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Devon Levi has had a fantastic start to his first season as a Sabre and as an NHL player. Levi was drafted 212th overall in the 2020 draft. Prior to signing his entry-level contract, Devon Levi played for Northeastern University where he played 32 games and held a 1.54 GAA and a 0.952 SV%. As a 21 year old, Levi signed his Entry-Level contract on March 17th, 2023 and since he made his NHL debut on March 31st, he has been unbelievable. Levi described it as "a dream come true" when interviewed prior to his first career NHL game. Currently, he holds a 4-2-0 record with a .901 SV%. It is worth noting that a few nights ago, Levi had an incredible game against the Rangers and won against them in a shootout. He was able to successfully stop Patrick Kane, Mika Zibanejad, Artemi Panarin, and Kappo Kakko. Devon Levi already looks like a promising goaltender for the Buffalo Sabres and it will be exciting to see how he develops in the coming years. Do you think Levi could be a possible Calder Trophy winner for the 2023-24 season?
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Erik Karlsson has been having a heck of a season for the San Jose Sharks. The 6 foot defenseman was drafted 15th in the 2015 draft by the Ottawa Senators. During his career with Ottawa, Karlsson has won two Vezina trophies, one in the 2012-13 where he averaged almost a point per game. In 2018, Karlsson was traded to the San Jose Sharks and has been absolutely amazing for the team since. This season, Karlsson is averaging well over a point per game which is the first time he has done it in his entire career! He has scored 18 goals, has 58 assists, for 76 points in 58 games and he is currently in 7th place for most NHL points this season so far. These numbers are so impressive especially because of the fact that he is a defenseman. The blue liner is definitely a top candidate for the Vezina trophy this year with career high numbers. Currently, Erik Karlsson is in his 4th year of his $92,000,000 contract with a No Move Clause. Do you think Erik Karlsson will win the Vezina trophy for this season for the third time in his career?
Vitek Vanecek is one of the most underrated goalies in the NHL this year for the New Jersey Devils. The Devils really needed a reliable goaltender coming into the 2022-23 season as it was their major issue holding them bad in previous seasons and there was no one who could have fit better than Vitek Vanecek. The 6’2” Czech goaltender was drafted 39th overall in the 2014 draft by the Washington Capitals. So far this season, Vitek is 22-5-2 with a 2.34 GAA, .916 save percentage, and 2 shutouts. Not only are these stats absolutely remarkable, Vitek has yet to have lost a game in 2023 as he is currently riding on a 10 game winning streak. This year has been his best performance so far in his career and it’s only getting better. He is a lot of the reason the Devils are in the push to clinch a playoff spot this year. In response to his amazing performance, Vitek spoke to the media and said, “I’m really proud of the Vitek”. Vitek is currently at the start of his 3 year, $10.2 million contract. Do you think Vitek Vanecek will continue this amazing performance throughout the remainder of the season with the Devils?
Vince Dunn is having arguably one of the most underrated performances the month of January for the Seattle Kraken. The 26 year old forward was drafted 56th overall in the 2015 draft. It took some time for Dunn to get going this season but he has really taken the next step in January. So far this season, Dunn has 9 goals and 27 assists for 36 points in 49 games. In the month of January alone, Dunn has 5 goals and 12 assists for 17 points in 15 games. Vince Dunn has already beat his career high in points and could likely double it this season. In addition, Dunn was named NHL’s Third Star of the Month for the month of January which is a huge achievement. This will likely give him a major confidence boost as he is on fire right now. As the Seattle Kraken are in the race to clinch a playoff spot, it is important that Dunn continues this amazing performance. Do you think Vince Dunn will continue this effort throughout the remainder of the season?
Jack Hughes is having an incredible season with the New Jersey Devils so far. The 21 year old center was chosen 1st overall in the 2019 draft and ever since his rookie season, people knew he was going to be a super star. In Jack’s 4th year in the NHL, Jack has recorded 26 goals and 23 assists for 49 points in 41 games. He has been averaging over a point per game in the past two seasons which is remarkable, especially for his age.
Prior to last night’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes, Hughes was on a 6 game goal streak. In addition, Hughes has 19 goals in his past 21 games and 8 goals and 10 points in his last 6 games. As for NHL goal leaders since Thanksgiving, Jack Hughes is tied with David Pastrnak and Alexander Ovechkin. Lastly, Jack Hughes has the most 5 on 5 goals in the NHL this season. Hughes is currently on pace for 98 points this season and should he continue this pace, he will break the New Jersey Devils’ franchise record for most points in a season passing Patrik Elias in the 2000-01 season at the age of only 21 years old. Due to all these recent amazing achievements, Jack Hughes is NHL All-Star for the second consecutive year and he was named NHL’s Second Star of the Week for the week of 1/2/23-1/8/23. Hughes also has a strong possibility of winning various awards such as the Hart Trophy this year as well. Do you think Jack Hughes will be a Hart Trophy finalist for the 2022-23 season? Tage Thompson has had nothing but a fantastic season so far with the Buffalo Sabres. The 25 year old center was chosen 26th overall in the 2016 draft by St Louis. He was traded to the Sabres in 2018 during the offseason. This season Tage has shown the most amount of growth compared to his previous seasons averaging 1.56 points per game. In his past seasons, Tage has been averaging under a point per game. The Buffalo Sabres signed him to a 7 year deal worth $50,000,000 starting in the 2023-24 season. In addition, Tage Thompson has had very impressive accomplishments so far. On 12/7/22, the Sabres won against the Columbus Blue Jackets 9-4. Within the first period alone, Tage Thompson scored 4 goals and had an assist. Later on in the second period, Thompson scored his 5th goal of the game. This is absolutely remarkable considering he is only the second player to score 5 goals in a game Buffalo Sabres’ history. After this game, Tage spoke to the media and said, “You've spent a lot of years working to get to this point and to be rewarded for it is a pretty good feeling and it just leaves you hungrier." In addition to this accomplishment, Thompson was named NHL’s Second Star of the Week for the week of 12/12/22. During that week, Tage Thompson recorded 4 goals and 4 assists in 3 games. Do you think Tage Thompson could win the Rocket Richard Trophy at the end of the season?
