Here's everything you need to know about 2024-25 NHL Futures PrizePicks plays for the upcoming season.
It's been over a month since the Florida Panthers hoisted Lord Stanley's Cup, and now feels like an appropriate time to shift our focus onto the upcoming season. PrizePicks has released futures squares for a wide array of players, and I have narrowed down three to target early.
Find my 2024-25 NHL Futures PrizePicks plays for the upcoming season below.
2024-25 NHL Futures PrizePicks
Connor Bedard More Than 82.5 Points
Here's a not-so-hot take: Connor Bedard, a generational talent, is going to perform like a generational talent.
He averaged 0.897 points per game in his rookie campaign, which was enough to claim the Calder Trophy as Rookie of the Year. At an 82-game pace, that would put him at roughly 74 points.
So, the question is, will Bedard improve by at least nine points? I think the answer is a resounding yes, barring an injury.
Firstly, he just turned 19. Bedard is going to naturally improve as he ages and gets stronger, especially now that he has a full year of NHL experience under his belt.
Second, he was playing with a roster of AHL'ers last season. The Chicago Blackhawks have improved immensely over the offseason, adding forward talent such as Teuvo Teravainen and Tyler Bertuzzi, among others.
When you consider Bedard's personal development as well as the team's development, the only reason he finishes south of 85 points would be due to injury.
Alexis Lafreniere More Than 28.5 Goals
Not everyone is a Bedard or a McDavid in the sense that they can enter the league and dominate right away. It's the best league in the world, and sometimes it even takes first-overall picks a couple of years to develop.
That is the case with 2020's first overall pick, Alexis Lafreniere. With that said, he has improved year-over-year with last season being the best of his career.
And, at just 22, he is going to only continue to get better. His ceiling is still that of a first-overall level talent, and while it has taken longer than some expected for him to reach it, he is well on his way.
Lafreniere posted 16 goals in 2022-23 and improved to a 28-goal season last year. I expect another big jump this season, especially after he seemed to hit another level in the postseason.
He scored eight goals in 16 playoff games, and he was a massive part of New York's offense that was tied for the team lead. Lafreniere will skate on the second line alongside Artemi Panarin, who is one of the best playmakers in the league.
Let alone 29 goals, I believe that he has the potential to flirt with 40 this season.
Zach Hyman Less Than 74.5 Points
Zach Hyman had a career year last season, potting 54 goals while adding 23 assists for 77 points. However, I think that the 54-goal mark is highly unsustainable, and if that drops, then his point total will also drop dramatically as he isn't known for his facilitation of the puck.
What he was known for last season was sitting right in the crease and waiting for Connor McDavid to dance through the entire defense and then feed him tap-in goals. While that'll happen a lot once again, I don't think it'll work out 54 times.
Hyman ranked 15th in the league with an 18.6 shooting percentage, which is a relatively unsustainable number. I know that the number is high because of the way in which he gets his goals, but defenses are going to be more keen on that backdoor pass from McDavid this season compared to last year, due to its constant success.
The only way Hyman reaches this point total is with another 45+ goal season, which is possible, but I would wager that it is more likely than not that his 18.6 shooting percentage comes down a bit while he is also forced to attempt to score from tougher areas of the ice.
