7 Candidates for a Breakout Season

Every year there are players who come out of nowhere to have monstrous seasons.  Usually these players have been highly touted prospects who finally become the player that they have been projected to be for a long time.  Last year, two examples from Metropolitan Division teams stand out. 

Jakub Voracek, formerly the 2007 7^th overall draft pick, had a career high in goals (22) last season despite it only lasting 48 games.  He cemented his place as a top line right winger and won the Flyer’s Bobby Clarke trophy (team MVP).   Sergei Bobrovsky, an undrafted Russian goalie, was signed by the Flyers in 2010 amidst much hype.  The notoriously impatient Flyers discarded the young net minder after two subpar seasons only to watch him become the league’s best goalie last season.  He went from being shipped away for draft picks, to winning the Vezina trophy.

This year will not be different from any other.  There are a plethora of young players in the Metropolitan Division who are ready to take off.  Here is a list of seven players that I think can make the leap this season.

Ryan Johansen, Center, 21,CBJ:  Johansen is going to be a beast in the NHL very soon.  He was the 4^th overall pick in the 2010 NHL entry draft because of his raw talent and his incredible size.  He stands 6’3”, 203lbs, is a smooth skater, and is very hard to knock off of the puck.  This year he will be entering his 3^rd NHL season and has all of the tools necessary to have a breakout season.

Brayden Schenn, Center/LW, 22,PHI:  Schenn was the 5^th overall pick in the 2009 NHL entry draft by the LA Kings.  He was sent to Philadelphia with Wayne Simmonds in exchange for then Flyers captain Mike Richards.  Schenn was drafted as a center, but because of the Flyers depth down the middle he has been playing both center and left wing.  Schenn will be entering his third NHL season and will finally be able to stay in one spot.  With the acquisition of Lecavalier, Schenn will move to full-time left wing and will finally have consistent line-mates.  These factors make Schenn a legitimate breakout candidate.

Ryan McDonagh, Defenseman, 24,NYR:  McDonagh was originally the 12^th overall pick in the 2007 NHL entry draft.  He has now played two and a half seasons and is only 24 years old.  He is at the time in his career in which young defensemen begin to overcome the steep NHL learning curve.  McDonagh has shown steady improvement in his time in the NHL and has decent size.  This could be a big year for the 6’1”, 213lb defender.

Beau Bennett, RW, 21,PIT:  Bennett is one of the few young players on the loaded Penguins roster.  The 20^th overall pick in the 2010 NHL entry draft dressed in 26 games last season.  He logged more than 15 minutes in only one of those games last season, but he is slated to play with Evgeni Malkin and James Neal, which should greatly increase his playing time and scoring chances.  He is a big (6’2”, 207lbs) forward with great skill.  Look for big things from Bennett this season.

Erik Gustafsson, Defenseman, 24,PHI:  Gustafsson went undrafted, but was then signed by the Flyers in 2010 after playing for Northern Michigan university.  Since that signing he has shown steady growth.  After a shaky call up early in the season, Gustafsson was sent back down to the minors.  However, he was called back up to the Flyers because of the injuries to their defense and ended up averaging 20:09 minutes per game.  He continued his strong play by being the number one defenseman on the Swedish World Championship team this summer.  He signed a one-way contract this summer and looks poised to improve on last year’s stretch run.

Ryan Murray, Defenseman, 19,CBJ:  The 2nd overall pick in the 2012 NHL entry draft is an X-factor for the Blue Jackets this season.  He is a very smooth, positionally sound defenseman with pretty good size (6’1”, 198lbs).  He was enjoying a good season with his junior team last season until a shoulder injury in November sidelined him for the rest of the season.  This year, Murray is looking to crack the Blue Jackets line up out of camp and show why he was drafted with the 2^nd pick.  As a nineteen year old defenseman, there will be a learning curve, but his extreme maturity level leads me to believe that we can expect big things from him sooner rather than later.

Ryan Strome, Center, 20, NYI:  Strome was the 5^th overall pick in the 2011 NHL entry draft.  Since then he has played with his junior team, the Niagra Ice Dogs.  In his last three years in the OHL, Strome has been lighting it up offensively.  He has averaged over 1.6 points per game while also improving on the defensive end.  He played 10 games in the AHL at the end of the season and is in a very good position to make the Islanders line up out of camp.  If so, he can make immediate contributions.

Honorable Mentions: Sean Couturier, Karl Alzner, Elias Lindholm.

These players are each going to be asked to take on a large role this season.  How they respond will make a lot of difference in their teams’ success.  Teams like the Flyers and Blue Jackets will be relying more on their young guns, while teams like the Capitals have more moderately experienced players.  How this division shakes out could be in the hands of some of the relatively unknown names above.