NHL.com’s fantasy staff continues to cover the latest trends and storylines in the League through the lens of NHL EDGE puck and player tracker stats. Throughout the 2025-26 season, we identify the leaders in key advanced metrics.

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Skating speed: 24.61 miles per hour – Connor McDavid (F, EDM)

McDavid reached his top skating speed of the NHL EDGE tracking era (since 2021-22) for the Edmonton Oilers in the second period of their season opener against the Calgary Flames on Oct. 8, surpassing his previous high of 24.19 mph from the 2023-24 season.

The only top skating speed faster than McDavid’s mark in the regular season or Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2021-22 was Miles Wood (24.82 mph) last season. McDavid also leads the NHL in 22-plus mph speed bursts (four) this season; he had two assists in the opener and leads active players in career points per game (1.52).

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Shot speed: 99.09 mph – Joel Edmundson (D, LAK)

Edmundson reached his League-leading mark for the Los Angeles Kings in the third period at the Vegas Golden Knights on Oct. 8. He also had a shot attempt of 96.77 mph against the Colorado Avalanche on Oct. 7.

Another standout in terms of shot speed early on this season is Carolina Hurricanes rookie defenseman Alexander Nikishin, who had two shot attempts of at least 90 mph against the New Jersey Devils on Oct. 9 in their season opener; Nikishin is tied with Edmundson and Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar for the NHL lead in that category (two each).

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High-danger goals: 3 – Justin Brazeau (F, PIT)

One of the biggest surprises through the first three days of the season, the Pittsburgh Penguins are 2-0-0 thanks largely to Brazeau’s prowess from high-danger areas. In addition to leading the NHL in high-danger goals, Brazeau also has the most high-danger shots on goal (seven in two games) playing mostly on the second line with veteran center Evgeni Malkin.

Three other players have scored multiple high-danger goals early on this season: Elias Lindholm of the Boston Bruins, Filip Chytil of the Vancouver Canucks and Shane Pinto of the Ottawa Senators (two high-danger goals each).