Welcome to December. It's that portion of the NHL calendar in which teams have a sample size of more than 20 regular-season games.
There are some teams that will be in the playoffs. There are some who are trying to get there, and there are others who might be looking ahead to the lottery. Regardless, there are teams in all three categories that have rookies who are already making an impact.
So who are the current crop of rookies a little beyond the first quarter of the season? Let's find out.
1. Matty Beniers, C, Seattle Kraken
Stats: 24 GP | 10 G | 11 A | 21 P
Previous Ranking: No. 1
Why he's here: Beniers continues to show why he remains in a top-six role. He just had a six-game point streak snapped, during which he had 12 points. That scoring stretch also came during the Kraken's seven-game winning streak. He was already among the premier rookies but now leads all rookies in goals, points and points per game among first-year players with more than 10 games.
