14. Jake Guentzel

You don’t think of Omaha, Nebraska, as a hockey hotbed, but it was in Cornhusker territory where Jake Guentzel came from.  

The Nebraskan stayed in state, competing collegiately for the University of Nebraska-Omaha, and while this was not a hockey powerhouse, Guentzel impressed in college, bringing the school to their first Frozen Four.  Taken in the Third Round of the NHL Draft years before, Guentzel joined the Penguins in 2016, making the team after a brief stop in the AHL, and he would play a large role in the Penguins in their 2017 Stanley Cup win, where he led all skaters in Goals (13) and Even-Strength Goals (11).

The Center had 48 Points in its first full year (2017-18), and it increased that to 76 the following year.  In the last three years, Guentzel has averaged over a point per game, specifically 184 Points in 171 Games.  Guentzel went to his first All-Star Game in 2021/22, and tied his previous best of 40 Goals, and had 73 Points in 2022/23.

Although Guentzel was still performing at a point-per-game level in 2023-24 (52 Points and 50 Games), the Penguins, who were struggling, traded him to the Carolina Panthers at the trade dealine.  With Pittsburgh, Guentzel compiled 466 Points in 503 Games.