Top 10 NHL Rookies to Rebound After Their First Year

The New York Islanders John Tavares has completely disappeared over his past 32 games, scoring only 2 goals and 6 assists in that time.

That may be a reflection on just how bad the Islanders are more than anything else. However, Tavares still sits third overall in points on the club with 35, and trails the leader Kyle Okposo by just five.

Yes, it has been an up and down season to say the least for the rookie sensation who broke Wayne Gretzky's record for most goals by a 16-year-old in the OHL with 72.

He has been compared to some of the greats at an early age, and despite his struggles, the 19-year-old Tavares still has the skill and overall hockey smarts that is going to make him a big star in the NHL one day.

It may just take a little longer than expected.

That being said, I thought I would take a look at some NHL rookies that took awhile to develop despite being can't miss prospects.

What's that old saying, "you have to learn to crawl before you can walk," well these guys definitely crawled at first, but ran after that.

10. Mike Green

Before Mike Green was the offensive dynamo from the back end that he is today, he was struggling to find his place in Washington.

The Capitals blueliner played 92 games over two seasons, putting up just three goals and 12 assists in that time.

A far cry from the player he has become today, as he has been amongst the league leaders in points by a defenseman for the past three seasons.

Washington got a beauty when they selected him late in the first round of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.

9. Olli Jokinen

Though Olli Jokinen was a bust in Calgary, he was even a bigger bust in Los Angeles after the Kings selected him 3rd overall in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, and not just because he was overweight.

In his rookie year, Jokinen put up just nine goals over 66 games for the Kings, he followed that up with 11 in 82 games for the Islanders, six in 78 games and nine in 80 games for the Panthers before he finally hit his stride.

Since then, Jokinen has been a consistent 30-goal man up until this season, and had put up 36, 38 and 39 goal years while playing in Florida.

If he gets comfortable in New York, he may be able to return to that same form that has seen him rack up 216 goals over the past nine years.

8. Shane Doan

Before Shane Doan learned how to be a clutch 20 to 30 goal man for the desert dogs in Arizona, he spent four seasons trying to find his game with the Winnipeg Jets and Phoenix Coyotes.

In his rookie season he scored seven times in 74 games with Winnipeg, then followed that up by putting up just four goals in 63 games with Phoenix. One year later he only played 33 games and tallied five goals, and the next season after that he had six in 79.

It is a wonder the organization held onto their 7th overall selection in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft, though it paid off for them, as Doan hasn't scored less than twenty goals in the past nine seasons.

And he is headed for another one this year as he is leading the Coyotes to a playoff birth.

7. Chris Pronger

Chris Pronger didn't make a believer out of anybody in the Harftford Whaler organization after Brian Burke selected the towering defenceman 2nd overall in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft.

In fact, the Whalers traded Pronger after his second season with the club to St. Louis after Burke departed to Vancouver.

It may have sealed the fate of hockey in Hartford despite the fact they received Brendan Shanahan in return.

Today Pronger has become a force in the NHL, using his reach and size to control games. He has come a long way from being an awkward looking gangly 18-year-old that couldn't cut it in Harftford.

6. Vincent Lecavalier

He was pumped up to Tampa Bay fans as being the Michael Jordan of hockey, and the next Mario Lemiuex, so anything short of brilliant was going to be disappointing.

Sure enough, the no. 1 overall pick in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft did not live up to the hype and put up just 13 goals in 82 games, looking out of place against men most nights.

It didn't take long before Lecavalier became a star though as he almost tripled his offensive output in his sophmore year scoring 25 goals and 42 assists in 80 games.

It was all capped off with a Stanley Cup win in 2004, and a 52 goal performance in the 2006-07 season.

The history books are still being written on the 29-year-old Lecavalier as there is definitely more to come for number four.

5. Ryan Smyth

Ryan Smyth went from zero to hero in Edmonton, as after scoring just two goals in his rookie season he popped in 39 the following year.

The Oilers selected the hard-nosed winger 6th overall in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft despite being a choppy skater who some believed had more will than skill.

Well, that will allowed him to score 330 goals and 700 points thus far in his career.

With 20 goals and 20 assists in Los Angeles in 48 games this season, the 34-year-old is showing no signs of slowing down either.

4. Markus Naslund

The Pittsburgh Penguins were so convinced that Markus Naslund wasn't going to be good, that they traded him to Vancouver for Alek Stojanov.

The Penguins first round pick in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft was great in training camp and practises, but lacked consistency during games and was tagged "Mr. September" in Steeltown.

In 71 games, the Swedish rookie scored just four goals and seven assists. If Penguins management could have only foreseen the future, as Naslund became one of the most pure goal scorers the NHL had ever seen over the course of his time spent in Vancouver, and finished his career with 395 goals and 474 assists in 1,117 games.

3. Owen Nolan

After being selected 1st overall in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft by the Quebec Nordiques, Owen Nolan's rookie campaign showed he definitely had an Irish temper as he racked up 103 penalty minutes in 59 games, but little of anything else as he put up just three goals and 13 points over that same time frame.

420 goals and 881 points later, the 38-year-old is still contributing and put up 25 goals in 59 games last season for the Minnesota Wild.

So much for being just another kid with an attitude problem.

2. Brendan Shanahan

The New Jersey devils knew that Brendan Shanahan had the makings of a good NHL player, so much so that they chose him 2nd overall in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft.

In his rookie season, Shanny put up just seven goals in 65 games, and followed that up with 22 goals in 68 games his sophomore year.

He didn't really hit his stride until his third year when he scored 30 goals and amassed 72 points in 73 games for the Devils.

Fast forward twenty years later, and Shanahan finished his career with 656 goals, which puts him 11th on the all-time list. Erasing any memory of scoring just seven in his rookie campaign.

1. Joe Thornton

In the 1997-98 season, after being selected No. 1 overall by the Boston Bruins at the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, Joe Thornton made his lackluster rookie debut and scored just three goals in 55 games which left Bruins fans worried about the future.

The only saving grace, was that the team had also selected Sergei Samsonov 8th overall in that same draft, and he put up 22 goals that season.

Fast forward 13 years later, Joe Thornton is consistently among the NHL leaders in points year-after-year and led the league in 2006, while Samsonov hasn't been anywhere near a 50 point campaign since the 2001-02 season.