An update to this thread.
Howden's on pace for 30 points over 82 games playing 14:47 per game. He's only going to play 66 games due to an injury that cost him close to 15 games. I think he also was scratched for a few games.
He started the season very well, but after about two months, his level of play completely dropped and the next two months he was awful. The game was too fast for him. I thought he was on the verge of a demotion to the AHL when he got injured. When he returned, he had another 3-4 weeks of bad play, but the last four games he's been very good. He has a four game point streak and has five points in those four games.
His defense has been pretty good and he's had some good stretches with making smart offensive plays, but over the course of the season his advanced stats have been really bad. For a rookie though, I think you discount the advanced stats.
I think he's been the best Rangers rookie this season. He's slightly outplayed Chytil and significantly outplayed Andersson. He should be at least a good 3C, more likely a middle six center. There's 2C upside, but he might not be dynamic enough offensively to be a 2C. He's projecting better than Andersson now, and I don't think its outside the range of possibilities that he could be better than Chytil.
