NFL
By: Jesse Rosales
The first NHL rankings of the year are finally upon us. We are past Halloween and are starting to get an idea of which teams are for real and which ones are not. The next big milestone is the American Thanksgiving. At that point, we can start to draw some early conclusions on where teams might land at the end of the year. It’s still early enough for teams with slow starts to make some noise and gain some positive momentum, and also for teams that started hot out of the gate to cool off.
Top 10 NHL Rankings
10. Anaheim Ducks 
The Ducks have one of the best young core players in the entire league. With all-star caliber players like Troy Terry and Trevor Zegras, with up-and-coming players like Mason McTavish, and goaltender Lukas Dostal. This team is currently on a 5 game-winning streak and have quality wins against the Bruins, Hurricanes, and Penguins. I don’t think the Ducks will be ready to compete for a playoff spot, but they will certainly not be an easy out for any team and they will be competitive every game.
Jack Hughes is off to a historic start to this season and the Devils are reaping all the benefits from it. Hughes has 20 points through 10 games and is showing that he is ready to take that huge step forward that everyone expected and was hoping for this season. Goaltending continues to be a concern for this team as both netminders have a goals against average over 3 and save percentages below .900. It is early in the season but that will need to improve if this team is serious about making a deep playoff run.
The Leafs are playing with a bit of a chip on their shoulder with having come up short in the playoffs every single year in the Auston Matthews era. The main difference I see with this team is the defense and goaltending have greatly improved. A lot of that can be attributed to the new young phenom Joseph Woll in net. Through 5 games he has played, he is averaging under 2 goals against, and a 9.42 save percentage. This team will need to still produce as a top offensive unit in the league to win games, but they are certainly capable of that.
7. LA Kings 
The Kings certainly have a formula for success over the past decade. Hard-fought and physical games with a lot of action and scoring. No difference to start this season. The Kings are 6-2 in their last 8 games and those 2 losses were against Vegas and the Bruins who have both remained undefeated, The Kings are 2 in the league in goals scored per game led by veterans Kevin Fiala, Adrian Kempe, and Anze Kopitar. This team is looking to be in midseason form and ready to rinse and repeat their winning ways.,
Steve Yzerman has done such a great job building this roster. It’s a great mix of young and old talent, solid goaltending with Ville Husso and they are building back a winning culture that hasn’t existed in Detroit for almost 10 years now. The Red Wings have a +7 goal differential on the season and will be looking to grab as many points as possible out of the gate of this new season.
5. Dallas Stars 
The Stars are quietly positioning themselves as a top 3 team in the West and a serious threat to win the Cup this year. They were close last year and should only be better this young with much of their core group returning. The Stars are off to a 7-1-1 record through 9 games. With a top 3 goaltender in Jake Oettinger, and offensive weapons like Jason Robertson, Roope Hintz, and Joe Pavelski, this is one loaded roster that wants it bad.
4. NY Rangers 
Speaking of the top 3 goaltenders, Igor Sheskerkin is most certainly in that conversation as well. Up front, the Rangers are actually structured very similar to the Colorado Avalanche. Solid 4 lines of offensive talent, and a solid defensive core of players who are also capable of putting the puck in the net. This team was heartbroken after the early exit in the playoffs last year and they are ready to show that this is their year to win the East and I think that’s a strong possibility.
Colorado came out to a blistering start of the season going 6-0. They lost 2 games on a short road trip to the East Coast and found their winning ways back at home against the St. Louis Blues. The bright spot for this team has been the goaltending. Alexander Georgiev did struggle a bit on the road but had played all 8 games, which is not super common in the NHL anymore. The young prospect Ivan Provetov started against the Blues and made 32 saves in 33 shots in his Avalanche debut.
If the goaltending can stay at a high level, the Avalanche will once again be a serious threat to win the Cup for the second time in 3 seasons.
I believe for the first 4 or 5 rankings last year, the Bruins were at the top of the list. They were hands down the best team in the league and had it not been for the historic way the Golden Knights have opened the season, the Bruins would have started in the #1 spot again. This is the team everyone loves to hate but from a hockey viewpoint, they do everything right, and that’s why they are so good. The Bruins start the 2023 season with an 8-0-1 record.
Not much to be said here. The Vegas Golden Knights are the defending Stanley Cup Champions and are undefeated on the season. Needless to say, they deserve the #1 spot in these rankings. They also have the best goal differential in the league and have quality wins against the Kings, Stars, and Canadiens. Until someone can knock them off, they will remain in this spot.
