The Best NHL Rookies Nobody Is Talking About

One of the joys of any new NHL season is watching rookies make their debuts at hockey’s highest level. 2016-17 hasn’t been an exception to the rule, and this year, we’ve been treated to a duel between Auston Matthews and Patrik Laine—both currently on-pace for 40-goal seasons—at the top of the Calder ranks.

Toronto’s adroit rebuild has leaned on Matthews but also on fellow Calder-eligible players like Mitch Marner and William Nylander, both of whom are having strong campaigns. Matthew Tkachuk in Calgary is playing a key role in the Flames’ resurgence this year. Meanwhile, defenceman Zach Werenski is logging 20-plus minutes per night for the stunning Columbus Blue Jackets, this season’s most surprising team.

This piece, though, isn’t about any of those players. Rather, it’s an attempt to highlight some other players that are easy to miss outside their home markets, rookies who deserve more attention for their strong debuts than they’ve been getting.

A lot of these players, naturally, are defencemen. Rearguards are generally shortchanged in these discussions, even if defence is a tougher position for a first-year player. Yet, there are also some forwards and even a goaltender who deserve a bit more attention than they’ve been getting, and we’ll try to help balance that here.

Read on for capsule reports on 10 different rookies who deserve notice for their strong work.

Matt Benning, Edmonton Oilers

Matt Slocum/Associated Press

2016-17 stats: 26 games, zero goals, six points, +3.9 relative Fenwick

Why he’s been overlooked: Blame the team. The Oilers appear well on their way to climbing out of a decade of darkness, and there are a lot of other stories worth covering. Even if we ignore Connor McDavid’s massive shadow, the blue line alone has the shocking Adam Larsson-for-Taylor Hall deal, injury drama and poor Kris Russell, who lives at the intersection of argument between the stats geeks and the dinosaurs.

What he’s done: A bit of everything. Benning is undersized and not much of a point-producer, but that hasn’t stopped him from being a consistent physical irritant or constantly making good passes to exit the defensive zone. He’s a jack-of-all-trades defender, and his strong underlying numbers reflect his ability to help in multiple areas.

Brandon Carlo, Boston Bruins

Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press

2016-17 stats: 39 games, two goals, eight points, -6.1 relative Fenwick

Why he’s been overlooked: Carlo certainly hasn’t been overlooked by anyone following the Bruins, but outside of Boston, he hasn’t been given a lot of attention. Maybe it’s because he isn’t an offensive threat, or perhaps it stems from the logical assumption that he’s being helped along by Zdeno Chara, but a rookie defenceman logging 22 minutes per night for a decent team deserves some hoopla. 

What he’s done: He’s been a first-pair defenceman. The shot metrics don’t tell the story here; he’s getting Chara-level quality of competition and also starting a ridiculous percentage of his shifts in the defensive zone. Playing those minutes with Chara is a very different thing than playing them without him, but that position was a revolving door last season, and Carlo appears to have stabilized it.

Anthony DeAngelo, Arizona Coyotes

Rick Scuteri/Associated Press

2016-17 stats: 20 games, three goals, nine points, +1.1 relative Fenwick

Why he’s been overlooked: Playing in Arizona will do that to a player, but DeAngelo has been getting recognition for the wrong reasons lately. The NHL announced on New Year’s Day that the freshman defenceman would be suspended three games for abuse of officials, which ties into his reputation for undisciplined play.

What he’s done: DeAngelo is averaging almost 19 minutes per game in the desert and has done a good job of presenting himself as a legitimate NHL power-play option right out of the gate of his major league career. Two of his goals have come on the man advantage, and a right-shot power-play weapon is something that most teams want in the lineup.

Esa Lindell, Dallas Stars

Ralph Freso/Associated Press

2016-17 stats: 29 games, three goals, six points, -7.0 relative Fenwick

Why he’s been overlooked: Dallas is having a difficult year. Lindell himself is showing none of the offensive dimension that he did last year on the farm or back in Finland the season before that. Defensive defencemen on mediocre teams rarely get much attention.

What he’s done: According to Corsica Hockey, Lindell is facing the toughest quality of competition on the Stars’ blue line while simultaneously dealing with an unpleasant number of defensive-zone starts. The player’s shot metrics aren’t great, but that’s to be expected when a rookie defender is asked to play 20-plus minutes per game against the best players in the world. It’s a shame that Dallas so thoroughly purged its defence corps in the offseason; otherwise, Lindell might have been put in an optimal position for success.

Anthony Mantha, Detroit Red Wings

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

2016-17 stats: 22 games, nine goals, 16 points, +8.2 relative Fenwick

Why he’s been overlooked: This piece was conceived prior to Sunday’s outdoor game against Toronto, one where Mantha scored two goals and added an assist while logging 21:24 in total ice time. That’s about as much as a player can do in a single high-profile game to raise his stock league-wide. He likely won’t be ignored the rest of the way.

