8 NHL Players Who Will Deliver in 2011-12

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Goals, assists and hits are all part of being a NHL player.  The following eight players excel in at least one of those categories and are on their way to becoming stars (or are already stars) in the world’s best hockey league. 

They are sure to have an outstanding 2011-2012 season.

NHL fans around the globe are counting down the days until Oct. 6 when the defending Stanley Cup champions Boston Bruins take on the Philadelphia Flyers in the NHL’s season opener.

The world’s best hockey players will face off the league's 95th season with the intention to have their names engraved on Lord Stanley’s cup at the end of the season.

Henrik Zetterberg

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Detroit Red Wings forward Henrik Zetterberg will reach the 100-point mark for the first time in his career this upcoming NHL season.

The Conn Smythe Trophy winner from 2007-2008 rebounded last season scoring 80 points, 24 goals and 56 assists after—for his standards—two average seasons. 

He also has more responsibility after the departures of Red Wings veterans Kris Draper and Chris Osgood. His mission is clear: bring the cup back to "Hockeytown."

Anze Kopitar

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Los Angeles has another star on the rise, and it’s not a movie star. 24-year-old Anze Kopitar has established himself as one of the elite centers in the NHL.

Last season Kopitar scored 73 points in 75 games with the L.A. Kings. He led the team with 48 assists and scored the second most goals with 25.

The Kings finished fourth in the Pacific division with 46-30-6 record and advanced to the playoffs, where they lost their first-round series against the San Jose Sharks 4-2.

The L.A. Kings seem destined for a deep playoff run, and Kopitar will be the reason for it.

Logan Couture

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The 2010-2011 season transformed Logan Couture from zero to hero. The San Jose Sharks' 22-year-old center player evolved in his second NHL season into a goal scoring threat.

He scored the second most goals on the team with 32 and he was also a top-10 contributor in the assists category.

After back-to-back losses in the Western Conference finals, the Sharks' mission is clear and simple: Stanley Cup finals.

An improved Logan Couture could be the missing piece that gets the Sharks over the hump and into the finals.

Patrick Kane

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The No. 1 overall draft choice of the 2007 NHL entry draft, Patrick Kane has fallen behind two other standout players on his own team.

Kane, who won the Calder Memorial Trophy for being the NHL’s rookie of the year in 2008, was overshadowed by his own teammates Jonathan Toews and Patrick Sharp.

I am not talking numbers here; Kane is right up there with Toews and Sharp when it comes to numbers. I am talking about perception.

Since his series-clinching overtime goal in Game Six of the 2010 Stanley Cup finals against the Philadelphia Flyers—which ended the Chicago Blackhawks' 49-year long Stanley Cup drought—Kane seems to have found himself in a supporting role instead of being the leading actor on the ice.

An unprecedented performance in the upcoming season could help win back the fans, and put him back in the drivers seat to steer Chicago back to another Stanley Cup victory.

Claude Giroux

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With right-wing Claude Giroux, the Philadelphia Flyers have potentially the most improved player of last season.  

The 23-year-old Canadian accumulated 76 points during the course of the 2010-11 NHL season—29 more than the year before.

The Flyers, who finished last season with 106 points, lost their Eastern Conference semifinals series 3-4 to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins.

Giroux has become the Flyers top scorer after only four NHL seasons, and he will try to continue this tremendous progress.

Keith Yandle

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A young coyote is howling in the desert.  His name is Keith Yandle, and he was the Phoenix Coyotes' fourth-round pick of the 2005 NHL entry draft.

Yandle has become the Coyotes' premiere defenseman in his five years with the club.

The 25-year-old Boston native has an eye for open teammates and was able to collect a team high 48 assists over the course of last season.

After back-to-back early playoff exits against the Detroit Red Wings, the goal for this season is simple: beat Detroit.

With a one-two punch that consists of Yandle and Shane Doan, the chances are not that bad.

Phil Kessel

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There is not much going for the Toronto Maple Leafs these days, with the exception of right-winger Phil Kessel.

The 23-year-old former Boston Bruins player has continued where he left off two years ago in Boston.

Kessel scored 32 goals and 32 assists for a career best 64 points last season. He also was selected to participate in his first NHL All-Star game.

The Maple Leafs will not be a factor in the near future when it comes to playoff or even championship aspirations, but Kessel will increase his value by putting up bigger numbers every year.

Pavel Datsyuk

Pavel Datsyuk played only 56 games last season due to a fractured right hand but was still able to score 59 points.

There should be no doubt that Datsyuk, if 100 percent healthy, is the most gifted hockey player in the NHL.

The 33-year-old center is a hockey magician. The things he does on the ice with the puck and his stick are simply unbelievable.

Nobody in this league—not even Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin—has the ability to do the dekes and tricks with the puck that Pavel Datsyuk make look so easy.

He, like Red Wings teammate Henrik Zetterberg, will break the 100-point barrier. 

The only thing left to do is lean back, and watch Datsyuk working his magic.