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The NHL on Thursday unveiled its All-Rookie Team, comprised of the top freshmen from the 2024-25 season.
Leading the forward ranks is San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini who appeared in his rookie season after being chosen atop the 2024 NHL Draft last summer. Through 70 appearances with the Sharks, the 18-year-old native of North Vancouver, B.C., finished first in team scoring with near point-per-game production counting 25 goals and 38 assists. Beyond Celebrini, also up front is Anaheim Ducks left winger Cutter Gauthier. Acquired from the Philadelphia Flyers in January 2024, the 21-year-old became a full-time skater with the Ducks in 2024-25 where through 82 outings he reached the 20-goal plateau plus 24 assists to finish with 44 points. Rounding out the forward ranks is Flyers right winger Matvei Michkov, the seventh-overall selection from the 2023 NHL Draft. Debuting with the Flyers this season, the 20-year-old Russian-born forward ultimately finished second in team scoring with 63 points coming in 80 appearances.
On the back end, Montreal Canadiens defenseman and 2024-25 Calder Trophy recipient Lane Hutson is represented after he notched 66 points in 82 appearances in his first season. Along the way, the 21-year-old product of Holland, Mich., put up 60 assists, tying Hall of Famer Larry Murphy’s all-time mark for the most assists by a rookie defenseman. Joining Hutson on the back end is Denton Mateychuk of the Columbus Blue Jackets. In 45 appearances with the Blue Jackets in 2024-25, the 20-year-old Winnipeg native collected four goals and nine assists for 13 points while averaging more than 18 minutes of time on ice per game.
Between the pipes, Calgary Flames netminder Dustin Wolf put up a dazzling first season. Through 53 outings with the Flames, the 24-year-old Californian put together a 29-16-8 record coupled with a .910 save percentage, 2.64 goals-against average, and three shutouts, helping Calgary to remain in the playoff chase late into the 2024-25 season while also earning runner-up status for the Calder Trophy.
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Red wings veteran set for watershed season
There aren’t many holdovers from the Ken Holland era for the Detroit Red Wings. Even though the longtime General Manager is only six years removed from leading Detroit’s front office, Dylan Larkin, Michael Rasmussen and Jonatan Berggren are the only three who have survived the transition to Steve Yzerman. Given that the former two already have concrete spots on the Red Wings’ roster moving forward, Berggren is gearing up for what could be a make-or-break season in HockeyTown. It wasn’t all that long ago that Berggren was considered one of Detroit’s better prospects. The Red Wings selected the Uppsala, Sweden native with the 33rd overall pick of the 2018 NHL Draft out of the SHL’s Skellefteå AIK program. It took a few years for Berggren to make the jump to professional hockey in his home country, but he capped it off with an impressive 12-goal, 45-point effort in 48 games for them in the 2020-21 SHL season. Having a dire need for offense, the Red Wings brought Berggren overseas for the 2021-22 campaign, starting with their AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins. He rewarded Detroit for their confidence in his abilities, scoring 21 goals and 64 points in 70 games during his rookie season, finishing second in rookie scoring behind JJ Peterka, then of the AHL’s Rochester Americans. Finishing as one of the worst offensive teams for the 2021-22 campaign, the Red Wings recalled Berggren for his NHL debut during the 2022-23 season. Unfortunately, despite a higher-than-normal shooting percentage and quality CorsiFor% at even strength, Berggren finished his rookie season with 15 goals and 28 points in 67 games with a -14 rating, averaging 13:28 of ice time per game. Adding several forwards during the following offseason, Berggren quickly lost his spot on Detroit’s roster. He failed to make the team out of training camp and became the subject of trade rumors with the Red Wings looking to take a step toward contention. For some reason or another, no trade materialized, and Berggren finished the campaign with 24 goals and 56 points in 55 games at the AHL level, with another two goals and six points in 12 NHL contests. The trade speculation regarding Berggren continued into the offseason before finally signing a one-year, $825K contract with the Red Wings a week before training camp. Unlike the previous campaign, he made the team out of camp and finished the 2024-25 season with 12 goals and 24 points in 75 games, averaging 12:59 of ice time per night. Although he had been known for his offense throughout his days as a prospect, Berggren was a defensive bright spot for Detroit last season, finishing with a 91.1% on-ice save percentage at even strength, one of the highest marks on the team considering his ATOI. Still, with the Red Wings again looking to take a step toward contention, and Berggren becoming arbitration-eligible next offseason, his future in Detroit may rely on the quality of his 2025-26 campaign. Berggren acknowledged as much in a recent interview with team correspondent, Jonathan Mills, saying, “Last year was a good year for me. I feel like I got more opportunity after Todd [McLellan] became head coach, and I think I played better. This one-year deal is a prove-it-deal for me. I want to show what I can do.” Putting more pressure on Berggren this season, Detroit has numerous forward prospects looking to make the full-time jump to the NHL level. Nate Danielson, Amadeus Lombardi, Michael Brandsegg-Nygård and Carter Mazur, to name a few, are pushing hard to get to the next level, and Berggren could be one of the first casualties. There’s always a need for defensive-minded forwards at the NHL level. Still, there is a not-so-subtle expectation that Berggren will become more of an efficient point producer with the Red Wings. If he’s unable to do that this upcoming season, there’s a decent chance he’ll be removed from any of Detroit’s future planning.
