Which players or teams have made believers out of us this season?
It’s time to address the egg on our faces. We get plenty of things right as NHL prognosticators but, as the trolls prefer to point out, we get a lot wrong, too.
If you sort through all the NHL storylines so far this season: Which player or team has made a believer out of you? A breakout you expected does not qualify. It has to be someone or something that caught you off guard by vastly exceeding your expectations.
MATT LARKIN: Spencer Knight has blown me away. Connor Bedard’s long-awaited explosion into stardom has gotten plenty of deserved ink, but it’s Knight’s play that has the Chicago Blackhawks in the playoff hunt. Despite one of the most challenging nightly workloads in the NHL, Knight has graded out as the best starter in the league so far this season, with a goals saved above expected per 60 topping even Logan Thompson’s. If we zoom out: in hindsight, this is more of a course correction than a surprise success story for Knight. He was always supposed to be a star. He was drafted 13th overall in 2019 for a reason. He just needed to corral his off-ice struggles.
STEVEN ELLIS: I roasted someone in my fantasy league for picking up Jack Roslovic the minute he signed with the Edmonton Oilers. It felt like he was bound to lose ice time the minute Zach Hyman was healthy. Instead, Roslovic – the last notable UFA to sign this season – found a home alongside Leon Draisaitl to the point where there’s no reason to take Roslovic out of the top six. I know he’s had some decent seasons in the past, but after he missed training camp, I never expected Roslovic to be this good this quickly.
PAUL PIDUTTI: It’s Matthew Schaefer for me. I genuinely didn’t believe he would be this dynamic, this fast and this impactful right away. His age, his position, the high expectations, the uncertain environment he entered and a lack of reps last year collectively screamed for an underwhelming rookie season and steep learning curve. Or at least a learning curve of some kind? Instead, Schaefer’s already several years ahead of my expectations. While some setbacks over a long season may emerge, I’m now a believer that Schaefer will be a legitimate franchise player faster than any defenseman in decades.
ANTHONY TRUDEAU: Knight isn’t the only Blackhawk who qualifies for this entry. Silky winger Andre Burakovsky is the latest cap dump to rehab his career in the Windy City, and man mountain defenseman Louis Crevier has gone from pet project to legit NHL player. Still, none of this works without Knight and Connor Bedard, the leaders of the Hawks’ 180°. Bedard’s hands have always been ridiculous, but I didn’t see how an outside player with average speed and poor defense could ever justify the crushing Crosby/McDavid hype that’s followed him since he was 15. Those hands are still there, but now Bedard’s new-and-improved skating stride is buying him far more chances to use them. Fourth in points and fifth in goals in the NHL, Bedard is the latest warning not to eulogize a player’s hype before he’s had his first beer.
SCOTT MAXWELL: I had significant doubts about the Los Angeles Kings heading into the season, as not only were they poised for a bit of regression from Darcy Kuemper in net, they were a team best known for their defensive play that had made significant downgrades on their blueline with the signings of Cody Ceci and Brian Dumoulin. I had full expectations for them to fall out of the playoff picture this year, especially as the Western Conference looked to be more competitive. But so far, they’re keeping up with the rest of the West, as their 25 points and 10-6-5 record have them tied for third in the Pacific and only two points behind the Anaheim Ducks for first in the division. They Kings an elite defensive team anymore, as their 2.49 5v5 expected goals against per 60 minutes is only tied for ninth with the Dallas Stars, but it’s certainly not their weakness (although Ceci and Dumoulin paired together have been predictably horrendous with a 34.7% 5v5 xG share).
_____
POST SPONSORED BY bet365
_____