The 2015-16 season is still in its infancy, but already we’ve seen several players jump out to hot starts. Here’s a quick look at a few players who have caught our attention in the early going with breakout performances.
Evgeny Kuznetsov
The former KHL sniper and top-rated prospect has been tremendous for the Washington Capitals to start 2015-16.
In his first full campaign, Kuznetsov played prominently with Troy Brouwer and Marcus Johansson. His offensive role wasn’t fully defined as he was still adjusting to the NHL. Now he’s had a full season under his belt, coach Barry Trotz is putting plenty of trust into the 23-year-old Russian, playing him on the Capitals top trio, on a line with Alex Ovechkin and TJ Oshie, a combination which has been great at even strength. The trio has posted positive possession numbers and is generating plenty of opportunities as Washington’s top unit. Kuznetsov is also seeing time on the second power play.
The Capitals are off to a Metropolitan-leading 8-2-0 start and sport a +11 goal differential, and Kuznetsov’s been an important part of the team’s offense. Look at this fake-pass move, in OT nonetheless.
His time on ice per game has jumped more than four minutes to almost 18 minutes a contest, and he’s rewarded the Capitals with five goals and 13 points in his first 10 games. Will he be a point-per-game player by season’s end? That’s unlikely, but it’s not completely out of the question. Kuznetsov had huge buzz entering the NHL, and with ample opportunity, he’s starting to justify the hype.
John Klingberg
Klingberg burst onto the scene in 2014-15, scoring an impressive 40 points in 65 games, becoming another offensive weapon for a deep Dallas team. In 2015-16, he’s off to another blazing start, posting 11 points in 12 games – and had a seven-game point streak broken up last night in a loss against Toronto. Look what he can do in the offensive zone.
John Klingberg walks all the way around the offensive zone before firing a perfect shot top shelf. 2-0 @DallasStars.https://t.co/gx6slQiwzH
— NHL (@NHL) October 23, 2015
The 23-year-old is a powerplay threat who has logged big minutes for the Stars, averaging over 23 minutes per game. He’s still a work in progress defensively, but he’s showing improvement. His teammates rave about his effort, as his defense partner Alex Goligoski told the Dallas News “offensively, he might be one of the best in the league, and he’s getting much better defensively.” Even if he never matures into a defensive machine, his offensive game is truly special. He’s a stealth Norris candidate.
Mike Condon
Condon’s journey has been pretty remarkable.
He was starting in the ECHL as recently as 2013-14, but after proving his worth at both there and in the AHL over the last couple seasons, he surprisingly beat Dustin Tokarski in training camp to win the backup goalie spot behind Vezina winner Carey Price.
In four starts with the Canadiens, the 25-year-old has been almost flawless. He’s stopped 102 of 108 shots, winning each game he’s started. His .955 even strength save percentage ranks seventh-best among all goaltenders who’ve played at least 50 minutes, which is absurd. The Canadiens lost Carey Price for at least a week, and what could be disastrous could be much less severe if Condon plays anywhere near as good as he has been.
Now his small sample size isn’t predictive of his ability to do this all season, but it’s encouraging. As long as Price remains healthy, he won’t be asked to start more than 15 games, but the Canadiens should feel comfortable knowing Condon is more than capable behind him.
