First-year players getting a shot to impress in the NHL has become an annual breath of fresh air, provided in part this season by the burst of wind trailing New York Islanders rookie Mathew Barzal as he blazed past another defenseman.
The 2017-18 rookie class was once again deep and talented, bringing optimism for ailing fan bases, filling holes on playoff-bound teams and taking on leading roles far earlier than should have been expected.
No one did that more emphatically than Barzal, who was a ray of light in an otherwise disappointing Islanders season. He will easily win the Calder Trophy after leading all rookies with 85 points as a possession-driving center who is just 20 years old.
He is also one of only five rookies since 2005-06, the year Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby came into the league, to finish the season averaging more than a point per game while appearing in at least half of his team's games. Of those five, Barzal is the only one to appear in all 82 games of his rookie campaign. The company Barzal keeps in that group shows how special his accomplishment this season is. The center averaged 1.04 points per game, which puts him behind only Ovechkin (1.31), Crosby (1.26), Evgeni Malkin (1.09) and Connor McDavid (1.07), who appeared in 45 games in his injury-shortened rookie campaign.
While Barzal is in a class all his own this season, he was far from alone as an impact player in Year 1. The many immediate contributions are great signs for the teams that are drafting and signing these guys, and it's great for the league that the players coming into the NHL seem to keep getting better.
Here's a look at my top 10 rookies for the 2017-18 season.
1. Mathew Barzal, C, New York Islanders
Averaging more than a point per game in a rookie season has been next to impossible over the past decade. It takes a special player to do it. By all measures, Barzal is a special player. The transition from junior hockey to being a top-six NHL center is a difficult one, but Barzal aced the test after nearly making the Islanders last season. That extra year of seasoning undoubtedly paid off.
According to Hockey Reference, only 20 first-year players in NHL history have averaged a point per game at age 20 or younger. Barzal is tied with Brian Leetch for 16th on that list, which features 10 current members of the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Barzal finished one point ahead of John Tavares to lead the Islanders in scoring in his first full season. While Tavares still commanded the toughest matchups, Barzal gave the Islanders a pick-your-poison situation with their No. 2 center. He spent pretty much the entire season with Jordan Eberle, helping the former Edmonton Oilers winger re-establish himself as a higher-end scoring threat. Andrew Ladd and Anthony Beauvillier also spent time on Barzal's wing. Unsurprisingly, those were the Isles' top five forwards in terms of possession, with Eberle and Barzal topping the list.
No matter how you break it down, Barzal's rookie season was an exceptional one among his peers both current and historic.
2. Brock Boeser, RW, Vancouver Canucks
Injury cut short an otherwise sparkling rookie season for Boeser. He still finished tied with Daniel Sedin for the Canucks' scoring lead, with 55 points, and ended up second among all rookies with 29 goals while playing in 14 fewer games than leader Kyle Connor. Boeser's 0.89 points per game also ranked second among all rookies.
That performance brought some much-needed optimism for a Vancouver Canucks franchise that is about to transition away from its long-standing stars, Daniel and Henrik Sedin. Boeser showed that he's ready to take on the responsibility, and he will be leaned on heavily next season, assuming a full recovery from back and wrist injuries. Having already averaged 17:29 per game as a rookie, Boeser should expect an uptick in ice time next season.
The 20-year-old Minnesotan also established himself as a power-play threat, with a third of his goals coming on the advantage. However, the Canucks were simply more dangerous when Boeser was on the ice at any strength. That is a trend that will have to continue if the Canucks are to get out of this hole they're presently in. Boeser won't be sneaking up on anyone next season, and teams won't have the Sedins to consider when thinking about matchups. It should be an interesting sophomore campaign coming off the injury and being the go-to scorer at just 21.
3. Clayton Keller, RW, Arizona Coyotes
Things start to get tricky here, and I kept going back and forth on each of the next three players. Ultimately, I went with Keller due to how much he meant to his team this season.
The second leading scorer among rookies was the top scorer for the Coyotes by nine points. He was the second-most utilized forward on the team based on average ice time, at 18:05, which topped all rookie forwards this season. Arizona even inspired some confidence in the future with its second half, playing at a 94-point pace over the final 41 games, and Keller played the leading offensive role in that resurgence. He was named the Coyotes' team MVP at the end of the season.
Keller established himself as the team's new centerpiece, leapfrogging Dylan Strome and Max Domi. In his past 32 games, Keller had 29 points, overcoming a midseason lull and reminding everyone of his full capabilities. This was supposed to be a much better season in the desert than it was, but Keller is offering a more solid foundation for the Coyotes to continue building on.
4. Charlie McAvoy, D, Boston Bruins
McAvoy appears to be a freak of nature. His seamless transition to the NHL with so few growing pains was aided by his spending a lot of time on the top pair with Zdeno Chara at even strength. Even so, McAvoy's ability to balance some honest physicality and aggression with poise and maturity was incredibly impressive. He ended up losing a total of 19 games while fixing a pre-existing heart condition and rehabbing a knee injury. Despite that, he has already established himself as a fan favorite and Chara's heir apparent as Boston's future blue-line leader.
