Slumping Sophomores: Five second-year NHLers off to slow starts

Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

Ah, the dreaded sophomore slump.

Whether you like to believe it’s a thing or not, there are far too many instances of second-year NHLers falling flat. We don’t have a large sample size yet, with most teams having played around nine to 11 games this season, but we’re not far from the sample size becoming more substantial.

Many of the NHL’s top rookies last season – including Trevor Zegras, Matt Boldy and Cole Caufield – have resumed their damage during the first month of play.

But these five are off to slower starts than they likely expected at this point in the season:

Seth Jarvis, RW (Carolina Hurricanes)

Despite an uptick in ice time (13:53 to 15:37 this season) and consistent opportunities alongside Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen, Jarvis has registered three points in nine games – with two coming in the first three games. Jarvis had 40 points in 68 games last year, making him one of the most dangerous scoring rookies in the league. With a presence on the top line on a contending team, hopes were high for Jarvis out of the gate, but he hasn’t etched his name on the scoresheet consistently. The Hurricanes are getting enough offense from Aho, Martin Necas and Andrei Svechnikov to make up for it, but look for Jarvis to bounce back because he’s far too good not to.

Michael Bunting, LW (Toronto Maple Leafs)

After showing some impressive chemistry with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, Bunting has struggled to find success in 2022-23. Through 11 games, Bunting has five points, registering one assist on the five-game Western swing. Four of his points came in a four-game span, so there have been quite a few zeroes along the way. Coach Sheldon Keefe even tried him with other linemates with limited luck. Bunting is in the final year of a $995,000 deal, so he’ll want to capitalize on it and force Toronto’s hand in the long run. Right now, though, he’s on pace to fall short by 20 points compared to 2021-22.

Lucas Raymond, LW (Detroit Red Wings)

Considering Raymond led the scoring race for almost the entire 2021-22 season, it’s a bit surprising to see him so off right now. He has just four points in nine games, but he tallied them all in two separate games almost two full weeks apart. There are some points where you can tell he’s snakebitten. There’s other times when he’s clearly not playing at the level we know he’s capable of, especially as a passer. Raymond played best with Tyler Bertuzzi last year, but he’s been hurt for most of the season. Maybe his eventual return will help spark Raymond, but that could still be a few more weeks away. Raymond is too good to be left off the scoresheet so often – something has to click soon.

Cole Sillinger, RW (Columbus Blue Jackets)

After a solid 31-point rookie campaign with Columbus – a year removed from playing in the USHL – Sillinger has joined a long list of players struggling to produce early on for the Blue Jackets. He has just two assists through 10 games – both coming last week – while falling from 13:42 in ice time last year to 12:43 this year. Sillinger had a respectable 16 goals and 79 points for a Blue Jackets team that could use all the scoring help it could get and trailed Anton Lundell and Moritz Seider (four) by one for the rookie lead in game-winning goals. Columbus knows Sillinger can score, but he just isn’t proving that right now.

Alexandre Carrier, D (Nashville Predators)

Carrier made a surprise appearance on the NHL’s all-rookie team last year, putting up 30 points as a 25-year-old rookie. Given his first NHL game was on January 17, 2017, Carrier’s emergence was quite the bonus. But after acquiring Ryan McDonagh over the off-season, the Predators demoted Carrier to the team’s third pairing, dropping him from 20:59 a night to 17:35. That clearly has impacted his offensive output, with Carrier going pointless through 10 games. Perhaps his rookie season was an anomaly and he won’t build upon it offensively, but we’re just not seeing the same impact night in and night out for the defender.

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