Chicago Blackhawks forward Connor Bedard (98) and Anaheim Ducks forward Leo Carlsson (91), shown in 2023, are among the scoring leaders early in the 2025-26 season.

For years, the NHL's Hart Trophy winners list has been a veteran affair.

Winnipeg's Connor Hellebuyck was 31 last season when he picked up a rare Vezina Trophy/MVP double. Colorado's Nathan MacKinnon was 28 in his 2023-24 Hart season. Edmonton's Connor McDavid picked up his second and third trophies in 2021 and 2023 in his sixth and eighth seasons, respectively. Toronto's Austin Matthews (2022), Edmonton's Leon Draisaitl (2020) and Tampa Bay's Nikita Kucherov (2019) were in their sixth seasons.

But this season's MVP race could skew young, especially after the NHL scoring leaders on the morning of Saturday, Nov. 8, were the San Jose Sharks' Macklin Celebrini, 19, and the Chicago Blackhawks' Connor Bedard, 20.

Celebrini is in his second season in the league, and Bedard is in his third. Both were No. 1 overall picks. Anaheim Ducks center Leo Carlsson, taken after Bedard in 2023, is also off to a strong start, and their teams are performing better than expected.

A lot can happen between now and the end of the season, especially whether their teams make the playoffs, but here are the very early MVP leaders for 2025-26 (statistics through Nov. 9).

5. Jack Eichel, Vegas Golden Knights

He has slowed a little, but he's the main reason the Golden Knights are among the top teams in the league. Coming off a career-best 94-point season, he was player of the month in October and has 22 points in 15 games. That includes 14 points in seven games during victories. That has helped the Golden Knights thrive despite injuries to forward Mark Stone, defenseman Noah Hanifin and goalie Adin Hill.

4. Macklin Celebrini, San Jose Sharks

Celebrini won college hockey's Hobey Baker Award before the Sharks drafted him No. 1 overall in 2024. He was a rookie of the year finalist last year and has exploded this season with 24 points in 16 games, including one five-point game. The Sharks, who finished last in the league the past two seasons, started slowly but are above .500 after a 7-2-1 run. Celebrini has 18 points during that stretch.

3. Connor Bedard, Chicago Blackhawks

Bedard, considered a generational prospect, won rookie of the year in 2023 despite missing time with a broken jaw. He had a slow start in his second season, but this season's production (25 points in 16 games) is what is expected of him. During his current eight-game point streak, he recorded his first career hat trick and had two four-point games. He has seven multipoint games and has factored in nearly 50% of the Blackhawks' 53 goals. Chicago, which finished last in its division three seasons in a row, is currently third in the Central.

2. Leo Carlsson, Anaheim Ducks

Remember when GM Pat Verbeek bucked the mock drafts slightly by taking Carlsson No. 2 ahead of Adam Fantilli. That move is paying off this year. He had a mini-breakthrough last year with 20 goals (to Fantilli's 31) but is tied for second in league scoring this season with 25 points. He's riding a 10-game point streak and has three game-winning, two short-handed and seven power-play goals. The Ducks, who last made the playoffs in 2018, are leading the Pacific Division and have won seven in a row.

1. Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche

The 2023-24 MVP and 2013 No. 1 overall pick leads the league with 29 points after a huge weekend with nine points in two games for the league's top team. He has been consistent, held without a point only twice and riding a nine-game point streak. He leads the league with 14 goals and 71 shots.

Other players to watch

Colorado's Cale Makar, Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby, Edmonton's Connor McDavid, Montreal's Cole Caufield, New Jersey's Jack Hughes, Winnipeg's Mark Scheifele, and Detroit's Dylan Larkin.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NHL Hart Trophy race features young MVP candidates early in season

Reporting by Mike Brehm, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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