The left wing, like the right wing, is usually boasts the main goal scorers for a team. Without good wings, your offence will falter, be it due to a lack of shots on not or an inability to control the puck down the flanks.
The best bet for you in Franchise Mode is to target young left wingers who you can mould into your long-term first liners. So here, we’re going through the very best young LWs that you can find in NHL 22.
Choosing NHL 22’s best young left wingers
This page will look at the best up-and-coming left wings in the game, with Alexis Lafrenière, Filip Zadina, and Grigori Denisenko making an appearance. Only those whose primary position is left wing were chosen. Each player was chosen based on potential and age, with the maximum being 21-years-old.
At the bottom of the page, you will find a list of all of the best young left wings in NHL 22.
1. Alexis Lafrenière, 82 OVR (Potential: Elite high)
Team: New York Rangers
Age: 19
Position: Left Wing
Type: Playmaker
Shoots: Left
Contract: $0.925M, 1 Year Left, Two-Way
Best Attributes: 88 Deking, 87 Hand-Eye, 87 Off. Awareness
The first overall pick in 2020, Alexis Lafrenière is still very young and is the only player on this list with Elite High potential.
He isn’t the highest overall rated player among the best young left wings in NHL 22, but he still has solid ratings as a playmaker. He features an 88 in deking and then a slew of skills rated 87: hand-eye, passing, puck control, offensive awareness, acceleration, agility, speed, slap shot power and accuracy, and wrist shot power and accuracy.
Lafrenière spent 2019/20 with the Rimouski Océanic, donning the “C” as he amassed 35 goals and 77 assists in 52 games. He played 56 games for the Rangers in 2020/21, tallying 12 goals and nine assists with four game-winning goals.
2. Filip Zadina, 82 OVR (Potential: Elite med)
Team: Detroit Red Wings
Age: 21
Position: Left Wing/Right Wing
Type: Sniper
Shoots: Left
Contract: $0.895M, 1 Year Left, Two-Way
Best Attributes: 90 Acceleration, 90 Speed, 89 Deking
While the sixth-overall pick in 2018 has similar ratings to Lafrenière, Filip Zadina is older and has a slightly lower potential grade. However, if you can, you should still acquire the Czech standout.
Zadina has elite speed with a 90 in all three speed ratings. His deking is 89, passing and puck control 88, and hand-eye 87, helping him to maximize his speed and puck skills together. He also has an 88 in slap shot power, wrist shot power, and wrist shot accuracy, with an 87 in offensive awareness, so this sniper is well-suited to both set-up and score goals for your team.
Zadina split time over the past two seasons with the Red Wings, Grand Rapid Griffins, and Czech club HC Ocelari Trinec on-loan. With Trinec, he had eight goals and six assists in 17 games, adding 13 assists and six goals in 49 games with Detroit.
3. Dylan Guenther, 73 OVR (Potential: Elite med)
Team: Arizona Coyotes
Age: 18
Position: Left Wing
Type: Sniper
Shoots: Right
Contract: $0.925M, 3 Years Left, Two-Way
Best Attributes: 85 Discipline, 85 Durability, 84 Wrist Shot Power
The ninth-overall pick in 2021, Dylan Guenther carries great potential with the understanding that he will need time to develop, should you acquire him.
What helps Guenther is his durability of 85, which should keep him mostly uninjured, while his discipline of 85 should prevent him from making costly mistakes. He also has decent speed with an 83 in all three categories, but there are still many areas that require focused development – as you’d expect from a 73 overall skater.
He donned the “A” for the Edmonton Oil Kings in 2020/21, be he only played 12 games. However, he did have 12 goals and 12 assists in those 12 games. He also played four games with three goals and two assists for the Sherwood Park Crusaders on-loan.
4. Joel Farabee, 84 OVR (Potential: Top 6 high)
Team: Philadelphia Flyers
Age: 21
Position: Left Wing/Right Wing
Type: Two-Way Forward
Shoots: Left
Contract: $0.925M, 1 Year Left, Two-Way
Best Attributes: 88 Passing, 88 Off. Awareness, 87 Puck Control
Joel Farabee is a repeat appearance on these “Best Young” lists, and deservedly so: the 2018 first-rounder has made himself into an all-around player with some potential yet left to fulfil.
Farabee has many skills rated between 85 and 88. His passing and offensive awareness are 88; deking, puck control, stick checking, acceleration, agility, speed, slap shot power, wrist shot accuracy, and wrist shot power are 87; hand-eye, defensive awareness, slap shot accuracy, body checking, and strength are 86; and balance, endurance, aggressiveness, and durability are 85. He can do just about everything well.
Farabee spent five games with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in 2019/20 before joining the Flyers, totalling three goals and one assist in five games. With the Flyers, he added 13 assists and eight goals over 52 games with one powerplay goal. He played 55 games with the Flyers in 2020/21, amassing 20 goals and 18 assists, three goals on the powerplay, and one game-winner.
5. Nils Höglander, 81 OVR (Potential: Top 6 med)
Team: Vancouver Canucks
Age: 20
Position: Left Wing/Right Wing
Type: Two-Way Forward
Shoots: Left
Contract: $0.890M, 2 Years Left, Two-Way
Best Attributes: 90 Agility, 88 Acceleration, 88 Speed
A rare second-rounder to appear on these lists of the best young skaters in NHL 22, Nils Höglander has become a solid player for Vancouver and has the potential to become a versatile left wing for your club.
