High Noon 2026: Ranking the NHL’s top 50 forwards

Welcome to the third annual High Noon rankings — the NHL’s living timeline of the top players by position. In individual sports, there are data-driven hierarchies based on performance. Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka are the respective World Number Ones in tennis. In golf, Scottie Scheffler and Nelly Korda each have strangeholds at the top. Boxing, UFC, track and field, and even chess rank their talent systematically. Connor McDavid is the top forward in men’s hockey and its consensus best player by reputation. Just last month, I crowned him the current holder of The Torch as the NHL’s Best Player…