PLAYERS ARE EITHER ON THEIR WAY UP or on their way down—either rising or in decline. And if a contender is going to try to get over the top during a season, it almost always has to look to a player to raise his game and fill a larger role.

The seven players included on these pages are among those trending up for teams in the league’s elite. They are far from the biggest names on their rosters—casual fans have no trouble picking out Alex Ovechkin and Jamie Benn, but even dedicated ones might not know much about Dmitry Orlov and Mattias Janmark. They range from a heralded rookie who has yet to play a professional game to a 25-year-old on a bridge contract. But all of them have their best hockey ahead of them, and their teams are banking on nothing less.