NHLers That Didn't Make The Hockey News' Top-80 List, But Likely Will Next Year

As part of The Hockey News' 80th anniversary, we’ve put together a top-80 list of the best players entering the start of the 2026-27 season. But now that our picks for the best-80 players are out there, we’re going to make some educated projections as to which five players who didn’t make this year’s top-80 list would be in the top-80 at this time next year.

With that said, in alphabetical order, here are five NHLers who should be in the top-80 at this time next October. 

Adam Fantilli is one of the NHL’s best up-and-coming young players, but the 21-year-old’s goal production in his third NHL season last year dropped by seven goals to 24 goals.

However, now that he has the luxury of a lucrative contract extension, Fantilli can focus on growing his game and pushing the Columbus Blue Jackets to become a regular Stanley Cup playoff team.

Fantilli will still need some patience as he hones his craft, but he was picked third-overall in 2023 for good reason – his offensive instincts are first-rate, and he’s going to have every opportunity to demonstrate he’s in the top-80 at this time next season.

Matthew Knies had established himself as a meaningful piece of the puzzle with the Toronto Maple Leafs, but that only made the sting stronger when new Leafs GM John Chayka traded the 23-year-old left winger to the Blue Jackets in a blockbuster deal involving Kirill Marchenko.

Knies will be even more crucial in Columbus than he was in Toronto, and if he can continue establishing himself as an excellent power forward, Knies is going to rise up the rankings of the best NHLers.

He is also under contract for the next four seasons following this season, so he’s going to be a fixture with the Jackets for the foreseeable future. The Leafs may come to regret giving up on Knies, and he is going to have every motivation to show Toronto they should’ve held on to him.

Marchenko’s 2025-26 goal total of 27 goals was a drop-off of four goals from 2024-25, and his assist total of 40 assists was a drop-off of three assists. But let’s be real – the 26-year-old is going to be playing on a Maple Leafs squad that is considerably deeper and more talented than any Blue Jackets team Marchenko was a part of.

He signed a six-year contract extension with Toronto worth $12.5 million per season, so he’s got the commitment from the Buds that he was looking for. And as Marchenko moves into his prime years, he’s almost assuredly going to rise through the ranks of NHLers and into the top-80 next season.

Before you get too excited over our inclusion of Gavin McKenna on this list, let’s point out the obvious. He’s still very much physically limited as he adapts to being an 18-year-old in a grown man’s game. As such, McKenna isn’t about to vault to the top-10 players in the league, or even the top-50.

However, McKenna’s vision for the game and puck skills are already elite, and he’s going to benefit from playing alongside fellow stars Auston Matthews, Marchenko and William Nylander.

He’ll also be able to benefit in the goals and assists department and quickly turn into one of the NHL’s premier offensive contributors. McKenna may yet be a couple of years away from surging into becoming a superstar, but he’s got all the potential in the world, and he's going to start living up to it.

The 20-year-old Beckett Sennecke had a stellar rookie season last year, posting 23 goals and 60 points in 82 games on an Anaheim Ducks team that’s still developing into a powerhouse in the Pacific Division.

Sennecke’s fellow up-and-coming stars Cutter Gauthier, Leo Carlsson and Jackson LaCombe made it into the top-80, but there’s still all kinds of room for Sennecke to join them in next year’s top-80.

Sennecke was the third-overall pick in 2024, and he’s got the skills and savvy to establish himself as one of the sport’s best forwards in a few years. And if the Ducks are going to make any noise as one of the Western Conference’s most imposing teams, they’re going to need major contributions from Sennecke and his fellow young teammates.

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