NHL’s best players under age 25 for 2017: Nikolaj Ehlers’ breakout year slots him No. 19

Note: This is SB Nation NHL’s top 25 players under age 25 series! We’ll be covering each player from No. 25 to No. 1 over the next few weeks leading up to training camp time. See the complete list and information on how the rankings were compiled.

It’s not often that a former top-10 pick scoring 25 goals in his age-20 season manages to slip under the radar. Nikolaj Ehlers isn’t quite a household name yet, however, despite an impressive two years with the Winnipeg Jets that signal he’s tapping into his potential as one of hockey’s best scorers.

Ehlers may not be the most impressive young player on his own team, an honor that’s reserved for Mark Scheifele or Patrik Laine, but he’s still established himself as a core part of the Jets rebuild. Ever since Winnipeg drafted him with the No. 9 overall pick in the 2014 NHL Draft, he’s done nothing but give the team confidence it made the correct choice.

Over the past two seasons, Ehlers has shown that he’ll put up big numbers in the NHL. He put up a respectable 38 points in 72 games as a 19-year-old rookie, then broke out in his sophomore season with 64 points in 82 games. Likely still teamed up on the Jets’ top line with Scheifele and Laine (or Blake Wheeler), it should be one of the fiercest scoring lines in the league next season.

The fact that Ehlers has benefited from playing with great scorers does make it a little harder to peg down just how good he is. Ehlers wasn’t nearly as effective with Bryan Little as his center instead of Scheifele, per stats from Natural Stat Trick. And while his 5-on-5 GF% was strong next to Laine at 57.9 percent, their Corsi together was just 46.7 percent. Maybe the unreal finishing ability of Laine and Ehlers on the same line can yield shooting numbers good enough to overcome middling possession stats, but it seems like Ehlers’ best bet is to stay next to Scheifele next season.

With the Jets’ core likely going nowhere soon, Ehlers’ future in Winnipeg looks bright. He may not be the household name that Laine already is after being the No. 2 overall pick and runner-up in Calder voting, but don’t be surprised if the improving Jets change that soon.

Ehlers put up back-to-back 100-point seasons in the QMJHL en route to becoming one of the top prospects in the league. The Jets drafted him after the first 100-point season with the Halifax Mooseheads, then he spent one more year dominating juniors before making the NHL leap in 2015.

His rookie season with Winnipeg was good, but it was during his sophomore season that he established himself as one of the league’s best scorers. The 20-year-old finished 19th in points per 60 minutes at even strength, per Puckalytics, right ahead of Patrick Kane and Johnny Gaudreau.

Part of that was the effect of getting secondary assists from having so much time next to great scorers like Scheifele, Laine, and Wheeler, but Ehlers was still top 40 in primary points per 60. The Jets have racked up numbers when he’s on the ice.

The NHL is where Ehlers will have to make his name because it’s unlikely he’ll be able to do so internationally with Denmark. He played for the Danish senior national team at the 2016 and 2017 World Championships, where it finished eighth and 12th, respectively. The team also failed to qualify for the 2018 Winter Olympics, although Ehlers would not have been eligible anyway as an NHL player.

Ehlers has already proved he can be a top-line left winger in the NHL, so the question is how much higher he can go from here. Is there a point-per-game season in him with the right linemates and usage? It seems possible, particularly if he sees an uptick in playing time from the 17:29 per game he received last season.

The other dynamic to watch next season will be which line he’s placed on. The Jets have Ehlers, Wheeler, Scheifele, Laine, Little, and rookie Kyle Connor as their probable top-six options. Does Ehlers go on a top line with Scheifele and Wheeler or Laine? Or does he get stuck on the second line with Little?

Ehlers will put up numbers either way, but that kind of context may determine just how high up the leaderboards he can go. Little isn’t a bad playmaker, having averaged at least 0.74 points per game over each of the past four seasons, but whoever gets to be left winger next to Scheifele and Wheeler/Laine is getting a golden opportunity.

The Jets will surely be watching that situation closely. Ehlers hits restricted free agency next summer with the conclusion of his entry-level deal, and he’ll be in line for a huge raise.

Ehlers could very well make this ranking look too low in the year, but he’ll need to elevate his scoring to another level or round out his all-around game a bit. Right now, Ehlers is a pure playmaker, and to be among the game’s best in that role, you need to really blow away the competition.

That kind of upside exists here, given Ehlers is just 20 years old and has great talent surrounding him. But as an offensive-minded winger who never kills penalties, he needs to continue putting up big numbers to justify such a high place in the rankings.

Highest rank: No. 12
Lowest rank: Not ranked