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Metro Division breakout picks for 2018-19 |
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Todd Cordell
Nolan Patrick.
Patrick received a lot of praise down the stretch for his play and deservedly so. His production spiked, he generated more shots/chances, and he looked more dangerous on a nightly basis.
Over the final 33 games of the season, he averaged 1.95 points per 60 at 5v5. That is 1st line production. Some of the many he was more efficient than during that stretch: Patrick Kane, Tyler Seguin, Jonathan Toews, and Jakub Voracek.
With James van Riemsdyk now in the mix, and Oskar Lindblom poised for a breakout (there's a bonus pick for you), the Flyers are looking really good up front. Patrick should be able to produce regardless of who flanks him.
Honorable mention goes to Pavel Buchnevich. He has all the talent in the world and his rate production has been really solid in consecutive years. All he needs is more opportunity and I think he'll get it under new head coach David Quinn.
James Tanner
I like Nolan Patrick of the Flyers for the breakout player title of the Metro Division. He scored 13 goals and 33 points last year, but this season he'll have a bigger role and is projected to play on the second line with JVR and Voracek, so 60 or so assists is not an unreasonable number, and he's a possible 20 goal guy too. While 80 points is probably the absolute ceiling of his potential, he could be a decent bet for 60-70 points. I like the line he's on, the team's got 3 really good puck moving defenseman, and he should get lots of PP time.
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