8 NHL Superstars Ready to Emerge in 2012-13

By (Contributor) on July 14, 2012

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The youth movement in the NHL is always exciting to see. Young players who come in with enormous amounts of talent and potential, ready to make a name for themselves.

Some of the players don't ever live up to their hype, while others step above and beyond what anybody expected of them to become true stars in the NHL.

Here are some of the young players that you can expect to become household NHL names in the upcoming season.

Carl Hagelin

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Hagelin had a strong showing in his first year as a professional. Hagelin scored 14 goals and had 24 assists for 38 points in his first year.

He didn't do too much during the playoffs, collecting only three assists, but Hagelin has shown great promise with his speed and skill.

He should be ready to step into the spotlight. 

Ryan O'Reilly

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Ryan O'Reilly had a career year for the Colorado Avalanche last season, leading the team in scoring with 55 points.

In his previous two seasons with the team, O'Reilly was primarily a defensive forward that didn't worry too much about scoring.

After two seasons of only 26 points each, O'Reilly exploded for the Avalanche with 55 points this year (18 goals, 37 assists). 

This next season will be the one where O'Reilly shows that he is here to stay as a big-time player in the NHL. 

Adam Henrique

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Harry How/Getty Images

The rookie of the year finalist had an amazing first season for the New Jersey Devils.

Henrique was fourth on the team in scoring with 51 points. This trailed only Ilya Kovalchuk, Zach Parise and Patrik Elias.

Henrique also showed himself to be quite a clutch player, scoring several big goals in New Jersey's run to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Henrique is going to be taking on a larger role with the Devils with the departure of Zach Parise, and he will be a big star in New Jersey.

Jamie Benn

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Jamie Benn has gotten better with his production in every single year that he has played in the NHL.

This past season was Benn's best, as he began to take on a leadership role with the Dallas Stars organization.

Benn became a star this season and will continue to produce this coming season as he becomes a superstar in the NHL.

Tuukka Rask

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Greg Fiume/Getty Images

The Tim Thomas era is over in Boston, and Tuukka Rask will finally become a starting goalie in the NHL.

Long thought as one of the better young goalies that hadn't gotten his shot yet, Rask has all the makings of a great goalie and has a very solid team in front of him.

Rask will be a fantastic goalie for the Bruins for a long time.

Gabriel Landeskog

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Harry How/Getty Images

The Rookie of the Year winner was the only rookie to lead his team in goals scored, and it won't end there for Landeskog.

He's got an amazing work ethic that will help him continue to improve his already impressive abilities, and the completeness of his game will allow him to remain a force for a long time.

Landeskog is poised to have a big year for the Avalanche.

Dwight King

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Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

Dwight King was one of the reasons that the Los Angeles Kings were able to find a big enough spark to even get into the playoffs and was a huge part of their run to the Cup.

King made his presence felt in a lot of different ways and scored several big goals for his team.

It will be hard to top the result of his first season in the NHL, but he will continue to make a big impact for his team in coming days.

Kevin Shattenkirk

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Christian Petersen/Getty Images

In addition to having impeccable taste in pants, Kevin Shattenkirk is a young, up-and-coming defenseman that has strong offensive capabilities.

When he and Chris Stewart were traded to St. Louis from Colorado, few people expected that he would be the one that made a larger impact on the team.

Shattenkirk flies under the radar, as far as his notoriety, but posting two seasons of 43 points back-to-back is hard to do in the NHL. It's even harder to do it in your first two seasons, as Shattenkirk has.

Shattenkirk has a very bright future ahead of him.

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