Rookie Watch: Schaefer, Kindel among top 5 in Metropolitan Division

The impact several rookies are making on the NHL is one of the major storylines of the 2025-26 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):

Arseny Gritsyuk, F, New Jersey Devils: The 24-year-old (6-foot-0, 195 pounds), selected in the fifth round (No. 129) of the 2019 NHL Draft, is tied for ninth among rookies with 30 points (13 goals, 17 assists) in 65 games. He's averaging 15:09 of ice time in a middle-six role and has found a home on a line with center Cody Glass, and right wing Lenni Hameenaho. What has been most impressive is Gritsyuk's defensive game, which has allowed coach Sheldon Keefe to trust him in various situations and against the opposition's top lines.

Gritsyuk is tied for eighth among rookie forwards in on-ice goals-for at even strength (41). The Devils control 57.5 percent of all shots attempted at 5-on-5 when he's on the ice.

"I just don't think there's an area of his game that he's deficient in," Keefe said. "He's really good in all areas. He protects the puck well, skates really well. He's an explosive skater to pull away from people and get out of pressure. He's very strong physically, so that allows him to own the puck, take care of it, win the puck battles, and then he can make a pass and can shoot the puck in the net. 

"He's got a really good skill set so you can use him in lots of different ways. At times offensively, we think he has more to give and there's another level to get to as he gets more and more familiar with the League, but even when he's not scoring, he's making an impact on the game."

Ben Kindel, F, Pittsburgh Penguins: The native of Coquitlam, British Columbia, has been a pleasant surprise for Penguins coach Dan Muse. Kindel (5-11, 182) has scaled the lineup and has been the third-line center of late. He is seventh among rookies with 32 points (17 goals, 15 assists) and tied for third with four power-play goals in 67 games. The No. 11 pick in the 2025 NHL Draft ranks second among rookie forwards with 51 blocked shots and averages 15:14 of ice time, including 1:52 on the top power-play unit.

"I think the skill set, the poise, just his overall sense, have been impressive," Muse said. "He puts himself in great spots offensively and defensively. When he has the puck, there's no panic in his playmaking ability or the ability to hold on to pucks. When we watched him through training camp, his ability to process away from the puck on the defensive side was at a really high level. We saw him in a lot of different situations in camp, and he continued to check the boxes that we were looking for, and he's continued to do that here in the regular season."

Ryan Leonard, F, Washington Capitals: The 20-year-old (6-1, 205), chosen No. 8 in the 2023 NHL Draft, is tied for fourth among rookies with 36 points (15 goals, 21 assists), ninth with 101 hits and second with 30 penalties drawn while averaging 14:26 of ice time in 64 games. He has points in six of his past nine games (five goals, one assist). 

Leonard became the first Capitals rookie to have a four-point game (two goals, two assists) since Nicklas Backstrom (March 3, 2008) in a 7-1 win at the San Jose Sharks on Dec. 3. Washington controls 46.6 percent of all shots attempted and own a 55.4 percent on-ice goals for percentage with Leonard on the ice at even strength.

Capitals coach Spencer Carbery was asked about Leonard's elite-caliber shot after scoring a goal in a 2-1 win against the Devils on Friday.

"I think it's deceptively heavy and hard; he can step into it," Carbery said. "(Against New Jersey), you saw two situations where he gets time to step into everything he's got into a shot and he can beat anybody in this League, goaltender-wise. That's his uniqueness of his ability to beat goalies clear-sighted with his snap shot, wrist shot. 

"Where he's developing and working on is you don't always get that much time in the NHL to step in. Sometimes you got to shoot it through somebody, sometimes you get a rolling puck and rip it, so his shot it elite and one of the things that's going to make him a great NHL player."

Alexander Nikishin, D, Carolina Hurricanes: Nikishin (6-3, 218) usuall skates on the third pair and is second among rookie defensemen with 10 goals, 28 points and a plus-12 rating in 69 games. He's a big, fast, physical, two-way defenseman, who captained SKA St. Petersburg in the Kontinental Hockey League last season. The Hurricanes control 56.8 percent of all shots attempted and own a 55.9 percent on-ice goals for percentage with Nikishin on the ice at even strength.

Nikishin required the second-fewest games by a defenseman in Hurricanes/Hartford Whalers history (47 games) to reach 20 points, behind Hockey Hall of Famer Mark Howe (23 games). The 24-year-old, selected in the third round (No. 69) of the 2020 NHL Draft, leads first-year defensemen in hits (117), is second in shots on goal (111) and fourth in blocked shots (76).

Matthew Schaefer, D, New York Islanders: Schaefer (6-2, 186), the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, continues to set rookie records. He leads all first-year defensemen in assists (29), points (51), power-play points (17), shots on goal (179) and average ice time (24:20), and is first among all rookies in penalties drawn (34) in 71 games. He's the second 18-year-old defenseman in NHL history with at least 50 points in a season, joining Phil Housley (57 in 1982-83), and just the fourth Islanders rookie at his position to reach the mark. He has scored the second-most goals (22) by a rookie defenseman in a single season, trailing only Brian Leetch (23 in 1988-89). He was named the NHL "Rookie of the Month" for October after getting eight points (three goals, five assists) in 11 games and was NHL.com's favorite in its Trophy Tracker series for the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year at the three-quarter point of the season after receiving the maximum 80 voting points (16 first-place votes) from a 16-person panel.

"I mean, obviously the schedule is a lot longer ... I only played 17 games last year so playing a lot more games than I played last year is definitely nice and it's better," Schaefer said when asked if anything has surprised him this season. "I think I'm learning a lot about my body, just doing the right thing. So that every game I can feel as close to 100 percent, if not more than 100 percent each and every day. I'm just learning from all the guys. To see their routines, and what they got going on, and all the trainers have helped so much."

Schaefer began the season paired with Scott Mayfield but has since been promoted to the top pair with Ryan Pulock. The Islanders control 50.0 percent of all shots attempted and own a 56.1 percent on-ice goals for percentage with Schaefer on the ice at even strength.