Aaron Boone Makes Feelings on Marcus Stroman Clear After Release From Yankees
The New York Yankees revamped their bullpen on Thursday, acquiring relievers Camilo Doval, David Bednar, and Jake Bird ahead of the 6 p.m. Trade Deadline. However, that spelled the end of Marcus Stroman's tenure with the team. With fellow pitchers Luis Gil (lat), Fernando Cruz (oblique), Mark Leiter Jr. (fibula), and Ryan Yarbrough (oblique) all on their way to returning, New York needed to clear a roster spot. The club cut Stroman on Friday, who has a 6.23 ERA over nine appearances this season. Yankees manager Aaron Boone gave his thoughts about Stroman before the team's bout with the Miami Marlins, via MLB.com's Bryan Hoch. "The [public] perception around Stro, for us, did not meet the guy we got to be around for the last couple years," he said. "He's an awesome competitor. ... I feel like he's a guy I'll stay in touch with for the rest of our lives." Stroman signed a two-year deal with the Yankees in January 2024 after spending two seasons with the Chicago Cubs. The right-hander was 10-9 with a 4.31 ERA in 30 appearances last season. The Toronto Blue Jays selected Stroman No. 22 overall in the 2012 MLB Draft. The former Duke Blue Devil stayed with Toronto until 2019, when it dealt him to the New York Mets at the Trade Deadline. He then signed a two-year deal with the Cubs in December 2021. Stroman is a two-time All-Star and was the 2017 World Baseball Classic MVP.
How to watch the Yankees vs. Marlins: First pitch, TV & streaming details for the Series
'Most likely scenario' for Terry McLaurin revealed
A recent report indicated that teams potentially interested in acquiring Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin learned that the club is "not trading" him before the 2025 season begins. The 29-year-old, who is in the final year of his current contract, may have responded to this news by requesting a trade on Thursday. However, ESPN's Bill Barnwell shared Friday that he doesn't "think there's a strong chance McLaurin gets traded" before September. "There's been no suggestion from the Commanders' side that they're looking to deal him, even after his request," Barnwell wrote. "Trading him now would likely result in landing 2026 draft picks, which won't help the Commanders in a season in which they're hoping to compete. And there just aren't many teams with the cap space or cash budget at this point of the offseason to give him the sort of deal he appears to want." McLaurin allegedly does not want to accept less money than DK Metcalf, who received a five-year, $150M deal from the Pittsburgh Steelers in March. Whether or not McLaurin "deserves" such an extension is irrelevant as it pertains to his importance to Washington and the market for players at his position. McLaurin finished the 2024 campaign with team highs of 82 receptions and 1,096 receiving yards as quarterback Jayden Daniels guided Washington to the NFC Championship Game and earned Offensive Rookie of the Year Award honors. Additionally, McLaurin was second in the NFL with 13 touchdown catches. As of Friday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had Washington sixth among the betting favorites at +1800 odds to win Super Bowl LX in February 2026. That shows why Barnwell and others are convinced that acquiring future draft assets for McLaurin makes little sense for the win-now Commanders. "The logical thing is for McLaurin to stay with the Commanders, for the two sides to come to terms on a new deal or some sort of raise, and for Daniels to have his best pass catcher on the field in Week 1," Barnwell concluded. "It's still the most likely scenario." On Thursday, Nicki Jhabvala and Dianna Russini of The Athletic noted that "several teams that called Washington about [McLaurin] before his trade request on Thursday were told the team will not trade him." Commanders general manager Adam Peters seems to understand he still has plenty of time to work something out with McLaurin before Washington opens the regular season against the New York Giants on Sept. 7.
Padres' Role for Mason Miller Revealed By Team Insider
After their trade deadline moves on Thursday, the San Diego Padres have put together the strongest bullpen in MLB. San Diego has been battling to hold on to one of the NL Wild Card spots and are only three games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers for first place in the NL West. But their bolstered bullpen could push the Friars past the Dodgers and through a deep postseason run. With the addition of closer Mason Miller from the Athletics, the Padres have two closers they can lean on. Miller is a 2024 National League All-Star, and two-time NL All-Star Robert Suarez leads all of MLB with 30 saves. The Padres reportedly plan to keep Suarez as their primary closer and use Miller as “powerful arm in a variety of high-leverage situations,” per The Athletic’s Dennis Lin. San Diego will also now be able to give their relievers more frequent rests to preserve their arms through October. “Like we’ve seen so far through the first 100 games, if we have an opportunity to shorten the game, you want to take that,” said Padres general manager AJ Preller. “I think also it gives Mike (Shildt) an opportunity to mix and match with the ’pen, an opportunity certain nights to be able to go to one set of relievers and give guys an opportunity to get a little bit of a rest and a blow and be fresh for, hopefully, what’s a long run here for the rest of the regular season and into the postseason.” In addition to strengthening their bullpen, the Padres were able to deepen their rotation and kept starting pitcher Dylan Cease. Along with Miller, the Athletics traded starting pitcher JP Sears to the Padres, and the Milwaukee Brewers traded All-Star starting pitcher Nestor Cortes. Acquiring Miller and Sears will certainly help San Diego through the postseason this year. But in the process of landing the pitching pair, the Padres lost their No. 1 overall prospect Leo De Vries. San Diego has been criticized for their history of trading top prospects, especially after sending their No. 1 overall prospect from 2021 and 2025 All-Star starting pitcher MacKenzie Gore to the Washington Nationals in 2022. Preller said trading De Vries was a difficult decision but the organization ultimately felt like Miller and Sears were worthy enough to make the trade. For more Padres news, head over to Padres on SI.
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