Many of the top '02s in New York and New Jersey have already established themselves, by either making USA Hockey's NTDP, being tendered in the USHL, or being drafted in the USHL or OHL drafts last May.
The top two '02s in New York and New Jersey are both spending the 2018-19 season with USA Hockey's NTDP U-17 Team. Forward Luke Tuch (Baldwinsville, N.Y.) and defenseman Eamon Powell (Marcellus, N.Y.) hold down the top two spots in New York Hockey Journal's rankings.
The next two spots are held down by two other prospects playing junior hockey: a New Jersey native excelling as a tender in the USHL and a western New York prospect in the OJHL.