By Mark Janzen /
Since the NHL rid itself of the clutching and grabbing chains of yesteryear, young players around the whole league have come to the forefront and are taking their place atop their respective team’s podiums.
Many of today’s marquee players are young, passionate, and skillful and are shaping both their teams and the league.
In Tampa Bay, Steven Stamkos will team up with Vincent Lecavalier in a quest to make this team an offensive juggernaut for years to come.
Stamkos, who was the consensus first overall pick at this year’s Draft, is exactly the antidote the Lightning have been seeking. He is an offensive talent who knows what to do in his own zone.
Teams like Chicago, where Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane are leading the charge, now have the luxury of playing chance-for-chance hockey with the big boys.
“We weren’t expecting [Toews and Kane] to be impact players [before last year],” said Blackhawks assistant GM Rick Dudley. “[But] they quickly showed they were much more than that and the coaches had to adjust their thinking. We also realized with the new NHL and the rules that are in place right now a young player can have an impact at a much earlier age.”
And the proof is in the standings. For the first time in recent memory, Chicago was a legitimate threat to make the playoffs and, during the regular season, they beat the Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings five times in eight games.
“The coaches have had to adjust their thinking from a few years ago when we were at the very best, an average talent team,” Dudley said. “Right now, I’d say we’re easily in the upper half and could probably even be considered an elite team in terms of talent. In the past when you don’t have the horses, it’s pretty tough to play a run and gun style.”
But Chicago is just one team where young marquee players are shaping the franchise.
In Pittsburgh, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal and Marc-Andre Fleury form a talent nucleus that has revolutionized a poor Penguins team into arguably the most entertaining brand in the league.
With several low finishes and high draft picks piled up over the years, the Pens now have the potential to be great for many years. Pittsburgh surrounded their young stars with a few key pieces and came within two wins of the Stanley Cup.
Similarly, Washington has improved greatly to become a hockey hotbed. With Alex Ovechkin and his lovable charisma engaging the D.C., in only three years he vaulted the Capitals into the playoffs and almost single-handedly created a new local vibe for the franchise.
The Capitals signed Ovechkin to a 13-year contract, essentially saying he’s going to be the cornerstone for years to come and whatever moves are made next will undoubtedly have Ovechkin in mind.
The same can be said for how Dion Phaneuf helped shape the Calgary Flames into the rather rough and tumble bunch they are today.
He came into Cowtown and became the poster-boy for what the Flames are all about.
Just north up Highway 2, the Edmonton Oilers’ youngsters Andrew Cogliano and Sam Gagner exemplify exactly what it takes to be a successful in today’s NHL. Their offensive skill and speed are tough to handle.
Much like Kane’s immediate success, Gagner wasn’t expected to be the Godsend that he was and like Chicago, Edmonton has a core of young players they can build around to be contenders in the near future.
And when talking about burgeoning stars, how can we have a conversation without mentioning Los Angeles. By selecting defenseman Drew Doughty second overall in this year’s draft, the Kings have given themselves an enviable fresh defensive pairing of Doughty and Jack Johnson.
This year’s draft also included rock-solid defenceman Zach Bogosian, Alex Pietrangelo and Luke Schenn going to Atlanta, St. Louis and Toronto respectively.
While Bogosian and Schenn might even step into their team’s lineups this fall, each of these three is a large part of a foundation that will bring these teams back into the playoff hunt.
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