Jason Robertson is absolutely on fire with the Dallas Stars right now. The 23 year old winger was chosen 39th overall in the 2017 draft which is an absolute steal. Robertson has 23 goals and 20 assists for 43 points in 30 games so far this season. This is such an amazing start considering he also became the first player to score 20 goals this season as a part of his 18-game point streak. He has led the NHL in goals a couple times this season and he is currently almost tied with Connor McDavid. Last season, Robertson was averaging just over a point per game but this season he has really taken his game to the next level. The forward was also named NHL’s First Star of the Month for November. Robertson is currently on pace for 65 goals this season. Do you think Jason Robertson could potentially win the Rocket Richard or Hart Trophy? During this 2022-23 season, not many rookies have been performing very well as some of the previous years. In addition, the performance of Shane Wright has been a little disappointing so far this season. Shane Wright is a 6’1” Canadian center who was drafted 4th overall by the Seattle Kraken in 2022. Many people did in fact expect him to go first overall before the draft happened this summer. So far, Wright has 2 points (1G, 1A) in the last 8 games in the NHL. Despite Seattle Kraken’s head coach Dave Hakstol’s strictness, Wright has been getting very little time on ice (<9 minutes) as well. Rookie’s don’t always have the best performance in their first season but this might be a little concerning considering how much of a star people expected him to be. As a result of this performance, the Seattle Kraken has assigned Wright to the Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL) on a conditional loan but they recalled him back to the Seattle Kraken after 5 games. In his last 5 games played with the Coachella Valley Firebirds, Wright has 4 goals. Shane Wright got his first career NHL goal last night after being called up. Perhaps, Wright can get more experience in the AHL to develop and be more ready for the NHL soon. Do you think Shane Wright will live up to his 4th overall pick expectations in the future?
One extremely underrated player that has been putting up insane numbers this season is Jesper Bratt. Bratt was chosen in the 6th round of the 2016 draft.The winger has put up 4 goals and 12 assists in 10 games. This means he’s put up 1.6 points per game which is unbelievable. In addition, he’s had a point every single game this season (current 10 game point streak as of 11/2/22). His current 10 game point streak is tied with the current (11/2/22) franchise record, Tim Higgins. He could beat the franchise record on 11/3/22 against the Edmonton Oilers. Jesper Bratt was an RFA last offseason and GM Tom Fitzgerald signed him for $5,450,000 for just this 2022-23 season, avoiding arbitration. GM Fitzgerald has also said that he will begin chatting with Jesper Bratt’s agent in January. Last year, Jesper Bratt had a wonderful breakout season scoring 26 goals and 47 assists, for 73 points in 76 games played. That means he averaged nearly a point per game which is very impressive. Without a doubt, Jesper Bratt is a key player for the New Jersey Devils and GM Tom Fitzgerald should look into extending his contract as soon as possible. If Fitzgerald is unable to sign him this season, Bratt will become an RFA this offseason and could potentially go to arbitration. Do you think Jesper Bratt could put up 100+ points this season?
As the 2022-23 NHL season recently commenced, there have been various players who’ve had a strong start. One player who has had an extraordinary and brilliant start is without a doubt, Connor McDavid. We’ve definitely heard his name before and are absolutely not surprised that he’s putting up insane numbers but why not recap his start? To give some background, the 6’1” 195lb center was drafted first overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. In his entire career, McDavid has 702 points in 489 games played (averaging 1.43 points per game) in his entire career. McDavid is one of the fastest people to reach 702 points in NHL history. The past 7 NHL seasons that Connor McDavid has played in has never failed to impress people. He has won four Art Ross awards, three Ted Lindsay awards, and two Hart Memorial awards. In McDavid’s first game against the Vancouver Canucks, he scored 3 goals and 1 assist. Yes, you read that right; on opening night Connor McDavid scores a hat-trick. Despite the 3-4 loss against the Calgary Flames, McDavid scored his 4th goal of the season. In addition, in the 2-4 loss against the Buffalo Sabres, McDavid had another assist. Although this is not necessarily a “shocker” for Connor McDavid, it sure is impressive. He has had at least a point in every game and an average of 1.6 points per game to start the season, which is for sure an excellent start. It’s definitely safe to say that he is starting off the season by showing that he can be a potential Hart Memorial trophy finalist, Rocket Richard trophy finalist and so much more. Are you excited to see what Connor McDavid has in store for the 2022-23 season?
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