Rookie Watch: Canadiens lead NHL in relying on first-year players

The impact several rookies are making on the NHL is one of the major storylines of the 2022-23 season. Each week, NHL.com will examine topics related to this season's class in the Rookie Watch.
This week, a look at the top five NHL teams with most games played by rookies (ranked by total games played by rookies):

1. Montreal Canadiens

Total games played by rookies: 213 (8 players)
Players: Forwards Juraj Slafkovsky,
Anthony Richard
, Jesse Ylonen; defensemen Arber Xhekaj, Justin Barron, Kaiden Guhle, Jordan Harris, Johnathan Kovacevic.
Rookies to watch: The Canadiens have plenty to get excited about when it comes to their rookie class, and those having the biggest impact are defensemen Guhle and Xhekaj. Guhle (6-foot-2, 205 pounds) leads all Montreal rookies with 14 points (two goals, 12 assists) and is second among NHL rookies in blocked shots (65) in 36 games while averaging 20:46 in ice time. Xhekaj (6-4, 238) is first among Montreal rookies with five goals and second among NHL rookies in hits (128). He has 13 points and averages 15:23 in 42 games. Slafkovsky, the No. 1 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, has 10 points (four goals, six assists) and averages 12:13 of ice time in 39 games.

2. Columbus Blue Jackets

Total games played by rookies:189 (12 players)
Players: Forwards Kent Johnson, Liam Foudy, Kirill Marchenko, Carson Meyer,
Trey Fix-Wolansky
,
Josh Dunne
; defensemen
David Jiricek
, Nick Blankenburg, Tim Berni,
Jake Christiansen
,
Marcus Bjork
; goalie Daniil Tarasov.
Rookies to watch:Johnson (6-0, 175), the No. 5 selection in the 2021 NHL Draft, leads Blue Jackets rookies with 19 points (eight goals, 11 assists). He has 54 shots on goal and averages 13:37 in ice time in 39 games. Bjork (6-4, 211), undrafted and signed as a free agent on May 24, 2022, has been a pleasant addition with 11 points (three goals, eight assists), 42 blocked shots and 35 hits. The 25-year-old right-hand shot has averaged 19:01 of ice time in 26 games.

3. Winnipeg Jets

Total games played by rookies:150 (5 players)
Players: Forwards David Gustafsson, Cole Perfetti, Axel Jonsson-Fjallby,
Kristian Reichel
; defenseman Dylan Samberg.
Rookies to watch: Perfetti (5-11, 177), chosen No. 10 in the 2020 NHL Draft, is tied for second among NHL rookies with 26 points (six goals, 20 assists) and is averaging 14:56 of ice time in 39 games. The 21-year-old is also tied for first among Winnipeg's first-year players with 13 takeaways. Samberg (6-3, 190), a left-shot defenseman, has eight points (two goals, six assists) and is tied for second among rookies with 65 blocked shots. The 23-year-old, selected in the second round (No. 43) of the 2017 NHL Draft, also averages 15:31 of ice time and is ninth among rookies with 57 hits.

4. Ottawa Senators

Total games played by rookies: 134 (5 players)
Players: Forwards Shane Pinto, Mark Kastelic; defensemen Jake Sanderson,
Jacob Bernard-Docker
,
Lassi Thomson
.
Rookies to watch: Sanderson has lived up to expectations in his first full season with the Senators. The 20-year-old (6-3, 195), selected No. 5 in the 2020 draft, ranks second among NHL rookie defensemen with 16 points (two goals, 14 assists) and in average ice time (21:06) in 42 games. He leads all NHL rookies with 69 blocked shots and is tied for fourth with 17 takeaways. Pinto is third among NHL rookies in goals (10) and tied for 10th in points (17) while averaging 15:55 of ice time in 42 games.

5. Buffalo Sabres

Total games played by rookies: 126 (4 players)
Players:Forwards JJ Peterka, Jack Quinn; defenseman Owen Power; goalie
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
.
Rookies to watch:Power (6-6, 218), selected No. 1 in the 2021 draft, is second among NHL rookie defensemen in assists (15), first in average ice time (23:52) and fifth in blocked shots (48). Peterka (6-0, 189), chosen in the second round (No. 34) of the 2020 draft, has 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists) and 60 shots on goal in 39 games; he averages 13:54 of ice time. Quinn (6-1, 185), chosen No. 8 in the 2020 draft, is tied for sixth (Kent Johnson) among rookies with 19 points (seven goals, 12 assists) in 34 games, averaging 13:31 of ice time. Luukkonen (6-5, 217), a second-round pick (No. 54) in the 2017 draft, is 10-4-1 with a 3.43 goals-against average and .896 save percentage in 15 games (all starts). The 23-year-old goalie is 6-1-0 (3.22 GAA; .911 save percentage) in his past seven starts.