Leaders of the 2011-12 workhorse rookie class

Greg Thomson
July 28, 2011

One of the more prominent story lines heading into NHL training camps each fall is the “rookie factor.” While the top five picks from the most recent draft class are expected year-after-year to dazzle in training camp and potentially make the big team’s roster, there are always a handful of later picks from prior years that make noise in their freshman season.

These dark horses pay their dues and are only rewarded when sustained production is met.

Headlining the list of potential impact rookies is a duo from the Toronto Maple Leafs organization: Joe Colborne and Jake Gardiner.

Colborne and Gardiner both landed in Toronto as a result of separate high-profile trades; the first saw Tomas Kaberle arrive in Boston, while the second was the Francois Beauchemin swap that also landed the Leafs Joffrey Lupul.

Acquiring two prospects on the brink of becoming full-time players is a huge upgrade for a team known for its dismal drafting and player development..

The 6’5″ Colborne showed glimpses of first-line potential in a late-season call-up last year while slick-skating Gardiner, often compared to Scott Niedermayer, could use some fine tuning in the minors. Nevertheless, he’ll have a definitive impact sooner than later.

On the back-end, a pair of Swedish-born defenseman in Calgary’s Tim Erixon and Ottawa’s David Rundblad are both poised to cross the pond and play a meaningful role in the NHL this season.

[php snippet=1]

Following in the footsteps of Victor Hedman and Erik Karlsson, Erixon and Rundblad will be intriguing to watch as they enter as freshman in Canadian markets.

Rundblad, formerly of the St. Louis Blues organization, will greatly benefit playing alongside country mate Karlsson, giving him an easy adjustment to North America on and off the ice.

Staying with the Swedes, Jacob Markstrom is on a mission to overtake Jose Theodore and Scott Clemmensen for the starting job for south Florida’s Panthers. The 21-year old – who had a respectable 16-20-1 record along with 2.98 goals against average and 0.907 save percentage in 2010-11 for the Rochester Americans – has a very projectable 6’3″ frame, but still needs to bulk up.

A second round pick in 2008, the Gavle, Sweden native may play another half season with the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage, but don’t be surprised if he earns a full-time role with the Cats and provides them with some kick in goal.

In terms of size and speed, look no further than Chris Kreider. He is a future power forward with a goal-scoring mentality, yet is said to also have a responsible two-way mindset. After two full seasons with Boston College and a spot on USA’s World Championship team in Slovakia, Kreider will likely don a Rangers jersey this fall.

Rounding out the rookies to watch for aside from the much-covered, much-talked-about top-five is Philadelphia’s Brayden Schenn, who came over in the highly-controversial Mike Richards trade in June.

While Schenn has been in the spotlight internationally, he has yet to strut his stuff in the NHL for an extended period of time. Once thought as being completely untradeable, Schenn finds himself in an ideal situation with the Flyers as they rebuild their already championship-caliber roster to the chagrin of the hockey world.

With Richards and Jeff Carter no longer in the Orange and Black, Schenn will undoubtedly be counted on to play a second- or third-line role on a very deep Flyers team.

Although there was a strong rookie class last season, the aforementioned players have more big-game potential – and that’s only including the workhorses.

[php snippet=1]

The Author:

Greg Thomson