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NHL rookie cards to watch, Week 3: who's heating up

Trevor Connelly leads the NHL rookie card watch for Week 3 with a momentum score of 53: on his team's first power-play unit, a role he did not hold last season. Ivar Stenberg and Roman Kantserov follow. These are performance signals collectors watch, not card prices and not financial advice.

NHL top five this week
PlayerMain reasonScore
Trevor ConnellyOn his team's first power-play unit, a role he did not hold last season.53
Ivar StenbergOn his team's first power-play unit, a role he did not hold last season.45
Roman KantserovOn his team's first power-play unit, a role he did not hold last season.37
Anton Frondell1st among first-season skaters in points (6 in 7 games).35
Frederic BrunetOn his team's first power-play unit, a role he did not hold last season.35

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NHL rookies and second-year players

Every signal behind each score, with its points. 2026-27 skater totals and ice time from the NHL's own reports, against 2025-26. Skaters only.

  1. 1
    Trevor ConnellyVGK LWRookie
    • Role change +20: On his team's first power-play unit, a role he did not hold last season.
    • Leaders and award races +18: 2nd among first-season skaters in points (5 in 8 games).
    • Rookie or second year +15: First full NHL season (0 games last season).
    Shop Trevor Connelly cards on eBay
    53momentum
  2. 2
    Ivar StenbergSJS LWRookie
    • Role change +20: On his team's first power-play unit, a role he did not hold last season.
    • Rookie or second year +15: First full NHL season (0 games last season).
    • Leaders and award races +10: 6th among first-season skaters in points (4 in 6 games).
    Shop Ivar Stenberg cards on eBay
    45momentum
  3. 3
    Roman KantserovCHI RWRookie
    • Role change +20: On his team's first power-play unit, a role he did not hold last season.
    • Rookie or second year +15: First full NHL season (0 games last season).
    • Leaders and award races +2: 10th among first-season skaters in points (3 in 7 games).
    Shop Roman Kantserov cards on eBay
    37momentum
  4. 4
    Anton FrondellCHI CRookie
    • Leaders and award races +20: 1st among first-season skaters in points (6 in 7 games).
    • Rookie or second year +15: First full NHL season (12 games last season).
    Shop Anton Frondell cards on eBay
    35momentum
  5. 5
    Frederic BrunetBOS DRookie
    • Role change +20: On his team's first power-play unit, a role he did not hold last season.
    • Rookie or second year +15: First full NHL season (0 games last season).
    Shop Frederic Brunet cards on eBay
    35momentum
  6. 6
    Gavin McKennaTOR LWRookie
    • Leaders and award races +18: 2nd among first-season skaters in points (5 in 7 games).
    • Rookie or second year +15: First full NHL season (0 games last season).
    Shop Gavin McKenna cards on eBay
    33momentum
  7. 7
    Jonathan LekkerimakiVAN RWRookie
    • Leaders and award races +18: 2nd among first-season skaters in points (5 in 8 games).
    • Rookie or second year +15: First full NHL season (13 games last season).
    Shop Jonathan Lekkerimaki cards on eBay
    33momentum
  8. 8
    Michael Brandsegg-NygårdDET RWRookie
    • Leaders and award races +18: 2nd among first-season skaters in points (5 in 6 games).
    • Rookie or second year +15: First full NHL season (14 games last season).
    Shop Michael Brandsegg-Nygård cards on eBay
    33momentum
  9. 9
    Cole HutsonWSH DRookie
    • Rookie or second year +15: First full NHL season (14 games last season).
    • Leaders and award races +10: 6th among first-season skaters in points (4 in 7 games).
    Shop Cole Hutson cards on eBay
    25momentum
  10. 10
    Ilya ProtasWSH LWRookie
    • Rookie or second year +15: First full NHL season (4 games last season).
    • Leaders and award races +10: 6th among first-season skaters in points (4 in 7 games).
    Shop Ilya Protas cards on eBay
    25momentum
  11. 11
    James HagensBOS CRookie
    • Rookie or second year +15: First full NHL season (2 games last season).
    • Leaders and award races +10: 6th among first-season skaters in points (4 in 7 games).
    Shop James Hagens cards on eBay
    25momentum

NHL rookie classes

Established NHL players heating up

Players past their second season, on the same score: usage, role, leaders and search demand.

