Every NHL Team's Most Surprising Player Thus Far

With the All-Star break about to be upon us, I figured it would be worth taking the time to go through and mention who has surprisingly brought some light on their perspective franchises.

There are so many young stars that are having break out seasons, and so many others that have been disappointments.

Don't expect to see Jeff Carter or Alex Ovechkin on this list.

Anaheim Ducks: Saku Koivu

Although the Ducks have already seen a coaching change this year, and are 15 points out of fourth place in just their division, Saku Koivu has been a bright light for this team.

The 37-year-old second line center has 21 points in 35 games and leads the team with a plus-eight rating.

Poor goaltending has killed the Ducks this year, and if they want any shot at being relevant come playoff time, Koivu will need continue his ways.

Still unbelievable to me that he had cancer at one point in his career...

Boston Bruins: Brad Marchand

I know, I know, he just received a five-game suspension; however, he is still the teams third leading scorer and has fueled a comeback after an atrocious start for last year's Stanley Cup Champions.

Assuming Marchand plays in the same amount of games as he did last season (77), he is on pace to finish with 26 more points than he had a season ago.

Oh, and he's a plus-27, which ties him for second best in the NHL. The crazy part? The top four league leaders in +/- all play for Boston.

I've posted the video of the hit on Sami Salo that will cost him five games...do you think it should have amounted in that harsh of a ruling?

Buffalo Sabres: Jason Pominville

It's easy to just take the guy who is leading the team in points, but Pominville is back to the form, where he scored 80 points back in 2008.

Since then, he's averaged 60 points a year—and is currently on pace for 86.

One more thing, he only has eight penalty minutes this year in 41 games, which is absurdly low.

The Sabres are currently 10th in the East, and in order to crack the top eight, they'll need Pominville to continue to produce.

Calgary Flames: Derek Smith?

I almost just went with nobody. The Flames have a minus-21 goal differential this season yet are still .500.

Kiprusoff has played well, but with guys like Iginla and Bouwmeester all having down years, it's hard to choose someone that has been a surprise this year.

The 27-year-old Smith is enjoying his first full NHL season, and is second on the team in scoring for a defenseman. He also is second on the team in +/- with a plus-two rating.

Carolina Hurricanes: Jamie McBain

Another tough team to find some light, but the 23-year-old American has followed up his 30-point sophomore campaign from a year ago quite nicely with the Canes.

His biggest improvement has been that he has only taken one minor penalty all season long, whereas he spent 37 minutes in the sin bin last season.

The Canes, however, are a mere point in front of the Oilers for dead last in the East...

Remember when these guys won the cup?

Chicago Blackhawks: Viktor Stalberg

Stalberg's increased offensive numbers have been crucial to the Blackhawks three-way tie for second place in the West.

Last year he managed only 24 points all season—he is currently on pace for 46.

Colorado Avalanche: Gabriel Landeskog

No one was quite sure how the second overall pick in the 2011 Entry Draft would suffice out west in Denver, but he has been an offensive spark plug for an Avalanche team that will be pushing toward the playoffs.

The 19-year-old hasn't missed a game, is fifth on the team with 21 points, and leads the team with a plus-10 rating.

Columbus Blue Jackets: Vinny Prospal

The Blue Jackets are just an absolute train wreck that need help in every aspect of the game.

But I don't think many people thought Prospal would have more points than Rick Nash come the All-Star break.

Dallas Stars: Kari Lehtonen

With honorable mentions to Jamie Benn and Loui Eriksson, who have both been stellar so far this year.

Had Lehtonen been the guy all year, the Stars might be a top-five team in the West right now.

He's 15-6 with a 2.42 goals against average and a .921 save percentage. He's also the only goalie on the Stars roster not to be pulled at some point this season.

Detroit Red Wings: Valtteri Filppula

The 27-year-old Finland native has been stellar this year, with 35 points in 40 games. His career high for points in a season is 40, which he will easily break in the second half of the season. 

He's stayed out of the box and has been a great contributor to their power play.

Questionable hair, though.

Edmonton Oilers: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

I don't know if this is really a surprise considering he was supposed to be this good, but at least he wasn't a bust with the first overall pick.

Edmonton fans, I promise you, look what happened in Pittsburgh, you will be good soon.

Just not this year.

Florida Panthers: Jason Garrison

Still can't figure out how they have 50 points this season, but I do know that Jason Garrison is a big part of it.

He has already matched his point total from last season with 18, and leads the team with seven power play goals. He's also third on the team in +/- with a plus-six rating.

Los Angeles Kings: Slava Voynov

Had to dig pretty deep here, considering no one for the Kings has really been having a season that you would consider a break-out one.

Voynov has been hobbled by injuries this season, but in the 24 games he has played in, the rookie has been solid. The 21-year-old Russian has 10 points this season and only six PIM's.

Minnesota Wild: Jared Spurgeon

Perhaps the biggest surprise team-wise in the NHL this year has been the Wild, and they've been led on the blue line surprisingly by Spurgeon.

He leads the Wild defenseman in assists and points. His 15 points has also already passed his point total from last year, which was 12.

Montreal Canadiens: David Desharnais

This seasons emergence of Desharnais will have to continue if the Canadiens want to find a way to pull themselves out of last place in their division.

He's on pace for 52 points and is third on the team in +/- with a plus-four rating.

Fun fact: He's only 5'7''.

Nashville Predators: Craig Smith

Let me make note that Pekka Rinne does lead the league in saves with 1,010, and it's unbelievably rare for a team to be led in points by a defenseman, which Shea Weber has done so far this year with 30.

