NHL’s best players under age 25 for 2017: Zach Werenski arrives at No. 11

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 hard to avoid the hype when you’re a 19-year-old NHL defenseman putting up nearly 50 points as a rookie, but Zach Werenski was playing under the shadow of Auston Matthews and Patrik Laine last season. In a lot of other years, he would’ve been a prime candidate to win the Calder Trophy.

Werenski’s debut performance with the Blue Jackets is a big part of why the team turned around from lottery team to one of the best in the Eastern Conference. Following a pair of very good years at the University of Michigan, he made a seamless transition to playing hockey at its highest level.

Over 78 games with the Blue Jackets, Werenski recorded an impressive 11 goals and 36 assists. He was 13th among NHL defensemen in points and tied for 11th in shots on goal. Those are usually positive signs for the future, and it’s clear Werenski’s will be bright in Columbus.

He’s already one of the best offensive defensemen in the league, and as he gets older, his all-around game should only get better. With Seth Jones to his right, the Blue Jackets should boast one of the best top defensive pairings of any team in the league for the next several years.

Nobody expected Werenski to be quite that good right out of the gate, but he’s already shown that he can be a star in the NHL. Don’t be surprised if he’s competing regularly for Norris Trophies in the near future.

The Blue Jackets selected Werenski with the No. 8 overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft after an impressive freshman year at Michigan. He recorded 25 points in 35 games during a season that he began as a 17-year-old after leaving the U.S. development program.

Werenski returned to Michigan for his sophomore season and put up 36 points in 36 games before signing an entry-level deal with the Blue Jackets last year. He made his NHL debut on Oct. 13, against the Bruins, and the rest is history.

It was quite the rookie season for the 19-year-old. He finished third in Calder voting (behind Matthews and Laine) and 18th in Norris voting. In addition to all those points, he also posted a 54.1 percent even strength Corsi when on the ice, per Hockey-Reference, which is 6.2 percent higher than Columbus’ figure without him.

Among NHL defensemen to play at least 60 games last season, only two saw greater swings in EV Corsi when on the ice: Calgary’s Dougie Hamilton and Boston’s Colin Miller.

So Werenski was among the best at his position in terms of both producing points and driving possession. As a 19-year-old.

Werenski doesn’t need to improve that much from here to become one of the premier defensemen in the league. He’s already firmly in the top 20 and could challenge for Norris Trophies in the near future if he can hit another gear.

Not that we want to directly compare anyone to Erik Karlsson, but consider how his game improved from when he was 19 years old. Karlsson recorded 26 points in 60 games at age 19. Two years later, he blew up with 78 points in 81 games en route to his first Norris.

Werenski probably won’t follow the same kind of path, but it hints at the idea that he could get even better given how good he was at such a young age. Defensemen often make improvements from their age-19 seasons, so while the possibility of a sophomore slump is real, there’s also a chance that he can hit an even higher gear.

One reason for optimism is that the Blue Jackets have an elite partner for Werenski in Jones. That pairing should be dominant whenever it’s on the ice, and that should mean a lot of opportunities for Werenski to fill up the box score.

Werenski’s upside as a No. 1 defenseman is impossible to ignore, but it’s also reasonable that there’s some hesitation given he’s only played one season. If he keeps progressing from what he did as a rookie, then there’s a good chance No. 11 will seem way too low for him in a year.

But you could also look to John Klingberg as an example of how the sophomore slump can get to a player. Klingberg was stunningly good as a rookie, then stumbled a bit last season in a new pairing with Esa Lindell. Werenski won’t have to carry a lesser player like Lindell since he’ll likely be paired up with Jones, but the hype surrounding Klingberg has quieted a bit after a relative down season.

That could happen to Werenski, but it’s also firmly possible he finishes in the top 10 of Norris voting next season.

Highest rank: No. 3
Lowest rank: Not ranked