NHLPA Rookie Showcase 2023 and Rookie Faceoff

The 2023 NHLPA Rookie Showcase players to watch are:

• Connor Bedard
• Adam Fantili
• Logan Cooley
• Matthew Knies
• Tyson Foerster
• Dustin Wolf
• Sebastian Cossa

Offense

Connor Bedard was selected by the Blackhawks as the number-one draft pick. Bedard was one of the youngest players drafted at just 17.

Bedard played for the WHL team Regina Pats and had a regular season record of 134 goals scored in 134 games with 137 assists for 271 points.

Adam Fantili played college hockey till last season for the University of Michigan. He had recorded 30 goals and 35 assists with 65 total points in 36  regular season games. He was drafted by the Colombus Blue Jackets.

Matthew Knies (Maple Leafs), Tyson Foerster (Philadelphia Flyers), and Logan Cooley (Coyotes) are other rookie forwards of note this season.

Knies played for the University of Minnesota before he was drafted by the Maple Leafs. He is a very quick player capable of generating great speed to get away from his opponents and able to use his body to protect the puck from defenders.

Tyson Foerster played in the AHL last season for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. He is a very agile skater able to change directions rapidly, a gifted center, and an offensive threat for his opponents when he gets the puck. 

Logan Cooley who was with the USNTDP juniors is a player with stunning agility, strong stick-handling abilities, and amazing on-ice awareness in all 3 zones. He is filled to the brim with offensive potential.

Cooley has the possibility of becoming a superior player and a force to be reckoned with in the NHL if his dormant talent can be developed fully. If not, he can still become a top-six scoring winger impacting the game regularly.

Goalies

Goaltenders Dustin Wolf (Calgary Flames) and Sebastian Cossa (Detroit Red Wings) are listed among the rookies to watch out for next season.

Wolf had an SV of 93.5%, and a 1.69 GAA in the 55 games he played for the Wranglers. He has an excellent composure and sense for the game.

Apart from being excellent at predicting the play, Dustin is very good at using his glove hands and blockers to control shots and set himself up for secondary attempts.

Sebastian Cossa, who played in the AHL last season for the Grand Rapid Griffins is an extremely consistent player even in his off days. His playstyle remains unchanged regardless of the number of shots faced and he possesses an elite level of efficiency at the crease. 

NHL Rookie Faceoff 2023 is scheduled to take place from September 15-18. The event will be hosted this season by the Vegas Golden Knights.

The Stanley Cup championship winners of the 2022-23 season have announced the schedule for the face-off with Six teams set to participate.

The 2023 Rookie Showcase presented by Martin-Harris Construction will showcase the prospects from the Vegas Golden Knights, Anaheim Ducks, Arizona Coyotes, Colorado Avalanche, Los Angeles Kings, and San Jose Sharks.

The Showcase will begin with Rookie practice on September 14, Thursday at 10:00 A.M. Pacific Time (PT). The official games will be played for 4 days across 2 venues, the City National Arena and the Dollar Loan Center.

A total of 9 games will be played across 4 days with 3 games played on Friday, September 15th, 2 games played on Saturday, September 16th, 1 game played on Sunday, September 17th, and 3 games played on Monday, September 18th. 

Out of the 9 games, 2 will be played at the Dollar Loan Center while the remaining 7 will be played at the City National Arena.

Full Game Schedule

The 2023 NHL Rookie Faceoff Schedule along with the game times is listed below:

Friday, Sept. 15
Game 1 - San Jose Sharks vs. Los Angeles Kings, 1 P.M. PT, City National Arena
Game 2 - Arizona Coyotes vs. Colorado Avalanche, 3:30 P.M. PT, City National Arena
Game 3 - Anaheim Ducks vs. Vegas Golden Knights, 7 P.M. PT, The Dollar Loan Center

Saturday, Sept. 16
Game 1 - Los Angeles Kings vs. Arizona Coyotes, 3:30 P.M. PT, City National Arena
Game 2 - Vegas Golden Knights vs. San Jose Sharks, 7 P.M. PT, The Dollar Loan Center

Sunday, Sept. 17
Game 1 - Colorado Avalanche vs. Anaheim Ducks, 1 P.M. PT, City National Arena

Monday, Sept. 18
Game 1 - Arizona Coyotes vs.San Jose Sharks, 10 A.M. PT, City National Arena
Game 2 - Anaheim Ducks vs. Los Angeles Kings, 12:30 P.M. PT, City National Arena 
Game 3 - Colorado Avalanche vs. Vegas Golden Knights, 3 P.M. PT, City National Arena

Montreal Canadiens Rookie Showcase participants for the tournament hosted by Buffalo Sabres are Owen Beck, Sean Farrell, and Filip Mesar.

The rookie tournament held in Buffalo New York dubbed the Prospects Challenge introduced 8 years ago by the Sabres was originally attended by the Boston Bruins and the New Jersey Devils along with the host.

Montreal Canadiens will be joining the Boston Bruins and NJ Devils along with the Senators and Pittsburgh Penguins for the prospects challenge. 

This will be the 2nd year extending an invitation to the five NHL clubs for the Prospect Tournament by the host. The tournament itself will be played from September 15-18. All of the five teams will play 3 games each.

Montreal will begin their Main Rookie Camp with medicals and Physical testing for their players on September 13. The schedule of the Canadiens games is given below:

Upper Deck Rookie Showcase had Connor Bedard as the featured rookie prospect. Upper Deck is the sole producer of Bedard's trading cards.

Upper Deck announced its exclusive deal with Bedard back on July 25th, 2023. Bedard considered one of the greatest ice hockey prospects was the second no.1 pick in Blackhawks history.

Bedard broke the record for the most points earned in a single tournament when he scored 23 points in seven games at the U20 World Junior Hockey Championships.

The rookie card value projection of the first-ever player to be granted exceptional status in the WHL is between $500 - $1000. It is expected to be released in early 2024.

Bedard himself was an avid Hockey card collector and his collection includes a Wayne Gretzky Rookie Card. He showed visible excitement for his trading cards at the Upper Deck Rookie Showcase event held on 5th September 2023.

The first Card issued for Bedard in his hockey career was for the Regina Pats in the Minor League, the team issued the card. He also had a premium autographed Team Canada Juniors card sold for $7,999 in October 2022.

Some of the Connor Bedard trading Cards released by Upper Deck and available for collectors on the collectibles site COMC are: