With the start of the season, we have seen a lot of top draft picks get into games and given some opportunities to succeed before management makes decisions on the player's rest of season development. Here are some names that have been active from the 2025 draft class.

Pittsburgh Penguins – Ben Kindel (11th overall)

The first player to score an NHL goal from this summer's draft class was Kindel. He hasn't played with either of the big boys (Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin) but is receiving some time on the second power play unit. The Penguins have had a better start to the season than most have expected, and it starts with the youth they have in their lineup. It looks to have invigorated the veterans and if Kindel can continue with this play, he may stay with the squad the whole season.

Vancouver Canucks – Braeden Cootes (15th overall)

Cootes was another surprise among training camp attendees and earned his way onto the opening night roster for the Canucks. He averaged just over 10 minutes per contest with minimal power play time. The Canucks are 1-2 after their first three games and have decided to send him back to the WHL.

Nashville Predators – Brady Martin (5th overall)

One of the big surprises at the draft was the Predators selecting Martin at the 5-spot. An even bigger surprise was seeing him make the opening night roster and playing on the top line! He has skated in two games, recording an assist. He has been a healthy scratch the last two games, with the coaches saying they are trying to manage his workload and adjustment to the National.

New York Islanders – Matthew Schaefer (1st overall)

I don't have much to say about Schaefer. He has lived up to the hype and then some. He is a top paring defenseman and Head Coach Patrick Roy has used him that way.

San Jose Sharks – Michael Misa (2nd overall)

The Sharks did not dress Misa for their first two games of the season, but he got into action on Tuesday against the Carolina Hurricanes. He started with Philip Kurashev and Ty Dellandrea, which isn't ideal for fantasy purposes, but being able to dip a toe into some NHL action is always valuable experience.

Along with a number of young players breaking into the league, we have a number of skaters who have been putting up big numbers for years.

Colorado Avalanche

Nathan MacKinnon is again setting the pace for the season by being one of the most dynamic players in the league. Martin Necas is looking for a new contract and they have reignited their connection and each have eight points to start this campaign. Artturi Lehkonen is the second winger on their line, and he does all the little things for them; battle in front of the net, play hard along the boards, and retrieve pucks. If he wasn't a late-round pick in your leagues, he should be scooped off waivers immediately.

Edmonton Oilers

The Oil beat the Rangers 2-0 on Tuesday in a game that saw some line shuffling. Andrew Mangiapane got the tap on the shoulder to play with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. They played over eight minutes together at even strength and generated strong corsi (shot attempt) numbers. Bob Stauffer tweeted that Edmonton switched things up a bit in practice on Wednesday, moving Draisaitl back to his usual second-line centre role, but Mangiapane remained on the top line, so pick him up if you need winger help.

A real-life free agent that just signed with Edmonton, Jack Roslovic, played in his first game on Tuesday and skated with Matt Savoie and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. With no training camp, we should expect a lighter workload in his first few games, but once he gets up to game speed, he is definitely a guy that could be tasked to play alongside McDavid or Draisaitl so if you can stash him, do it.

Minnesota Wild

The richest contract in NHL history has paid off early as Kirill Kaprizov has four goals and nine points through four games. Matt Boldy is on his other wing and has eight points in four games as well with Marco Rossi between the two of them.

With that big ticket, Minnesota doesn't have much scoring depth on their roster. You can bet that top line will get the majority of offensive zone starts and powerplay time. Boldy is currently averaging over 23 minutes and Kaprizov over 22:30. You won't be able to buy low on these guys, but if you can acquire them, they will probably exceed the 20-minute mark all year long.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Circling back around on the Penguins, with Bryan Rust now off of IR, Pittsburgh has sent down Ville Koivunen after he was held off the scoresheet in two games this season. Justin Brazeau has been a steady line mate for Malkin and Anthony Mantha, with four goals in four games this year. 

Even if he does not keep up this goal scoring pace, Brazeau is one of the few big bodies the Pens have in their lineup so he will continue to see opportunities with different players even when this current goal touch turns cold.

I am currently on vacation with my family on the East Coast, just finished watching the Penguins vs. Ducks and it is 1:15am. I am not sure how you east coasters do this! Talk to you all next week!