Here is our weekly look at some of the young stars under the age of 24 who are having an impact -- and a few who are still trying to figure things out.
Hot
Mark Scheifele, C, Winnipeg Jets
Why Scheifele? Well, take a look at the NHL scoring list and you'll get it. The 23-year-old, who was taken with the seventh-overall pick in the 2011 draft, is tops in the league with 19 points in 15 games. Coming off a solid turn at the World Cup of Hockey, the skilled center has played -- for the most part -- with astonishing rookie Patrik Laine, himself the No. 2 overall pick in June. Laine leads the league in goals, with 11, sparking comparisons to a former Jets rookie named Teemu Selanne. Scheifele's 15 even-strength points lead the league. Good times on the prairie.
Alexander Wennberg, C, Columbus Blue Jackets
Most of the attention surrounding the surprising Blue Jackets -- they have gone 6-2-2 in their last 10 games -- has focused on sterling young defenseman Zach Werenski, and with good reason. He's terrific. But in the past 10 games, 22-year-old center Wennberg, the 14th-overall pick in 2013, has helped spark the offense. He has 11 assists during that span and has taken over the team lead in points, with 14. Eight of Wennberg's assists have come on the power play, which goes a long way toward explaining the Blue Jackets having the NHL's top-ranked power-play unit.
There hasn't been a lot of good news coming out of the desert, but ever so slowly, the Coyotes are trying to claw their way back to relevance. If they get there -- they're currently dead last in the Western Conference but just four points out of the second wild-card spot -- it'll be on the backs of youngsters such as Domi. Over the past 10 games, the 21-year-old left winger has 10 points and now leads Arizona with 11 points.
Not
Elias Lindholm, C, Carolina Hurricanes
I'm going to own the fact that I picked Carolina to finish third in the Metropolitan Division. Stuff happens. It's just not happening in Carolina, where the 'Canes are last in the Eastern Conference and have just three wins in 13 games. Ouch. There's lots of blame to go around, but this is a young team, and growing pains are part of life in Raleigh. Just ask Lindholm, the 21-year-old center who was taken fifth overall in 2013. Lindholm had 17 goals two seasons ago but has none this season, and has just two lonely assists for a team that ranks 23rd in goals per game.
It's been a topsy-turvy first month for the defending Central Division champions. Injuries have laid the Stars low, and they have struggled to build on last season's dynamic results, during which they led the NHL in goals per game and finished with the fourth-ranked power play. Dallas is 16th and 18th, respectively, in those categories this season. Not to lay all this on Faksa's shoulders, but coming off a strong playoff run with the Stars and a place on the Czech Republic's World Cup of Hockey roster, the expectations were certainly higher for the 13th-overall pick in the 2012 draft. The 22-year-old center has just one goal and has collected just two assists in his last 10 games for the 5-6-3 Stars.
Jesse Puljujarvi, RW, Edmonton Oilers
In another time (like last season, perhaps), the fact the fourth-overall pick had just one goal through the first month of the season might have been a source of much more vigorous debate and/or consternation in Edmonton. But the good thing for the 18-year-old Puljujarvi is that the Oilers are in a much different -- read better -- place, which allows for a top young prospect to get a feel for life as an NHLer, even if the points are hard to come by. Although Puljujarvi has just one goal and two assists in 11 games, head coach Todd McLellan is still showing lots of confidence in the youngster, giving him 11:38 a night in ice time, with 1:25 of that on the power play. The right winger doesn't lack for confidence, as he has 25 shots, tied for seventh on the team.
'Young guns' showdown of the week
Hampus Lindholm (Anaheim Ducks) vs. Viktor Arvidsson (Nashville Predators), Saturday, 8 p.m. ET
The early going has been difficult for both Anaheim and Nashville, two teams that met in the first round of the playoffs last spring. Lindholm, 22, has just returned to the Ducks lineup after a contract impasse cost him most of the first month of the season (he has played in just two games). The sixth-overall pick in 2012 is expected to be a catalyst for a Ducks revival moving forward. Meanwhile, the 23-year-old Arvidsson continues to impress for a Predators team that is slowly erasing a slow start with a 3-0-2 run heading into Saturday's home date with the Ducks. Arvidsson, the 112th pick in the 2014 draft, has chipped in four goals, including a shorthanded effort, and has 7 points.