The Stanley Cup playoffs are no place for the fresh-faced and inexperienced -- or so the conventional wisdom goes. Because one ill-timed mistake can often send a team spiraling toward elimination, coaches tend to lean on players they can trust in big moments, which often correlates with being a veteran who has seen it all before and knows how to handle the pressure.
That can make it difficult for young players to earn a bigger role when the postseason lights get brighter. It's probably not a coincidence that zero of the remaining teams in this year's stacked playoff field ranked among the top 10 youngest by average age during the 2023-24 regular season, while four of the 11 oldest squads are still skating toward the Cup.