With the 2018-19 NHL season just around the corner, let’s take a closer look at some young, up-and-coming players poised to breakout this year.
Ondrej Kase – Anaheim Ducks
Despite averaging fewer than 14 minutes per game in a 3rd line role, Kase registered 20 goals and 38 points in 66 games. That’s a 47 point pace over a full season.
Most of the damage was done at 5v5, where Kase was one of the most efficient goal scorers – and point producers – in the entire NHL.
Last season 335 forwards logged at least 600 minutes of ice. Only seven of them averaged more goals per 60 minutes played than Kase (1.28). Seven!
He ranked a little lower (47th) in terms of points per 60 minutes played but his average of 2.18 was still high-end and better than notables like Patrick Kane, Phil Kessel, Blake Wheeler, Jack Eichel, and John Tavares, to name but a few.
Kase scored at that rate with Nick Ritchie, who recorded 27 points on the year, riding shotgun for nearly 70% of his 5v5 ice time.
There was no stopping Kase last season. The only thing holding him back from posting eye-popping numbers was a lack of ice time. If he gets an extra couple shifts per game and stays healthy, we should be looking at a 50+ point player.
Vinnie Hinostroza – Arizona Coyotes
Hinostroza is another player who quietly had a really productive year – particularly at 5v5.
He put up a respectable 25 points in 50 games. Of those 25 points, 20 were registered at 5v5 where he ranked 77th in points per 60 minutes (sandwiched between Patrik Laine and Nicklas Backstrom). While he’s obviously not that caliber of player, it is not a coincidence he was a very efficient producer.
Hinostroza generated shots at a very high clip. He attempted 15.77 per 60 minutes, which was more than decent scorers like Auston Matthews, Brock Boeser, and Kessel.
He was also very good at creating opportunities for his teammates, slotting in the 85th percentile in terms of shot assists.
Hinostroza should get a lot more opportunity on a Coyotes team that finished 30th in scoring. Look for him to take advantage of it.
Jack Roslovic – Winnipeg Jets
He had a cup of coffee with the powerhouse Winnipeg Jets last season and, boy, it was impressive.
In 31 games he put up 14 points – 13 came at evens – and was extremely efficient with his ice time averaging a ridiculous 2.30 points per 60 minutes at 5v5.
With Paul Stastny now in Vegas, Roslovic will see steady minutes as part of a stacked top-9. He should also get power play time on what looks to be a very potent 2nd unit featuring names like Nikolaj Ehlers, Bryan Little, and the efficient, underrated, Mathieu Perreault.
Roslovic is very talented, has a great supporting cast around him, and more opportunity should be there. I’m really excited to see what he can do with it.
Note: numbers courtesy of NaturalStatTrick and Corsica.
Written by @ToddCordell