKinnon is the epitome of 4th line effort with 1st line skills. Perhaps the most well-rounded forward in hockey, the Colorado Avalanche star possesses an ungodly combination of grace and power that makes him a proverbial wrecking ball on the open ice.
But that’s not all; MacKinnon is also a stellar defensive forward, capable of locking down almost anybody on any given night. Plus, his impact in the locker room cannot be overstated. A highly skilled two-way player, natural-born leader, and consistent playoff performer, Nathan MacKinnon is without a doubt one of the NHL’s finest.
1.Connor McDavid
Come on now, who else would it be?
Describing Connor McDavid’s game is basically just throwing every positive superlative you can think of at the wall and watching every single one of them stick. He’s led the league in points in five of the seven full seasons he’s played, won three MVP awards, and just became the first player since Wayne Gretzky to lead the league in goals and assists in the same season.
McDavid has long since stopped chasing the rest of the best current NHL players, he’s closing in on the very best in the history of the sport.
A Talented League
It says a lot about the current parity of the NHL that 10-15 players had a solid argument to be on this list. With so many promising players across the sport, we’re excited to watch what should be another highly competitive season of hockey, with a large group of contenders vying for Stanley Cup supremacy.
If you want to keep up with the latest hockey news this season, check out Overtime Heroics.