Last season many teams had a rookie emerge as an impact player.
Players like Matt Duchene, John Tavares, and Tyler Myers have become the foundation upon which their team will build upon.
Lesser-known rookies like Colin Wilson, Dmitry Kulikov, and Matt Gilroy gave fans reason to believe that they have a bright future in the NHL.
One of these rookies may become the next Steven Stamkos, who, after a 23-goal, 46-point rookie season in 2008, emerged as an elite player in the NHL during his sophomore season when he tied posterboy Sidney Crosby for the Rocket Richard Trophy with 51 goals.
There is always a risk, however, that one of these players will fall victim to the sophomore slump like Steve Mason. The goaltender led the Columbus Blue Jackets to their first playoff appearance in franchise history two years ago, but posted a 3.05 GAA and .901 save percentage last year.
The better the player, the harder the fall. The following are the 25 most impressive rookies of the 2009 season.
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Article written by Tom Schreier
Tyler Myers, John Tavares, and Other Sophomore Slump Candidates
September 1st, 2010 by Tom Schreier Leave a reply »
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