Logan Couture (2nd yr) : drafted 9th overall in the '07 draft by the san jose sharks, the kid continued to develop well in the OHL with the ottawa 67's, scores 39G and 87P in his final year there. after a short call-up stint in the '09-'10 season he completed his first year of pro hockey int he AHL, scoring 53pts in 42games. and in his first full season in the NHL scores 32G and 56pts. the kid never dissapoints, can very well improve on those numbers centering the 2nd line for a strong san jose team.
Jeff Skinner (2nd yr): drated 7th overall in last years draft, makes the club in his first year as an 18 year old, and tears it up, putting up 31G and 63pts in his first season. did i mention he also scored 50G and 90pts in his draft year in the OHL? kid has insane skills and he will only get better.
Michael Grabner (2nd yr): drafted 14th overall in the '06 draft, couldn't really find his way through the vancouver canucks depth, was later shipped off to florida in the ballard deal but after a lousey showing in training camp and pre-season dale tallon decided to release him. the new york islanders took a chance on him and boy did it pay off. in his first full season he managed to string 34G and 52pts together. can he keep up the good play in his 2nd season?
More after the Jump.
Cam Fowler (2nd yr): projected to go in the top-4 in last years draft, the young offensive-defenseman dropped all the way to 12th where the anaheim ducks selected him, a no brainer. made the team as an 18yr old. though he did make some rookie mistakes, as expected, he still managed to score 10G and 40pts, the only problem was that glaring -25, if he can fine tune his defensive game look for the young 6'1 200lbs fowler to become a force in this league very soon.
Taylor Hall (2nd yr): selected 1st overall in last years draft by the oilers, made the team in his first year as an 18yr old. scored 22G and 42pts in 65games before he got injured during a fight. he could've very easily broken the 25G mark. he'll be one of the marquee names for the oilers moving on. this season, healthy and ready to show what he's really capable of, while getting top-line minutes, hall should look to improve on last years performance.
Tyler Ennis (2nd yr): drafted in the 1st-round in '08 by the sabres, ennis played his first full season in the NHL last season as a 21yr old. only 5'9 and 160lbs, ennis still was able to manage to score 20G and 49pts. has a lot of upside and should see a lot more ice time this season on buffalo's top-6.
Matt Calvert (2nd yr): drafted in the 5th-round in '08 calvert played his first full NHL season last season. scoring 11G and 20pts in just 42games, the 5'10 21yr old showed flashes of brillience and should see more icetime on a much strong columbus team this season. look for calvert to improve next season.
Tyler Seguin (2nd yr): after being draft 2nd overall in last years draft, the talented seguin seemed to be barried in the boston depth chart. not seeing too much icetime he scored 11G and 22pts, while scoring some big goals in the stanley cup finals, showing glimpeses of what we should be seeing out of him in the near future. look for increased icetime and definite improvement on last years numbers.
Derek Stepan (2nd yr): drafted in the 2nd-round in '08, stepan played his first NHL season last season scoring 21G and 45pts in a full 82game stretch. showed a lot of upside and will probably only be getting better. look out for him on a stronger new york rangers squad this season.
Brayden Schenn (1st yr): one of the best prospects in all of hockey, brayden schenn has clearly shown he is ready for the NHL. after being traded from the kings to the flyers, schenn will look to crack a strong philadephia roster. he may start out as the 3rd line center but will almost no doubt, in my mind, later become the 2nd line center and is my favorite to win the calder trophy.
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and there's even more rising stars, some i wasn't able to write about would include Mike Santorelli (2nd yr), Kevin Shattenkirk (2nd yr), Alex Pietrangelo (2nd yr), Alexander Burmistrov (2nd yr). i'll do another list for possible calder trophy candidates and that'll cover the incoming rookies.
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