The NHL is full of young stars gunning to become the league’s top dog, but Nathan MacKinnon isn’t quite ready to give up his seat on the throne.

Leo Carlsson, Connor Bedard and Macklin Celebrini — ages 20, 20 and 19, respectively — currently sit 2-3-4 in the NHL scoring race. There’s only one player they can’t catch. That’s MacKinnon.

The Avalanche superstar forward on Monday was named first star of the week, edging out Carlsson and Bedard, after putting up 10 points in three Colorado victories. Nine of those 10 points came over the weekend in western Canada, where MacKinnon put on a show in front of his home country on Hockey Night in Canada.

That 10-point week catapulted MacKinnon well ahead of the three young bucks to the top of the scoring lead in the NHL with 29 points. Bedard and Carlsson, who were named the second and third stars of the week, sit below him at 25 points. Celebrini has 24. Colorado’s star forward is well on his way to another Hart Trophy nomination.

PWHL returns to Denver

If you missed out on catching the PWHL Takeover Tour at Ball Arena last January, you’ll get two opportunities to make up for it this coming season.

The PWHL on Monday announced that two PWHL games will be played at Ball Arena as part of their Takeover Tour.

On Jan. 25, 2026, the Vancouver Goldeneyes will take on the Seattle Torrent at 4 p.m. at Ball Arena, while the New York Sirens will play the Minnesota Frost on March 15, 2026. Both the Goldeneyes and Torrent are expansion franchises set to play their first full seasons in the PWHL as the league is now up to eight teams.

Tickets for both games will be available via presale on Thursday followed by the general sale the next day. Tickets can be purchased on the PWHL’s website.

This season’s Takeover Tour will see the league play 16 neutral-site games in 11 different locations, including seven new cities that the league has never played a game in before. Last season’s game at Ball Arena between the Frost and Montreal Victoire drew a crowd of 14,018 fans.

“Season Two’s PWHL Takeover Tour was the first of its kind, giving fans across North America the chance to experience the excitement of a regular-season game in their home venues,” PWHL Executive Vice President of Business Operations Amy Scheer said. “The passion and support from fans, and the enthusiasm from cities eager to engage with our league, have fueled our ambition to grow the Tour for Season Three.”