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While I continue to work on some other articles which should be up in the next few days, here is the next edition of Breakout Performance. I present to you, the Northeast division!

Andrej Sekera

Arguably the best puck mover on the Sabres roster, Sekera has all the tools to lead Buffalo back into the playoffs.

A smooth skater, Sekera has good speed and puck handling skills. His crisp passes are his best attribute. In 69 games in 08-09, Sekera finished with three goals and 19 points.

By no means are those heart-stopping numbers, but with some minor injuries healed, Sekera will return in '09-'10 with much more responsibility. His ice time should increase with the loss of Jaroslav Spacek to free agency, who handled most of the offensive duties from the blue line last season.

Sekera's unattractive minus-11 suggests that he could still use work in his own end, but Sekera has also shown promise defensivley. Because the puck moving and scoring talent on the Sabres' blue line is limited, Sekera will likely be paired with Craig Rivet to help ease some of the defensive responsibility off the young Slovak.

Sekera will likely run the first powerplay unit, skating nightly on the man advantage with the likes of Thomas Vanek and Derek Roy. Sekera's ceiling at present is unknown, but Sabres management hope he can, at the very least, turn into a solid 40 point defensemen.

For a breakout performance, I'll say 11 goals and 42 points.

Milan Lucic

The powerhouse British Columbia native posted career highs in all areas in his sophomore campaign: finishing with 17 goals, 42 points, and a plus-17 rating.

Lucic is an enigma. At first glance, one would notice only his devastating checks and toughness. But given a second look, Lucic has good mobility, soft hands, and a natural ability to bury goals.

Lucic is the perfect power forward. He uses his size to his advantage very well and is one of the most feared players in the NHL.

Bruins management are aware that part of this guy's game is being very nasty and physical, but they also know his offensive contributions don't end at 42 points. Lucic is easily capable of 30 goals or more, and dare I say 80-plus points?

Armed with a hard shot and dangerous hands (and by that I mean stick handling), Lucic is actually a very gifted passer and has the on-ice vision to set up his teammates consistently with ease.

With two seasons now under his belt, Lucic has gained lots of experience that should translate into an increase in offensive production. Armed to the teeth with top six forwards, the Bruins hope next season Lucic takes that next step towards being a real offensive weapon.

Managment by no means expect this to be Milan's offensive ceiling, but 25 goals and 62 points would be an accurate prediction of a breakout campaign for the former 50th overall pick.

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