Here are the top Frozen Tools searches for the past week:

(1/2) This week's top #fantasyhockey profile pages:

1) Joe Veleno https://t.co/IH9rxaAxHa
2) Henry Thrun https://t.co/KfhhIRdch4
3) Jackson Lacombe https://t.co/E7YUspalV9
4) Mason Mctavish https://t.co/SKZyOGA9uq
5) Zach Benson https://t.co/sPRb6oCJEq
— Frozen Tools (@FrozenTools) July 17, 2025

(2/2) This week's top #fantasyhockey profile pages:

6) Sam Rinzel https://t.co/zF9IU0ZeqE
7) Nikolaj Ehlers https://t.co/o8jdCJEkq5
8) Matias Maccelli https://t.co/LhGvuSrFJs
9) Kirill Marchenko https://t.co/xd9fDJGMsu
10) Connor Bedard https://t.co/B0oV9LI4Oz
— Frozen Tools (@FrozenTools) July 17, 2025

This week, the focus is on players 25 and under, with five players looking to build on what they have accomplished in their careers so far.

Sam Rinzel

With Seth Jones traded before the deadline last season, Rinzel may be the defenseman on the Blackhawks' top power play to start the season. After signing an NHL contract out of college, Rinzel was placed on the top power play, registering three power-play points and five total points over his last six games. On top of that, Rinzel averaged 23:22 over the nine NHL games he played in, which is extremely high for a 21-year-old rookie. Mind you, the Blackhawks currently have only one defenseman on the current roster (Connor Murphy) over the age of 25.

In terms of possible PP1 competition for Rinzel, a few names stand out. Aside from Jones, Alex Vlasic had more power-play points than any Hawks defenseman in 2024-25 (12 PPP). Rinzel logged most of his even-strength minutes with Vlasic, and two could potentially even form the top pair. Expect some decent counting stats along with low plus-minus from both. Artyom Levshunov and Kevin Korchinski are both high first-round picks who both have offensive upside. Unlike Vlasic but like Rinzel, Levshunov and Korchinski are both waivers-exempt.

What all of this means is that a training camp battle is expected, both in terms of roles within the team and a spot on the team. Single-season fantasy leaguers could roll the dice on Rinzel as a late-round pick, but this seems to be a fairly uncertain situation. The Blackhawks had a surprisingly strong power play in 2024-25 (24.9%, 7^th in NHL), which could really benefit whoever wins this battle.

Zach Benson

Speaking of potential training camp battles, one could be brewing in Buffalo on the left wing. Benson, Jason Zucker, and recently signed Jack Quinn could all battle for two spots in the top 6 on the left side. Other projected top-6 forwards include Tage Thompson, Alex Tuch, Josh Norris, and Ryan McLeod, although that's not always a given either.

In two NHL seasons, Benson hasn't made nearly enough of a splash offensively to be universally rostered in fantasy leagues, picking up 30 and 28 points in each season. However, it's easy to forget Benson is only 20 and jumped straight into the NHL from the draft. He has only (already?) played 146 NHL games, so he is projected to be another year away from a fourth-year breakout. On top of that, Benson may need more time as a player on the smaller side (5-10, 170 lbs.) He may emerge as Buffalo starts to (it'll happen one day, Sabres fans, it has to), so those in keeper leagues should continue to be patient.

Cliffy has more on how Benson projects based on expected goals in a previous Ramblings.

Henry Thrun

Thrun was acquired by the Leafs from San Jose for the bargain basement price of Ryan Reaves. He has had some appeal in fantasy leagues for his ability to generate offense in college. Playing two seasons for Harvard, Thrun totalled 63 points in 68 games. His ability to move the puck has helped him generate offense, but he also demonstrated the ability to be a shutdown defenseman in college.

Unfortunately, the results haven't translated to the NHL level. In 111 games over the past two seasons, Thrun has only managed 23 points. Moreover, playing on an inexperienced Sharks team, Thrun has a combined minus-45 over that span. That's not exactly the fantasy asset you were hoping for.

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Thrun will likely battle it out to be on the bottom pair this season or even end up as a seventh defenseman. He's a better option than Simon Benoit when it comes to moving the puck and generating offense. However, Benoit brings a more physical element to the Leafs in terms of hits and blocked shots, so Thrun could easily be the odd man out some nights. Although there may be some curiosity and excitement about what Thrun could bring to fantasy teams as a Leaf, you can ignore him in single-season leagues.

Joe Veleno

I'm assuming we have a lot of Habs fans as readers if Veleno is listed as #1 in searches. A one-time first-round pick (and a very late first-round pick at that), Veleno hasn't found fantasy relevance at any point of his career. In four full NHL seasons, Veleno's career high is 28 points, while he has been a minus player in each of those four seasons playing for rebuilding Detroit and Chicago squads. After being traded to Seattle and promptly bought out by the Kraken, Veleno signed with the Canadiens on a one-year deal worth $900,000 on Wednesday.

This isn't a terrible gamble for the Habs. Apart from the limited financial commitment, Veleno possesses good size (6-1, 201 lbs.) and speed (75^th percentile among forwards for speed bursts over 20 mph). The size and speed were likely major reasons he was drafted 30^th overall in 2018. Veleno has been below 50% in each of his four seasons in the faceoff circle, but he is reportedly much better on his strong side.

Veleno appears to be a possible 13^th forward on the Habs, and he may even find himself on the AHL's Laval Rocket. Currently he is behind Nick Suzuki, Kirby Dach, Alex Newhook, and Jake Evans at the center position. If Newhook moves to the wing, then Veleno could be the fourth-line center. Despite all the requests for information on Veleno, I won't be targeting him in any of my fantasy leagues.

This thread on the Forum has plenty of discussion about where Veleno might end up.

Yegor Chinakhov

I know it's Kirill Marchenko's name in the top searches among Blue Jackets and not Chinakhov's, but I'll deviate from the plan for this last one. As has been in the news, Chinakhov has requested a trade from the Blue Jackets, citing differences with coach Dean Evason. Chinakhov was held to just 30 games in 2024-25 due to a back injury and being a healthy scratch for much of the last month of the season.

Even though 2024-25 was considered a down year for Chinakhov, he finished with his highest average icetime per game (15:43), as well as his highest power-play point total (5 PPP) and his highest shot per game total (2.3 SOG/GP). At age 24, Chinakhov has demonstrated the potential for more. He is currently listed as having a 73-point upside and 53-point three-year peak as of the last Midseason Guide. Staying healthy would help his cause in that area, as he has failed to reach 65 games played in any of his four NHL seasons, with AHL stints of fewer than 10 games in each of his first three seasons.

A trade might eventually help Chinakhov's value, especially if he truly has issues with Evason and he can find a new team where he can secure a more significant role. There are no guarantees of that, nor of Chinakhov ever reaching his upside. After all, this is a player whose career high in four seasons is 29 points in 2023-24. Take away the injuries from that season, and he was on a 45-point pace. However, you'll still have to factor in injuries when projecting his point total for the coming season, as well as the potential to be buried down the Columbus lineup to start the season.

Here’s another interesting thread from the Forum – this one about Chinakhov.

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