Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images
With the NHL season passing the midway point, there have been some incredibly impressive performances from young, emerging stars.
Many of them are players predicted to have breakout years, but some others took the step when it looked like they were reaching their ceiling. Some others showed signs of emerging last year, while others took a while to get acclimated to the NHL.
Let’s look at six players who have ascended to star status and emerged as go-to players for their respective NHL teams.
Logan Cooley, C, Utah Hockey Club
The third-overall pick from the 2022 NHL draft has finally arrived, and all it took was some patience. Cooley became the No. 1 center the Arizona Coyotes needed for years and the Utah Hockey Club got in Year 1. He’s showcasing his high-end play-driving ability and slick playmaking this season with 13 goals and 25 assists for 38 points in 44 games.
He still doesn’t get the hype he deserves because Utah is struggling to stay in the playoff picture, but he is on pace for 70 points this season as a sophomore. If Cooley can continue establishing himself as an offensive catalyst, we could see Utah move up the standings over the next couple of years.
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Marco Rossi, C, Minnesota Wild
Just one point back of tying his 40 from last year, Marco Rossi has been great on the Minnesota Wild’s top line.
Rossi is tied for second in team scoring behind MVP front-runner Kirill Kaprizov, with 17 goals and 22 assists for 39 points in 45 games.
The 23-year-old has provided some stability to the team’s center position, allowing Frederick Gaudreau and Joel Eriksson Ek to play lower in the lineup where their skill sets are better suited.
Rossi is proving he can be an effective two-way center in the NHL despite being undersized. His intelligence and work rate partially drive his play, but he brings the kind of playmaking and offensive punch this team has needed down the middle.
If Rossi can continue to help Kaprizov do what he does when the latter returns from injury, cracking 70 points isn’t out of the question.
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Cole Caufield, RW, Montreal Canadiens
Everyone has waited for Caufield to score 40 goals since he came into the NHL a couple of years ago. Even if he’s never scored 30 in a season, that hype is justified because of his raw shooting talent.