EL SEGUNDO, Calif. – Since 2018, the Rookie Faceoff has emerged as a top showcase for prospects of western-based NHL organizations ahead of their main training camps. It’s become a competition for top draft picks to show why they were deserving of a high standing by teams and for lesser-known players to leave a strong impression.
And it’s also become a prospect feast for NHL scouts to dine on. This year’s version expanded to seven teams this year with Seattle joining Anaheim, Colorado, Los Angeles San Jose, Vegas and now Utah.
The Kings hosted the event for the first time, with all 10 games taking place at their practice facility. Macklin Celebrini, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft, was the headline attraction as he made his competitive debut for the Sharks. The 18-year-old reigning Hobey Baker Award winner showed why he’s their new franchise face in his only game. But we bring you 10 others who helped themselves over the four-day tournament.
Quentin Musty, LW, San Jose
Musty had a breakout tournament as a power forward who can clean up around the net but also beat goalies with his shot from close range. He was also very effective in making plays down low with highly effective short-space passes. A 43-goal, 102-point winger with OHL Sudbury last season, Musty had a hat trick and added an assist against Anaheim. He added three assists in his other two contests.
“I think it’s just the way that he thinks the game,” said Sam Dickinson, the Sharks’ other first-rounder in 2024. “He makes passes and plays in the offensive zone that you don’t really think are there and then, next thing you know, he kind of zips a saucer pass across the ice right on the guy’s tape. He knows exactly where to be all over the ice, and he can kind of make a play out of anything almost.”
There isn’t much question that Cagnoni can run a power play, as he and the Sharks cleaned up on the man advantage in this tournament. A fourth-round pick in 2023 who exploded for 90 points for WHL Portland last season, Cagnoni will be eligible to play in the AHL this season. He has terrific vision and knows who should get the puck and where to put it. Whether he can defend at the NHL level will be the biggest question. “You may go some games without a power play,” Cagnoni said. “I still got to be really good that way.”
John McCarthy, coach of the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda, was impressed with how Cagnoni handled a lot of ice time. “I thought he broke the puck out well,” McCarthy said. “Obviously he’s not the biggest guy in the world so he’s maneuvering his body pretty well, getting in first and rolling off pressure.”
Beaudoin, 18, was the No. 24 pick and the Utah’s top selection in this year’s draft after a breakout year with OHL Barrie. It’s very likely he’ll head back to junior as Utah appears set down the middle, but the 6-foot-2 pivot was always in the action. His motor is always on — there is a relentlessness about him. Utah used him in every situation. While he didn’t put up huge numbers (Monday’s goal was his only point in three games), Beaudoin regularly won puck battles and was active all over the ice.
Jagger Firkus, RW, Seattle
Berkly Catton is the Kraken’s most recent hot prospect as the No. 8 overall choice this year, but Firkus showed why he earned top CHL honors as the player of the year and the top scorer in Canadian major junior hockey last season. The Kraken played only twice as a late addition to the tournament, but the diminutive Firkus (126 points for WHL Moose Jaw in 2023-24) was a huge presence in both. He had a three-point effort against Vegas and looked very much like Seattle’s most effective player in both games.
Cutter Gauthier, LW/C, Anaheim
The Ducks have big things in mind for Gauthier after the 20-year-old made his NHL debut at the end of last season following a run to the NCAA title game with Boston College. College hockey’s top goal-scorer in 2023-24 didn’t play in Anaheim’s final game but he did what he does best in the other two, with goals scored in each. He also took penalties in each but was particularly engaged Saturday and scored on a howitzer of a one-timer on the power play. It’s something the Ducks eagerly anticipate seeing often.
The No. 4 pick in 2023 didn’t need to get himself on the Sharks’ radar — they saw what he did last season at Boston College. Smith’s goal is to be with San Jose on opening night and he did what was expected in his two games. He’s a fantastic distributor of the puck and manages to always give it to teammates where they want it because of his sense of how plays develop. Or how he develops them. Smith also shot the puck but had some hard luck. “Obviously, it’s nice setting up your teammate,” he said. “I like scoring goals too, though.”
Maveric Lamoureux, RHD, Utah
The hulking 6-foot-7 Lamoureux doesn’t always throw his weight around on every shift, but he’ll stand up for a teammate, such as when he took umbrage against Vegas prospect Sloan Stanick after a big hit. Defense will be the 2022 first-rounder’s calling card, but Lamoureux does have some puck skill, as he showed with a nice goal Monday against Vegas while factoring in all three of his team’s scores. He’s not just a big body as he can skate for his size and move along a blue line.
With the Avalanche possessing a thin prospect pool, Ritchie is at the top of their chain and he didn’t disappoint. The 19-year-old has had a full offseason of training after having to recover from shoulder surgery in the summer of 2023. He’s in full health and it showed as he routinely made plays for his teammates. All three of his assists in the three games he played were of the primary variety. It was a good showing after he totaled 30 points in 21 OHL playoff games.
The Kings have gone through different options in goal after Cal Petersen fizzled out in his bid to unseat Jonathan Quick. Former University of Michigan standout Erik Portillo may be next in line as a more youthful solution. But the club invested a second-round pick in George and didn’t hesitate to sign him to a three-year, entry-level contract. George, 18, split work with Portillo in two games and stopped 28 of the 29 shots he faced. His puck tracking and lateral movement are high-level traits that make up for his relative lack of size.
Mathieu Cataford, C, Vegas
This was an opportunity for Cataford to showcase himself, because top Vegas prospects such as forward Trevor Connelly (NCAA) and goalie Pavel Moysevich (KHL) were unavailable. The most valuable player of the QMJHL after a big season with Halifax did stand out at times with some nifty skating and offensive awareness. It’s not easy being a young player trying to crack a veteran Vegas lineup, especially at center. Cataford, 19, got four games with AHL Henderson at the end of the year and should have a meaty role when he’s eligible in 2025-26.
(Photo of San Jose’s Luca Cagnoni and Utah’s Maveric Lamoureux: Nick Tomoyasu / NHLI via Getty Images)