McAvoy recorded 32 points in 63 games, giving him a 0.51 points-per-game average in the top 15 among rookie defensemen 20 or younger over the past 30 years. The production is the added bonus, as McAvoy and Chara are possession monsters together. Plus, McAvoy's numbers away from Chara don't drop off at all.
No rookie has seen more ice time at even strength this season, and McAvoy is among the top 25 defensemen in the NHL in that category, with an average of 19:22 per game. It is really rare for rookie defensemen to impact their teams the way McAvoy has this season.
5. Kyle Connor, LW, Winnipeg Jets
Connor might be one of the league's best kept secrets. He led all rookies with 31 goals, making him the only such player to pass the 30-goal plateau this season. In fact, only three American rookies have topped the 30-goal mark in the past 26 years: Auston Matthews (40), Bobby Ryan (31) and Connor, but there wasn't much fanfare this time around. Part of that was the former No. 17 overall pick appearing in 20 games last season, just six shy of losing Calder eligibility for this campaign, but Connor really broke out this year.
Despite starting the season in the AHL, Connor finished fifth on the Jets with 57 points and second in goals. It certainly doesn't hurt that he plays primarily with Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele, but he established himself as a key piece to a team among the Stanley Cup contenders this season, thanks to one of the deeper and more dynamic forward groups in the NHL.
6. Nico Hischier, C, New Jersey Devils
Established as a No. 1 center in the NHL before he turned 19 back in January, Hischier was a key piece in the Devils' resurgent season that landed them in the playoffs. He finished second on the team with 52 points, including 20 goals. The rookie spent the bulk of his season centering Hart Trophy candidate Taylor Hall, which was a massive assignment that he passed with flying colors. The 2017 No. 1 pick also finished tied for third among rookies with 46 points at even strength.
Hischier even showed some two-way upside that will only improve his value as he continues to develop at the NHL level. I expected Hischier to have a strong season but did not anticipate his ability to make this significant of an impact so soon.
7. Pierre-Luc Dubois, C, Columbus Blue Jackets
Dubois might not have the gaudy numbers, but the way he grew into his role over the course of the season was particularly intriguing. He's essentially the No. 1 center for the Blue Jackets and saw his ice time grow as the season wore on. Over his last 32 games, Dubois had 26 points to finish the season stronger than he started it, rewarding John Tortorella for the faith he put in his 19-year-old forward. Dubois was third on the team with 48 points and reached the 20-goal plateau. He also boasted the best possession numbers of any center on the Jackets.
Dubois definitely benefited from playing a lot with high-scoring Artemi Panarin, but like Hischier, it says a lot about his game that he was able to play with a top winger and contribute the way he did. If Columbus is to continue this playoff success, Dubois needs to be sharp down the middle.
8. Yanni Gourde, C/W, Tampa Bay Lightning
Although he's now 26, Gourde is still Calder-eligible, as he was 25 when the season started. Despite Tampa Bay's depth, he made a serious impact on one of the league's best teams. Gourde broke the Lightning's rookie-season scoring record with 64 points, besting Brad Richards' total of 62 set in 2000-01.
He had the versatility to play basically wherever the Lightning needed him, ending up primarily as a winger despite his natural position being center, and he contributed on the power play. The only reason he isn't higher on this list is that his role wasn't quite as prominent as some of the other first-year stars.
9. Alex DeBrincat, RW, Chicago Blackhawks
Questions about his size and skating have dogged DeBrincat at every level, despite his propensity for offense. A three-time 50-goal scorer in the junior ranks should probably get more respect than he actually does, but now he has shown that he can produce in the NHL, too.
DeBrincat finished second among all rookies with 28 goals, which led the disappointing Blackhawks this season. He also finished second on the team with 52 points, despite seeing significantly less ice time than those around him. The 5-foot-7, 165-pound winger also managed to play all 82 games, showing that the rough-and-tumble NHL shouldn't be an issue for a player who knows his way around the ice and has the shiftiness to avoid big hits. DeBrincat was a bright spot in an otherwise troubling season for Chicago.
10. Will Butcher, D, New Jersey Devils
The debate between Butcher and Mikhail Sergachev for this last spot remains ongoing. It's really tight, but we have to cut the list somewhere, and I ultimately decided to give Butcher the edge due to usage. He finished second among rookie defensemen in total time on ice, averaging just over 16 minutes per game.
Butcher also finished with 44 points, leading all rookie defensemen in production. He averaged 0.54 points per game, which ranks 25th among rookie defensemen the past 30 years. More than half of his 44 points came on the power play, but I was rather impressed with Butcher's ability to control play on the advantage. He has mastered that aspect of the game and helped the Devils become a top-10 power-play team.
Honorable mention:
Mikhail Sergachev, D, Tampa Bay Lightning
Danton Heinen, C/W, Boston Bruins
Jake DeBrusk, LW, Boston Bruins