In the west the list is likely McDavid, Drai, MacK, Eichel, You could probably make a case for Miller and Pettersson. Bedard will likely surpass him before long but hasn't yet. ROR and Kopitar it's close. He's easily top 10 in the West.
Having one of our young guys get to 1C level would be really nice. I just don't see 1C upside in any of these guys. We are going to need to bottom out at some point. It's the only way to ensure we get one.
I think the alternative is to get contributions 1-4. Having scoring throughout the lineup.
If you are the Jets organization you have Scheif locked down, the Oilers could lose both their top centers in the next 2 years, Kopitar is going to HHOF, but you are going to see a Bergeron decline in him...Good chance Bedard and Beniers rise up the ranks. Wyatt Johnston and Robert Thomas might climb up a notch too.
Lambert seems like the future 2C. And they will give him time to develop more this season if he needs to.
Jets have an important decision to make with Lowry, and that likely comes at the end of the season and depends on how it plays out.
Lucius is being developed as a centre. A full development year might give the Jets organization some idea about what they have. Another injury riddled year and I think there is some pressure to develop Yager into a center 2025, to have some depth at the position.
You'd think a guy like Julien is probably 2-3 years from NHL ready. Might only be a 3rd/4th line ceiling.
Guys like Gustafsson and Kupari make their living as special teams contributors.
The futures of Ehlers and Connor and how the Jets invest in their core while developing their prospective wingers will also have some influence on Yager's future you would think.
I don't think there is any direction organizationally to bottom out, but an off year, injury filled, can happen to any team.