B/R NHL Style Rankings: Flyers Duo Coming in Hot Week 1, but Do They Top the List?

A new NHL season is finally upon us, and that means clean slates for all both on the ice and in the pre-game arrival photos.

We've got a bit of housekeeping to address before we jump into the first edition of the 2022-23 NHL style rankings. First off, I'm so excited that we've now become the Bleacher Report NHL Style Rankings (TM), and I can't thank everyone who is following me here to read this enough! I love the community we've cultivated, and I promise we're only going to have more fun this season.

To anyone new here, welcome! We encourage respectful disagreement in the comments, so feel free to sound off. But to enter the club, you need to answer one question: Socks or no socks?

Now that that's out of the way, we've got some breaking news: The Toronto Maple Leafs have started posting outfits. This is not a drill, and I don't know how long it will last, but we're four games deep and Sheldon Keefe is already ripping into his star players, so let us just enjoy the outfit posts while they last.

Without further ado, let's get into the best outfits from opening week. You'll see some familiar faces for sure, but some new names have definitely entered the chat this week.

And speaking of clean slates, you can take one last glance at last season's stats before we throw them in the trash. Congratulations to David Pastrnak for winning the inaugural style rankings, now let the 2022-23 games begin.

10. Pierre-Edouard Bellemare

Bellemare has long been a staple in the style rankings, so it feels right to kick off season two with another strong showing from the Bolt. He's always got that classic Euro flair with a personal touch, and that's by design. He once told me he opts out of the team trips to the big retailers and looks for his own suit shops that feel more like dive bars.

This look is giving anything but dive bar, but absolutely has that personal flair where you can tell the suit was made for him with the shade of green that complements him so well.

And to be clear: I don't give outfit repeaters extra points for wearing the same exact outfit. But I have so much respect for reworking a suit to become almost a totally different outfit, and, of course, Bellemare pulled that off here:

Bellemare's off to a great start, and absolutely no one is surprised.

9. Brenden Dillon

A few clubs did a fun opening night concept this year where players arrived on a "red carpet" that was actually the team color. I loved this because it gave guys some extra motivation to match a theme, and I don't know if anyone did it better than Winnipeg's Brenden Dillon.

Dillon's simple, yet aesthetically pleasing, fit is a blueprint (pun reluctantly intended) for any beginner looking to take their style to the next level. Stick to the same shade of the same color for the tie, pants, belt (or hide the belt) and potentially shoes. Add a patterned jacket that has only that same color in the pattern.

Works every time!

8. Andrei Svechnikov

All three Hurricanes—Svechnikov, Martin Nečas, Sebastian Aho—in this photo make a compelling case for a spot in the rankings. But outfit repeaters are automatically disqualified (I don't make the rules—oh wait, yes I do) and Nečas has worn this before.

I ultimately went with Svechnikov over Aho because it's hard to pull off non-maroon red without feeling too Christmas-y, and Svechnikov nailed it for the Caniacs at their home opener. The detailing is a super interesting take on the Houndstooth trend that's been back for a while now.

7. Brandon Tanev

Kraken players have been enthusiastic about the nautical theme since the team's inaugural night, and I love that for them. That was as evident as ever at this season's home opener, including rankings regular Yanni Gourde staying on theme, Adam Larsson in pinstripes, and promising rookie Matty Berniers going all out.

I'm sorry, Matty, but despite your awesome suit jacket and your vision, the black belt and the brown shoes took you out of contention. I could also harp on the tie, but I've been mean enough. I think you'll get it together by the end of the season.

Anyways, Tanev wasn't necessarily as on theme as most of his teammates, but I'm a sucker for well-fitted tweed. Tanev's place in this week's rankings is a reminder to get your suits tailored, folks. The muted salmon tie works with the color scheme, and I also appreciate the homage to the theme with the blue pocket square.

6. Linus Ullmark

My diehard style rankings family knows the power a genuine smile has to impact your outfit. This is what it's all about, right? We're looking good and feeling good. Ullmark clearly nailed that here, and his accompanying fit is amazing.

The secret to mixing patterns is obviously color-matching, and the more obscure the color the better it all comes together. I absolutely love everything going on here, between the smile, the colors, the three-piece suit, and the tailoring. This is the exact amount of ankle we want to see!

5. Scott Laughton

Half of you are going to hate this, half of you are going to love this, and that's the beauty of it all. As always, you're free to state your case in the comments, but consider me team three-piece seafoam suit. Love letting the color do the talking, no tie, no belt, just full Miami Vice.

It's no coincidence in my mind that Laughton rolled up to the rink wearing this and scored a shorthanded goal, another fun twist in what has been an unexpectedly good start for the Flyers this season.

Laughton actually had two solid looks for opening week, as he was also caught rocking the red houndstooth combination much like Svechnikov's. According to my data, Laughton didn't make the style rankings even once last season. Looks like we're going to have to pay attention to this guy on and off the ice this year.

4. William Karlsson

We have to shout out to friend-of-the-style-rankings Jesse Granger for his boots-on-the-ground reporting, because the full picture of this suit bumped Karlsson up to the top five. I was with some of you lamenting his tie choice with the suit until I saw the shoes. The navy shoes make it work in my very humble opinion, and if I know Karlsson's style by now I bet he had a decal or pattern on the top of the shoes reminiscent of the tie.

Here at the Bleacher Report NHL Style Rankings (TM), we like to give risk-takers the benefit of the doubt. I understand that Karlsson was clearly going for a full 70s pattern vision and I'm obsessed with the color combination. If it were me, I probably would have nixed the blue altogether and played up the yellow a bit more in the tie, but the blue-yellow thing is a color theory staple, and it looks great on him. He gets a pass for the tie just this once.

3. James van Riemsdyk

I'll always love this Gucci tiger tie, and I don't care who knows it. van Riemsdyk is marinating in luxury here between the tie and the velvet green suit, and he appears to be giving the perfect amount of hecks about it. I've knocked points off of van Riemsdyk's looks in the past for just slightly too much ankle, so I want to give him props for the tailoring, here. Also, love the black-on-black with the undershirt.

2. Matt Duchene

Duchene's home opening suit perfectly walks that elusive line between committing to a bit and being corny. He knew beforehand he'd be walking the carpet and taking pictures with fans, so you give him a little more leeway there. Then you think about Nashville and how truly corny a Nashville theme could end up. Duchene plays guitar and often talks about his love of music, so that makes the notes on the suit extra adorable. I love that he let the suit details steal the show, and the matching understated-yet-fun hat and boots were great complements, as was some of the fringe on the suit.

1. Patrik Laine

Patrik Laine will never let the haters win, and that's one of the best traits anyone in fashion could have.

The bubblegum-core blue and pink theme here is something that'll make a lot of boring hockey people mad no matter what the rest of our good-faith opinions are, and that's a statement in itself. The way the swirly tie matches the holographic backpack. The fact that there's a holographic backpack at all. The pink sunglasses! And of course, the designer bucket hat.

I am very careful to toss around the term "drip" in a league where the word in its purest form is almost non-existent, so know I mean it when I classify this Laine opening night outfit as an actual crumb of drip in this dripless world.