  1. 1
    Vasily PodkolzinEDM RW
    • Role change +20: On his team's first power-play unit, a role he did not hold last season.
    • Leaders and award races +16: 3rd among RWs in points (9 in 6 games).
    • Usage trend +12: Ice time up from 15:23 a game last season to 19:02 this season.
    Shop Vasily Podkolzin cards on eBay
    48momentum
  2. 2
    Owen PowerBUF D
    • Role change +20: On his team's first power-play unit, a role he did not hold last season.
    • Usage trend +11: Ice time up from 21:39 a game last season to 26:26 this season.
    • Leaders and award races +10: 6th among defensemen in points (7 in 7 games).
    Shop Owen Power cards on eBay
    41momentum
  3. 3
    Noah OstlundBUF C
    • Role change +20: On his team's first power-play unit, a role he did not hold last season.
    • Usage trend +16: Ice time up from 13:58 a game last season to 18:22 this season.
    Shop Noah Ostlund cards on eBay
    36momentum
  4. 4
    Kasperi KapanenEDM RW
    • Role change +20: On his team's first power-play unit, a role he did not hold last season.
    • Usage trend +11: Ice time up from 14:35 a game last season to 17:42 this season.
    Shop Kasperi Kapanen cards on eBay
    31momentum
  5. 5
    Paul CotterVAN LW
    • Usage trend +22: Ice time up from 10:41 a game last season to 15:18 this season.
    • Leaders and award races +6: 8th among LWs in points (6 in 8 games).
    Shop Paul Cotter cards on eBay
    28momentum
  6. 6
    Connor McDavidEDM C
    • Leaders and award races +20: 1st among Cs in points (17 in 6 games).
    Shop Connor McDavid cards on eBay
    20momentum
  7. 7
    Evan BouchardEDM D
    • Leaders and award races +20: 1st among defensemen in points (14 in 6 games).
    Shop Evan Bouchard cards on eBay
    20momentum
  8. 8
    Joel FarabeeCGY LW
    • Role change +20: On his team's first power-play unit, a role he did not hold last season.
    Shop Joel Farabee cards on eBay
    20momentum
  9. 9
    Kaapo KakkoSEA RW
    • Role change +20: On his team's first power-play unit, a role he did not hold last season.
    Shop Kaapo Kakko cards on eBay
    20momentum
  10. 10
    Kirill KaprizovMIN LW
    • Leaders and award races +20: 1st among LWs in points (11 in 7 games).
    Shop Kirill Kaprizov cards on eBay
    20momentum
  11. 11
    T.J. HughesCOL RW
    • Role change +20: On his team's first power-play unit, a role he did not hold last season.
    Shop T.J. Hughes cards on eBay
    20momentum
  12. 12
    William NylanderTOR RW
    • Leaders and award races +20: 1st among RWs in points (12 in 7 games).
    Shop William Nylander cards on eBay
    20momentum

How the momentum score works

Six signals, each with its own cap, added up and capped at 100. A player is listed at 20 or more, and only when something other than his rookie status is moving. Every number comes from data Parlae already stores; no card price is read or shown.

SignalRuleMax
Usage trendShare-based roles (snap share): 1 point per percentage point gained. Minutes, ice time and form: 1 point per 2 percent gained over his own earlier level. A gain counts from 8 points of share or 15 percent.30
Search demand2 points per extra Google reader on his Parlae player page this week against last week, from 3 readers this week.25
Role changeA promotion this week: top of his team's depth chart by snaps or minutes, or a first power-play unit he did not hold last season.20
Leaders and award racesRank 1 in his rookie class or at his position earns 20, then 2 fewer per rank, down to rank 10.20
Rookie or second year15 for a rookie, 8 for a second-year player, counted only alongside another signal.15
Injury returnBack in the lineup this week after missing at least one of his team's games.10

These are performance signals collectors watch, not card prices and not financial advice.

By the Parlae deskCard data updated Oct 15, 2026 at 3:22 PM ETHow this is builtReport a wrong number