Rookie Watch: Brink, Hughes among best 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):

Bobby Brink, RW, Philadelphia Flyers: The 22-year-old right wing, chosen in the second round (No. 34) in the 2019 NHL Draft, is tied for sixth among NHL rookies with eight points (three goals, five assists) while averaging 15:39 of ice time in 13 games. He's third among Metropolitan Division rookie skaters (minimum 10 games) in shooting percentage (14.3) and leads all first-year players in penalties drawn (eight).

Brink (5-foot-8, 169 pounds) had 92 points (27 goals, 65 assists) in 84 games over three seasons at the University of Denver (2019-22) and was a Hobey Baker Award finalist as the best player in NCAA Division I men's hockey as a junior. He had four assists in 10 regular-season games for the Flyers in 2021-22 and, following hip surgery, scored 28 points (12 goals, 16 assists) in 41 games for Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League last season.

"Most of the small guys in the (NHL) are used to playing against bigger players," Brink said. "There's advantages and disadvantages to being every size. You can use your size to your advantage. You see a ton of small players in this league having a lot of success. You've just got to try to take stuff from their games because they've been doing it and had success in this league for a while and try and do the same."

Will Cuylle, LW, New York Rangers: The 21-year-old left wing (6-3, 210), a gifted shooter, has five points (three goals) and 19 shots on goal while averaging 12:46 of ice time in 14 games on a line with center Nick Bonino and right wing Kaapo Kakko. Chosen in the second round (No. 60) of the 2020 NHL Draft, Cuylle leads NHL rookies with 39 hits. He had 80 points (43 goals, 37 assists) in 59 games for Windsor of the Ontario Hockey League in 2021-22 before making a big impression with Hartford in his first full AHL season with 45 points (25 goals, 20 assists) in 69 games.

"You've got young players sometimes and they're trying to figure out the defensive side of the game but there hasn't been these 'uh-oh' type of moments with Will," Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said. "He's done a really good job of playing defense and using his size and his power and his physicality and his speed to play good defense and to try to generate offense.

"I think as the season goes on and he gets more experience and more comfortable and more confident I think you can start to see him climb. I don't think he's gone backward with his game from what I saw in training camp. I think he's capable of scoring goals if he gets to the interior and can get his shot off."

Adam Fantilli, C, Columbus Blue Jackets: The No. 3 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft is tied for third among rookies with nine points (four goals, five assists) in 15 games. Fantilli (6-2, 194) leads first-year players in the division with 34 shots on goal, including eight from the high-danger area (slot), which is just above the NHL average (seven), and 15 from mid-range (high slot), which was well above the League average (six), per NHL EDGE.

Fantilli is playing second-line center with left wing Dmitri Voronkov and Kirill Marchenko. The 19-year-old left-handed shot led the NCAA in goals and points last season and was the third freshman voted to win the Hobey Baker Award (Paul Kariya, Maine, 1993; Jack Eichel, Boston College, 2015). He helped Canada win the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship and 2023 IIHF World Championship, plays with a lot of energy and grit, and will go to the tough areas to create offense.

"I think this guy is a driver," Columbus coach Pascal Vincent said. "I think he's a guy that will compete every shift. Everybody makes mistakes, [but] he never makes a mistake of not working. I'm really impressed with him."

Luke Hughes, D, New Jersey Devils: The 20-year-old (6-2, 184), selected No. 4 in the 2021 NHL Draft, leads Metropolitan rookie defensemen with seven points (one goal, six assists) and is fourth among all rookies in average ice time (19:38) in 13 games. Hughes is also tied for second among all NHL rookies with eight takeaways. New Jersey controls 55.7 percent of all shots attempted when he's on the ice. He leads all NHL rookie defensemen with five power-play points (one goal) and is tied for third among Metropolitan rookies in penalties drawn (three).

Hughes, the youngest brother of Devils center Jack Hughes and Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn 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 New Jersey on April 8. He had two points (one goal, one assist) in two regular-season games and two assists in three Stanley Cup Playoff games.

"I think Luke's beginning to understand some of the defensive battles and where the puck has to go," Devils coach Lindy Ruff said. "It's gotten better. His skating has been great, and he's done a great job on the power play, too. There's a lot to like."

David Jiricek, D, Columbus Blue Jackets: The right-shot defenseman from Czechia, who turns 20 on Nov. 28, has three points (one goal, two assists) and ranks seventh among NHL rookies with 12 blocked shots in 10 games. Jiricek (6-4, 207), chosen No. 6 in the 2022 NHL Draft, excelled with Cleveland of the AHL last season, when he had 38 points (six goals, 32 assists) in 55 games and was named to the AHL All-Star Game and AHL Top Prospects team.

When in the lineup, Jiricek has played a top-four role with Ivan Provorov, averaging 13:34 of ice time.

"He's a very good player," Blue Jackets coach Pascal Vincent said last month. "He's going to be a Blue Jacket, and he's going to be a great player for us. He had a real good camp. We believe in him. He's like Fantilli and those young guys; he's like a diamond. We have to make sure we protect those guys, but he's going to be a real good player."