Hockey Trade Rumors

You want to know who the next Jason Spezza or Eric Staal, looking for the new Bryan McCabe or Lubomir Visnovsky, well here are my predictions on the breakout players for this upcoming season.This winter we are in for some treats, and heres my predictions on who is going to step up for each team and play to their full potential.

Anaheim Ducks – Ryan Getzlaf after a decent year is really going to show what hes made of and look for him trying to earn a spot on that top line.

Atlanta Thrashers – Steve McCarthy is looking promising after a slow start in Vancouver and a move to the Atlanta organization he managed to pull off 7-3-10 in 16 games played, look for him to step up to anchor this powerplay along side Kovalchuk.

Boston Bruins – OK this one is obvious for anyone who watched this kid last year, and you can call it a breakout season if you want, personally I think its gonna be huge, Patrice Bergeron has stepped it up after a slow start and look for him to get a 100+ point season im im predicting 45 goals. Also Brad Boyse is going to improve highly on the 69 points he put up last year.

Buffalo Sabres – This team is a tough one because you never know whos going to come out of there. but after a respectable showing in the playoffs i believe that Jason Pominville is going to rise as one of the best sophmores this year, im predicting 70 points from the 30 point performance last year.

Calgary Flames – Look for Matthew Lombardi to improve big time. The 6’2″ 200 lbs centermen of the flames tallied just 6 goals last year so look for him to get about 25 and im thinking 60 points total.

Carolina Hurricanes – After a sophmore season like Eric Staal had one could think well theres no topping that… and well im not gonna lie theres not, but theres the next best thing, Andrew Ladd. This 4th pick overall in 2004 is looking to step it up and I see a big year coming from him as well.

Chicago Blackhawks – Mark Bell!… well nope… hes gone, how about Kyle Calder?… no hes gone too? so where do i look now? to the rookie, Dave Bolland is going to be a runner for the Calder this year if he plays with the hawks he will surely build on the 130 points in the OHL last year playing for the London Knights.

Colorado Avalanche – Wojtek Wolski is a gamble coming virtually out of no where with his amazing run with Colorado, but i believe he is not just a one year show and should prove himself to be consistant this year playing on the second line.

Columbus Bluejackets – Gilbert Brule if placed on the right line, will become one of the futures greatest players and is my pick this year for Calder trophy winner.

Dallas Stars – Jussi Jokinen made a name for himself this year with some of the best shootout goals that I have ever seen, but this year he is going to make his mark in other ways including a predicted 80+ sophmore season.

Detroit Red Wings – Niklas Kronwall in the near future is going to take over the reigns when Niklaus Lidstrom retires but for now i think he is going to learn every bit of advice he can from the veteran and build on that to have a great year.

Edmonton Oilers – Raffi Torres has proven the past two years that he is going to improve and continue at an even pace, but i think this year is his breakout year, Im thinking a 35 goal and 70+ point season.

Florida Panthers – Now with talent such as Todd Bertuzzi in Florida i think that Nathan Horton will improve drastically on his already impressive 47 point season and I believe that he will be one of the top break out performers this year with a 90+ season.

L.A Kings – I dont see too much going on in this franchise this year besides the improvement of Alexander Frolov. He should step up as the teams leading scorer this year.

Minnesota Wild – After watching his first NHL game last year i immeadiately noticed his presence out on the ice boith figurativly and literally speaking. The 6’3″ Mikko Koivu, Younger brother of Saku Koivu is ready this year to make each team that looked past him in the 2001 draft regret their decision immeadiately.

Montreal Canadiens – A personal favourite, Christopher Higgins is going to tear it up this upcoming year and will become the first american born superstar for the Montreal Canadiens in the near future. After a slow start to his rookie campaign he closed things off on a very positive note as he became one of the hottest players post olympic break.

Nashville Predators – Shea Weber appeared in 28 games last year and registerred 10 points, now give him a full year and show an improvement both offensively and defensively he could be next years Dion Phaneuf.

New Jersey Devils – Brian Gionta… haha well if it were a year ago then i should be hired as a scout, but since its not im gonna make my prediction, i see Zach Parise playing on a line with someone like Elias or Gionta and they will easily make him a sophmore from hell for other teams.

New York Islanders – Robert Nilsson looks promising this year and I think will take a spot on the top line with an impressive start. With just 20 points last year look for a giagantic improvement coming up.

New York Rangers – I can see Matt Cullen this year paired up on the powerplay with Jagr, Straka, Shanahan that he will be pilling up points like there no tommorow, watch for this speedy forward to get upwards to 100 points.

Ottawa Senators – Patrick Eaves although not the high leading scorer for rookies last year for the sens, showed the most potential post 29 points in just 58 games, look for him to step it up and play a huge role on the second line trying to fill in for the gap left by Martin Havlat.

Philadelphia Flyers – The brightest future right now for any team based on last years performances and its because of four names Richards, Carter, Umberger, Meyer. Thats it… thats all i have to say? what are you waiting for?

Phoenix Coyotes – Keith Ballard by my standards if second to only Shea Weber next year as my breakout defencemen. Wiht an AMAZING first year he will be hungry to improve and any team would be lucky to have him.

Pittsburgh Penguins – Possibly contradicting my remark about the Flyers just by mentioning the penguins, but with crosby unleashed and the invinceable malkin fleeing for the States, its a pretty easy judgement on the rising stars. But for the first time in my article im naming a goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. This guy will make or break the penguins this year and after a great year in the AHL last year he will evolve this year as a top prospect in the league.

San Jose – After picking up Mark Bell, and with Cheechoo and Thorton giving an already amazing 1,2 punch, San jose wil have one top line to reckon with. Mark Bell would have been a good player this year period but now plying a wing on that top line he wont have a problem evolving as an elite forward in this league.

St.Louis Blues -In what was a complete mess for the Blues last year there was one bright spot, Lee Stempniak, in just 57 games he registerred 14-13-27… now that seems average but oin a team that had nothing, it was truly a talent, watch him this year with the blues offseason aquisitions.

Tampa Bay Lightening – Paul Ranger showed in the playoffs, specifically the last game, that he was able to step it up in clutch moments, while still being a good stay at home defensmen, he will be a big player in the future for the franchise.

Toronto Maple Leafs – Aleksander Suglobov was aquired in a trade from new jersey which saw Ken Klee go the other way, personally im not sure if the devils GM has just lost his mind or if he really didnt see the talent that this kid possesses but i do, he will be big let just hope that Toronto can hold onto him.

Vancouver Canucks – when a team goes under the knife and is completely dissected to start over again it is kind of hard to find the right player to step up. I honestly believe that Ryan Kesler will be that man this year as long as they give him more ice time.

Washington Capitals – well… uhhh how do you follow a performance like that… well you dont, my prediction is that Alexander Ovechkin wins the Hart trophy, and the Rocket Richard trophy, i think playing on a line with Zednik will help his scoring touch a little more this year plus he will improve. im going to say 63 goals for Ovechkin this year.

So there you have it my predicitons for the 2006/2007 break through players for each team. One thing is for sure though, the league doesnt look like it is going to slow down any time soon.

-Nicholas Phelan

Let me know if you agree, disagree or have any general comments about the whole article at nicholasphelan@hotmail.com