What he’s done: Fans outside of Detroit can be forgiven for not knowing Mantha’s story; how he was a first-round pick in 2013, then followed it up with a goal-per-game showing in the QMJHL the next season. Or, more importantly, how he struggled to score as an AHL rookie, picked up the pace a little as a sophomore but entered this season needing to prove that he was still a premier prospect. He’s proved it.

Michael Matheson, Florida Panthers

Charles Krupa/Associated Press

2016-17 stats: 37 games, three goals, 12 points, +2.6 relative Fenwick

Why he’s been overlooked: Florida is a controversial team these days, but for the most part, the media focus isn’t on the product on the ice but rather the question of how the club is being run. It’s easy to pass over a solid two-way defenceman amid questions of whether Gerard Gallant should have been fired and debating exactly how much power Dale Tallon really wields internally.

What he’s done: On a blue line loaded with more high-profile players, Matheson has secured a top-four job for himself, logging more than 20 minutes per game. The 22-year-old is already an effective second-pairing defenceman; what will he be able to do in his prime?

Matt Murray, Pittsburgh Penguins

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

2016-17 stats: 17 games, 13-3-1 record, 0.928 save percentage

Why he’s been overlooked: Admittedly, this is hedging a little bit: Murray hasn’t been overlooked as a player. Rather, what sometimes gets forgotten is that he’s still a rookie. That’s the sort of thing that can happen when one wins a Stanley Cup as a starting goalie before losing his Calder Trophy eligibility.

What he’s done: Despite some injury problems this year, Murray has secured his position as Pittsburgh’s starter. The Penguins are nine games over 0.500 when he’s in net; that number falls to three with Marc-Andre Fleury (who has had more starts) between the pipes. More importantly, Murray’s save percentage is nearly 20 points better than that of his partner and competitor.

Mikko Rantanen, Colorado Avalanche

Michael Dwyer/Associated Press

2016-17 stats: 32 games, six goals, 17 points, +0.9 relative Fenwick

Why he’s been overlooked: With the Avs rebuild in shambles, there has been precious little time for silver linings. The goaltenders are both fighting for 0.900 save percentages, the defence is wretched and even the effective forwards are suspect by their mere presence.

What he’s done: Colorado slow-played Rantanen’s development, sticking him in the AHL (he had 60 points in 52 games) for just about all of last season. That won’t be happening again, as Rantanen has pushed his way to third on the team’s forward scoring list, behind only Nathan MacKinnon and Matt Duchene. His emergence may give the team some flexibility to address other areas of concern.

Troy Stecher, Vancouver Canucks

Mike Stone/Associated Press

2016-17 stats: 29 games, one goal, 10 points, +3.3 relative Fenwick

Why he’s been overlooked: So he hasn’t been overlooked in Vancouver. J.D. Burke of Canucks Army wrote a piece in late December asking whether Stecher was already the team’s best defenceman, and the player has been a focal point for fan interest basically since his first preseason game. That’s in Vancouver, though. Outside B.C., the Canucks haven’t been all that relevant this year, and so the player’s performance is apt to be missed.

What he’s done: Injuries, along with a sheltered third pairing, have played a big role in Stecher’s ascent up the depth chart. He’s made the most of it, though, and has found a home next to Alex Edler. Edler’s Corsi number jumps some 7.7 points when he’s partnered with Stecher versus other players. Not only has he pushed his way into the NHL, but Stecher has also given the Canucks some interesting possibilities on the right side, where the team boasts a young-ish trio (Stecher, Chris Tanev and Erik Gudbranson). Vancouver may have the flexibility to make a move there, which is an interesting position to be in after Gudbranson was acquired at dear cost last summer.

Nikita Zaitsev, Toronto Maple Leafs

Michael Dwyer/Associated Press

2016-17 stats: 36 games, one goal, 15 points, -1.9 relative Fenwick

Why he’s been overlooked: No Maple Leaf in the history of the game has really been overlooked, so consider that word a relative one here. On a Toronto team loaded to the gills with young talent, Zaitsev is the guy who is relatively easy to pass over. He’s older, he’s a defenceman and no matter how well he plays he won’t be Auston Matthews.

What he’s done: Yet Zaitsev has managed to carve out a place in his first year in the NHL, playing more than 22 minutes per game for an up-and-coming team. He’s done a good job at evens on a tough-minutes pairing with Morgan Rielly, even delivering some physicality in the role. He’s shown some offensive ability, earning power-play time along with fellow blueliners Rielly and Jake Gardiner. Defence is a tough position to play in the NHL, and anytime a rookie can step into a top-pair role and provide a little bit of everything, it’s worth recognizing the accomplishment.

Statistics used here courtesy of Hockey-Reference.com, Corsica.Hockey and Stats.HockeyAnalysis.com.