An agile skater (90), Höglander also has good speed and acceleration, both 88. Combining those with his 85 in deking, hand-eye, passing, puck control, stick checking, offensive awareness, balance, endurance, body checking, durability, and strength give him a skill set suited for a two-way forward.
Höglander spent 2019/20 with Rögle BK in Sweden, totalling nine goals and seven assists in 41 games. He spent 23 games with them during 2020/21 – this time on-loan – and had nine assists and five goals. With Vancouver, he played all 56 games with 14 assists and 13 goals, which includes a game-winning goal.
6. Grigori Denisenko, 78 OVR (Potential: Top 6 F med)
Team: Florida Panthers
Age: 21
Position: Left Wing/Right Wing
Type: Playmaker
Shoots: Right
Contract: $0.925M, 2 Years Left, Two-Way
Best Attributes: 90 Acceleration, 90 Speed, 89 Agility
Grigori Denisenko makes an appearance on this list with some elite skills but more that need focused development. Still, he’s worth the risk and the effort in NHL 22.
The Russian is fast on the ice with 90 in speed and acceleration, as well as 89 in agility. He has a good deking ability of 87 to go along with his speed and agility, but his hand-eye, passing, and puck control could improve from 83. He has good power in shot with both at 87, but his accuracies could improve, both also at 83.
He split time between the Panthers and the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL in 2020/21, playing in 15 games for the latter with five goals and four assists. For Florida, Denisenko played seven games and tallied four assists.
7. Arthur Kaliyev, 77 OVR (Potential: Top 6 F med)
Team: Los Angeles Kings
Age: 20
Position: Left Wing/Right Wing
Type: Sniper
Shoots: Left
Contract: $0.895M, 3 Years Left, Two-Way
Best Attributes: 87 Off. Awareness, 87 Slap Shot Power, 86 Wrist Shot Power
Another young player with lofty potential on the Los Angeles Kings, Arthur Kaliyev is similar to Denisenko in needing some focused development, with the benefit that he is a year younger.
A sniper, Kaliyev has an 87 in offensive awareness and slap shot power, with 86 in wrist shot power. However, his wrist shot accuracy is 83 and slap shot accuracy 80 – both needing to improve to maximize his potential as a top-six Sniper.
Kaliyev spent the 2019/20 season with the Hamilton Bulldogs, where he amassed 54 assists and 44 goals over 57 games. In 2020/21, he spent 40 games with the Ontario Reign, totalling 17 assists and 14 goals before spending a single game with the Kings, where he scored his first NHL goal.
All of the best young left wings in NHL 22
In the table below, you’ll find all of the best young LWs in NHL 22, listed according to their potential.
| Name | Potential | Overall | Age | Position | Contract | Team |
| Alexis Lafrenière | Elite high | 82 | 19 | Left Wing | $0.925M, 1 Year Left, Two-Way | New York Rangers |
| Filip Zadina | Elite med | 82 | 21 | Left Wing/Right Wing | $0.895M, 1 Year Left, Two-Way | Detroit Red Wings |
| Dylan Guenther | Elite med | 73 | 18 | Left Wing | $0.925M, 3 Years Left, Two-Way | Arizona Coyotes |
| Joel Farabee | Top 6 high | 84 | 21 | Left Wing/Right Wing | $0.925M, 1 Year Left, Two-Way | Philadelphia Flyers |
| Nils Höglander | Top 6 med | 81 | 20 | Left Wing/Right Wing | $0.890M, 2 Years Left, Two-Way | Vancouver Canucks |
| Grigori Denisenko | Top 6 med | 78 | 21 | Left Wing/Right Wing | $0.925M, 2 Years Left, Two-Way | Florida Panthers |
| Arthur Kaliyev | Top 6 med | 77 | 20 | Left Wing/Right Wing | $0.895M, 3 Years Left, Two-Way | Los Angeles Kings |
| Nolan Foote | Top 6 med | 75 | 20 | Left Wing | $0.865M, 3 Years Left, Two-Way | New Jersey Devils |
| Benoit-Olivier Groulx | Top 6 med | 70 | 21 | Left Wing | $0.825M, 2 Years Left, Two-Way | Anaheim Ducks |
| Dominik Bokk | Top 6 med | 70 | 21 | Left Wing/Right Wing | $0.750M, 0 Years Left, Two-Way | Carolina Hurricanes |
| Fabian Lysell | Top 6 med | 69 | 18 | Left Wing | $0.925M, 3 Years Left, Two-Way | Boston Bruins |
| Adam Beckman | Top 6 med | 69 | 20 | Left Wing | $0.895M, 3 Years Left, Two-Way | Minnesota Wild |
| Samuel Poulin | Top 6 med | 69 | 20 | Left Wing/Right Wing | $0.865M, 3 Years Left, Two-Way | Pittsburgh Penguins |
| Samuel Fagemo | Top 6 med | 69 | 21 | Left Wing/Right Wing | $0.795M, 2 Years Left, Two-Way | Los Angeles Kings |
| Isak Rosén | Top 6 med | 68 | 18 | Left Wing/Right Wing | $0.750M, 0 Years Left, Two-Way | Buffalo Sabres |
Who will you choose from the list of top young skaters in NHL 22 to become your go-to left wing for years to come?
