Two top draft picks facing demotion to junior after poor starts in the NHL.

It's been a great year for rookie players in the National Hockey League, with stand outs like Auston Matthews, Patrik Laine, and Travis Konecny all looking like dominant players this season. Not every top draft pick has worked out as well as the aforementioned names however, and for two of the top picks in the 2015 NHL draft, it's looking like it may be time to head back down to junior.

The first and most notable name, and as a result the biggest disappointment, is that of Arizona Coyotes forward Dylan Strome, who after being a health scratch multiple times already this season appears to be destined for another season in junior. The former third overall pick in the draft has just one assist in the three games he did play, and has record a plus minus rating of -3 over that stretch, likely playing a role in the decision to sit him.

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It's been a similar scenario for another 19 year old center, former sixteenth overall pick in the 2015 draft, Islanders Mathew Barzal, who after a big season in the WHL has only appeared in two games for New York, and has yet to record his first NHL point. Barzal like Strome has been a healthy scratch several times already this season, six in fact, and while both men may still get a chance to show their stuff before being sent down to junior, as neither is yet close to the 10 games that would burn a year off their deals, it's not looking good for either of the former first rounders.