Rookie Watch: Ersson, Foerster among top 5 1st-year players in Metropolitan Division

The impact several rookies are making on the NHL is one of the major storylines of the 2023-24 season. Each week, NHL.com will examine topics related to this season's class in the Rookie Watch.

This week, the top five rookies in the Metropolitan Division (in alphabetical order):

Samuel Ersson, G, Philadelphia Flyers: The 24-year-old, a fifth-round pick (No. 143) in the 2018 NHL Draft, is first among NHL rookie goalies in wins (19), second in goals-against average (2.67, minimum 15 starts), seventh in save percentage (.898) and tied for first in shutouts (three) in 39 games (37 starts). Ersson also has faced the second-most shots (937) and made the second-most saves (841) among first-year goalies. The native of Falun, Sweden, inherited the No. 1 role after the announcement that Carter Hart was taking an indefinite leave of absence for personal reasons Jan. 23.

Ersson needs one win to become the third rookie goalie in the past 20 years to win 20 games in a season for the Flyers. He'd join Sergei Bobrovsky (28 in 2010-11) and Antero Niittymaki (23, 2005-06).

"It doesn't really matter the time of game or the score of the game," Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim said. "We feel like he's the same player regardless of the situation, just even keeled. I think that's a really good quality to have as a goalie. You can't let things affect your game, and he does a great job of that."

Tyson Foerster, RW, Philadelphia Flyers: The 22-year-old, the No. 23 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, is tied for third in goals (17) and tied for eighth in points (29) among rookies. He's averaging 17:03 of ice time, is fifth in takeaways (30) and tied for first with 41 blocked shots among first-year rookie forwards.

Foerster had 48 points (20 goals, 28 assists) in 66 games for Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League last season, where he worked on and improved his defensive side of the game.

"Everything I've thrown at him he's handled," Philadelphia coach John Tortorella said. "This is his first year. The way he carries himself, the way he's handled all situations he's been put in, he hasn't blinked. If we feel we're hurting him and there are some mistakes in his game or something is going wrong with his confidence, sure we'll look at that. He hasn't come close to that, even when he was struggling scoring [at the start of the season]."

Luke Hughes, D, New Jersey Devils: The 20-year-old, who can play left or right point, ranks first among division rookies with 33 points (eight goals, 25 assists) in 68 games. He leads all first-year defensemen with 35 takeaways and is tied for 16th in blocked shots (39). Hughes, born in Manchester, New Hampshire, is first at his position among rookies with four power-play goals and 17 power-play points. He averages 21:21 of ice time, and the Devils control 55.3 percent of shot attempts at 5-on-5 when he's on the ice, best among all first-year skaters with a minimum of 20 games.

Hughes' points total this season is fifth in Devils/Colorado Rockies/Kansas City Scouts history among rookie defensemen, five behind Eric Weinrich (38 in 1990-91). Selected No. 4 in the 2021 NHL Draft, Hughes had 87 points (27 goals, 60 assists) in two seasons (80 games) at the University of Michigan before signing a three-year, entry-level contract with the Devils on April 8, 2023.

"I think I'm guy who can create offensively and also can impact the game defensively, so whether I'm matched up against top guys, my goal is to shut them down," Hughes said. "I think I've done a pretty good job at that so far. It's the same thing, if it's other lines trying to score [against us] so I've been happy with the way I've defended so far since the All-Star break and just got to keep going."

Pyotr Kochetkov, G, Carolina Hurricanes: Kochetkov, a second-round pick (No. 36) in the 2019 NHL Draft, is tied with Ersson in shutouts. He ranks second in wins (18), first in GAA (2.40) and tied for second in save percentage (.911) among rookie goalies with a minimum 10 games.

The 24-year-old set a Hurricanes/Hartford Whalers record for most saves in a shutout by a rookie goalie with 44 in a 1-0 win against the Florida Panthers on Feb. 22. He is the 14th rookie goalie since 1955-56 to make at least 44 saves in a shutout and the first since Connor Ingram of the Arizona Coyotes (47) against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Feb. 15, 2023.

Kochetkov proved his mental toughness in a 1-0 overtime win against the Devils on Feb. 10, making 34 saves just two days after being pulled in the first period of a 5-2 win against the Colorado Avalanche, when he allowed defenseman Samuel Girard to score with a shot that floated into the net from just over the red line.

Dmitri Voronkov, LW, Columbus Blue Jackets: The fourth-round pick (No. 114) in the 2019 NHL Draft is tied for first among division rookies (Foerster) with 17 goals and second with 31 points (14 assists) in 62 games. He's first among all NHL rookies with five power-play goals, tied for second among division rookies in blocked shots (41), has 64 hits, and averages 13:11 of ice time on a line with right wing Kirill Marchenko. Alexandre Texier has replaced Yegor Chinakhov (upper body) at left wing.

Voronkov's 17 goals are tied with Rick Nash (17 in 2002-03) for third most by a rookie in one season in Blue Jackets history behind Marchenko (21 in 2022-23) and Pierre-Luc Dubois (20, 2017-18).

"That guy is really impressive," Blue Jackets coach Pascal Vincent said. "The way he plays the game and the way he's able to execute the system without speaking the language, it's really, really impressive. He does a lot of things that probably we don't see when it's live, but when we watch the video, it's quite impressive."