But when Craig Smith was drafted 98th overall in 2009, I don't think anyone expected this type of season in 2012. In his first year in the NHL, he leads all Predator forwards in points with 26.

Not bad for a fourth-round draft pick.

New Jersey Devils: Adam Henrique

With Ilya Kovalchuk signed until, I believe, 2064, the 21-year-old Henrique has been as promising as a third-round draft pick can be, and will be crucial to not only the Devils' success this year, but in the future as well.

Henrique is in his first full year in the NHL, and is fourth in points on the team with 32. He also has three short-handed goals, good enough for second in the league.

New York Islanders: Nobody

You can make arguments for guys like Parenteau and Moulson, but they're on the same track they were last year.

The Islanders are dead last in the Eastern Conference and are still waiting for someone to step up and put them on the winning track.

New York Rangers: Michael Del Zotto

He already has 12 more points than he did last year, and he is fifth in the league in +/- with a plus-25 rating.

If you watched NHL 24/7 at all, they documented how important Del Zotto is to their franchise now, and will be in the future.

He's answered the call so far this year...

Remember that he's only 21 years old.

Ottawa Senators: Erik Karlsson

One could argue that there is no goalie that is counted on more by their respective franchise than Craig Anderson is in Ottawa, but his numbers are far from stellar. 

But, Erik Karlsson has absolutely exploded this year. His third season with the Senators includes 35 assists and 41 points total. Those 35 assists are good enough for second place in the entire NHL.

He's another young guy who is looking like he will develop into one of the premier defenseman this league will have to offer.

Philadelphia Flyers: Jaromir Jagr

It has been Giroux's season, I know this. I know he leads the league in scoring, but did anyone think that at age 39, Jagr would be averaging just under a point a game and be 55th in the league in scoring?

I certainly didn't—especially considering the fact that he hasn't even played in the United States since 2008.

As a Pens fan, this hurts me to write, because I wanted him back, but Jagr is having one hell of a season considering the circumstances.

Phoenix Coyotes: Oliver Ekman-Larsson

Radim Vrbata is a very close second here, as he is having a great year, but Ekman-Larsson is turning into a great No. 2 defenseman behind Keith Yandle.

He needs to be better in his own end, and improve his minus-five rating, but for the first time in a long time in Phoenix, they have a young, promising defenseman.

Pittsburgh Penguins: James Neal

The Penguins have been plagued with injuries this year, arguably worse than any other team in the NHL, but Neal has stepped up huge thus far.

His 36 points are second on the team, only behind Evgeni Malkin. With guys like Staal, Crosby, Asham, and Letang all missing solid amounts of time, Neal will have to recover quickly from his foot injury and play at the same pace he has all year if they want a shot at making a run at the cup.

San Jose Sharks: Jamie McGinn

After going back and forth between San Jose and Worcester in the AHL for a few years, McGinn is finally enjoying his first full year in the NHL.

He is on pace for over 30 points and adds to the scoring dynamic that the Sharks already have a solid amount of.

If San Jose wants to stay atop of their division, McGinn will need to continue to produce in case someone like Thornton or Marleau get hurt or go into a cold streak.

St. Louis Blues: Brian Elliott

The surprising Blues have one of the best problems a coach can have: two solid goaltenders and which one to start.

I think Elliott has proved he needs to be the long-term starter. After getting him in a trade for Craig Anderson from Colorado, all Elliott has done is go 15-5 with a .940 save percentage, 1.62 goals against average, and five shutouts.

All of those stats rank at second best in the entire league.

Tampa Bay Lightning: Marc-Andre Bergeron

Bergeron is having a great year, as he leads all Lightning defenseman with 23 points. He is on pace to set career marks in points, assists and penalty minutes.

He also leads the Lightning in +/- with a plus-seven rating.

The Lightning have been one of the most disappointing teams so far this year, but Bergeron's improvement this year sheds a little bit of light on fans in the sunshine state.

Toronto Maple Leafs: Joffrey Lupul

Phil Kessel is having an amazing year, there is no doubting that; however, who could have ever predicted that Lupul would be fourth in the league in scoring on January 10th?

Lupul has only had 50 points in a season twice, given he has struggled with injuries in the past. The first was in 2006 with the Ducks, when he had 53 points (career high), and the other was back in 2009 with the Flyers, when he had 50.

Lupul is on pace for 94 points. That's improvement. 

The biggest goal of his career came back in 2008, when he knocked the Capitals out of the first round of the playoffs in overtime of Game 7.

Vancouver Canucks: Cody Hodgson

Lots of guys to choose from here, but I'm going to go with the guy who is fifth in the league in scoring by rookies.

Hodgson was drafted 10th overall in 2008 and is finally getting his chance to shine in the NHL. He adds another scoring threat to a Vancouver offense that already has loads of it.

He played in 12 playoff games last season, and only had one point. He is currently on pace for 20 goals and 48 points this season.

Washington Capitals: Marcus Johansson

Not Alex Ovechkin. He has been surprising, but in a horrible way.

Johansson is having a solid sophomore season and is currently fourth on the team in points, only nine points behind "Alexander the Great."

The 21-year-old will have to really step up in the second half if they want to make a substantial run at making the playoffs and then pulling a few upsets. They're currently 10th in the East.

Winnipeg Jets: Blake Wheeler

Of course, the Jets have struggled. We have to give them a few years, they aren't built like the Avalanche were when they moved from Quebec and won the cup in their first season.

Wheeler's 31 points leads the team, and when they made the move, he definitely wasn't the guy who most people thought would lead the way.

He is on pace for 62 points, which would be a career high by 17 points.