Welcome to Thursday ramblings again, these will have to be short and sweet, floating like a butterfly and stinging like a bee, as time has been limited for me with playoffs pool and other life things.
I am going to go over rookies on NHL teams in the playoffs and if I think those players will break out next season due to their role
I brought you music for this time though! A good ol’ Canadian band that I feel never gets enough credit, and the bass line on this song is one of my favorites all time
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ANA:
Troy Terry – I do not expect Terry to get much ice time this playoff and going forward he will likely needs a year in the AHL, but if he catches fire early and scores we all know Carlyle will put him out there to score. Next season is likely either no NHL points (AHL time), or minimal points due to being in the bottom half of the roster.
Marcus Pettersson – Pettersson has kind of come out of nowhere for me but looks like a solid defenseman for the Ducks once Bieksa and Beauchimen are gone. Jacob Larsson is lurking as well but NHL playoff experience will keep him ahead in the short term.
Ondrej Kase – Definitely not a prospect but if the Ducks give him ice time he will break out
Bos:
Can I just write “all of them” here?
Ryan Donato – Has likely already solidified a top nine to top six sport next season, depending on Rick Nash, and a big playoff performance from Donato could make it easier for the Bruins to let Nash walk.
Heinen and DeBrusk have solidified themselves next season, and a dark-horse rebound candidate should be Anders Bjork.
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COL:
Tyson Jost – His minutes have increased as the season progressed and he did look more dangerous out there, due to his draft position he does not need a big playoff to be in a scoring role next season
Alexander Kerfoot is a player in a similar position
Samuel Girard could explode on the score sheet next season if Barrie is given less minutes of course, and a big playoffs could help Girard with confidence going into the 2018-2019 season
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CBJ:
No one here really stands out. Pierre-Luc Dubois is the top line centre for Columbus. A big playoffs from Sonny Milano could keep him in the NHL full time and that is what he needs to actually be worthwhile in fantasy instead of frustrating
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LA:
Adrian Kempe and Alex Iafallo are guaranteed scoring spots because the Kings have no depth in the “young, skilled, and speed” area of the NHL. Vilard isn’t ready and any prospects close to NHL ready are nothing special.
Michael Amadio could be given a shot to score in the NHL if he was given adequate ice time but Stevens does not seem to want to promote him past the fourth line. He is a dark horse player for next season, if given a chance to produce.
MIN:
Jordan Greenway was put into the line-up for game one and obviously the Wild are high on him for the future. If he has a good playoff performance he may be placed on a future second line, but it will likely be third line next season with Eriksson Ek and that future pairing could be a sneaky get for 2018-2019
NSH:
Tolvanen will have a top nine spot next season and will produce nice numbers but nothing eye popping
NJ:
Bratt, Hicher, and Butcher are future players for the Devils and there will be no one of surprise breaking out next season for the Devils from the playoffs.
PHI:
Travis Sanhiem – A big playoff series from Sanhiem could force him on to the roster permanently for 2018-2019, but it will of course still be behind Provorov and Ghost
Nolan Patrick and Oskar Lindbolm have been joined at the hip from Hakstol since around March, and you can expect more of the same for 2018-2019 unless they have a disastrous playoff together
PIT:
Zach Aston-Reese and Daniel Sprong are likely locks on 2018-2019 Penguins roster, but if either of these two have a productive playoffs a larger contract could be shipped out to make room for one of the two players
SJ:
No one really stands out on this team prospect-wise tell you the truth. If Tim Heed can get on to the Sharks roster and produce it could vault him on the 2018-2019 roster
TB:
If Anthony Cirelli can produce in the playoffs and somehow get out from under the seven players ahead of him who are counted on to score for Tampa, then he will be given a larger role to produce in 2018-2019. He is a sleeper candidate to keep an eye on for next season though, no matter what happens in the playoffs due to Tampa just grabbing great players routinely in the draft
TOR:
A big playoffs can finally guarantee Kasperi Kapanen a lock for the NHL, but as of now he likely has a spot locked up for next season anyway.
Andreas Johnsson is a player that could force his way onto the Leafs line up for 2018-2019 if he produces well in the playoffs, and the Leafs move some players to open up some room. The problem with the Leafs for future fantasy purposes will be that they are so deep on the wing a vast amount of players likely will not get the playing time to produce
VGK:
Alex Tuch will be a top nine spot no matter what for Vegas next season
WSH:
This is a tough team to project for the playoffs as Trotz loves playing old grinders who can’t score but are good defensively over young skilled forwards. Jakub Vrana will be on the roster next season no matter what his playoffs look like.
Christian Djoos and Madison Bowey could have had a playoff break out, but then the Capitals went out and grabbed some depth defensemen and Trotz keeps playing Brooks Orpik. Do not expect either of them to do much in the playoff, but of the two Djoos is the much better prospect.
Shane Gersich could be a dark horse scorer in the playoffs, if given a chance to play, and if he scores he could earn himself a roster spot for 2018-2019, but with likely limited ice time AHL time is likely in Gersich’s foreseeable future
WPG:
Connor scored 31 goals this season so obviously he will be in the AHL next year. I joke of course.
Sami Niku could break out in the playoffs guaranteeing himself a spot in 2018-2019, and after his strong AHL performance he is likely in the roster next year anyway.
Jack Roslovic will also be in the NHL next season producing, but may see limited playoff time.
Alright that is all. Follow my twitter here @FHPQuinn