Who has been your team's pleasant surprise thus far in season?

[MarkusNaslund19]

Sam Lafferty and Nils Hoglander for the Canucks.

Lafferty can be plugged into any spot and he skates miles, wins pucks, and makes his teammates better. What a wonderful and cheap acquisition.

Hoglander is starting to figure out the North American game enough not to be a liability on the breakout in his own zone. He's a bit of a heat seeking missile on the forecheck, stickhandles well in tight spaces, and is great at making quick plays.
He needed to learn to be a reliable breakout option, particularly on rim-arounds, in his own zone and that has happened.
His chemistry with Lafferty is very noticeable but under reported.

 

[Stimpythecat]

Cam Talbot.

There were signs last season that Byfield was going to have a good year in 2023-2024. So I am not as surprised by his play as I am with Talbot.

 

[Coffey]

Nurse.

Especially after getting hit in a puck in the face.
Rearranged something good in his skull.

 

[Osakahaus]

Noah Dobson looks very good for the islanders, and his confidence on the blue line has been astounding so far. The other one to me is Simon Holmstrom.

 

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

Me looking at the Habs roster to find one

 

[Taluss]

Absolutely Laf

 

[WaitingForThatCab]

Mikkola on the panthers has surprised me. Was expecting a purely defensive dman but can actually chip in on offense as well, up to 10 points already.

Put some respect on Niko McMikkola's name.

 

[Bone Density]

Absolutely Laf

I honestly would have guessed Gustafsson, but it looks like he's cooled down since Fox's return? I thought he held the fort down nicely for you guys, Laf has looked like a completely different animal.

 

[Deep Blue Metallic]

Quite a few choices for the Canucks in the early going.
Boeser leading the NHL in goals at 18 and with 31 points on pace for about 90 points.
Hoglander with 9 goals mainly playing on the bottom 6 and just starting to get second unit PP time.
DeSmith as the backup goalie with a 5-2-1 record and .917 save percentage.

I'd guess not many Canucks fans thought pairing Hronek with Quinn would turn out as superbly as it has. Honorable mention to Ian Cole?

 

[ijuka]

I honestly would have guessed Gustafsson, but it looks like he's cooled down since Fox's return? I thought he held the fort down nicely for you guys, Laf has looked like a completely different animal.

Is it a surprise? He was Caps best defenseman last season

 

[TheBeard]

Considering expectations, sharks are loaded:

Blackwood has been outstanding for the most part.

Hoffman looks refreshed

Zetterlund is becoming a pretty significant top 6 forward for us.

 

[Deep Blue Metallic]

One more for the Sabres, in addition to the already mentioned and deserving Jokiharju, Benson, and Peterka.

UPL is starting to find the consistency that has eluded him his entire professional career. .907 SV% and 2.81 GA are much improved compared to the .892 and 3.61 from last year. Keep in mind he has to deal with the Sabres often confused and structureless defensive zone play.

 

[rynryn]

MIN Rossi and Maroon.

Was prepared to feel disappointed about Rossi watch him stagnate as a middle six player but he's been great.

Maroon...I wasn't expecting much more than a few minutes a night as a brute but he's still a solid bottom six hockey player.

 

[The Real JT]

Absolutely Laf

I laffed

 

[Super Duper]

Ned or Eller for the pens

 

[McShogun99]

Darnell Nurse is going to win a Norris. If not now, someday.

Even if he became the best shutdown D in the league he doesn't score enough points to be considered for the Norris.

He gets slagged a lot on these boards but he's a key player on the Oilers and is probably considered one of the top 30 Dmen in the league by the players.

 

[Kcb12345]

For the Stars: our entire 2nd/3rd line of Marchment-Duchene-Seguin.

I didn't realize how good Duchene still is honestly. Dude is flying out there every shift making plays. Weird Buyout but worked out amazing for the Stars. He's been our best forward this year, followed closely by Wyatt Johnston.

And with a good Duchene, Marchment and Seguin have risen from the dead and are playing like top 6 players again.

2 Guys who were arguably the worst contracts on the team last season have been great this year so far. Marchment in particular looks like a completely different player. That line has great chemistry as well

 

[GeeoffBrown]

Easily Connor Zary. Been productive himself and also, he has brought Nazem Kadri back to life, which in turn, has the Flames winning games. (I dunno if that part is good LOL)

 

[Tom Polakis]

Typically, it's a goalie for the Coyotes, but Sean Durzi has been a real surprise. The scouting report we got from Kings fans is that he is good in the offensive zone, but prone to poor coverage and turnovers defensively in his own zone. We haven't seen any of that. I don't doubt that Kings fans were correct, but he's just working out well here.

 

[Samsquanch]

Joseph for Ottawa has been an absolute beast.

Hilarious that he was considered a negative asset just a few months ago, he's basically untradeable as of today and on a sweetheart contract. Can play on any line any produce with his blinding speed.

 

[Ugene Magic]

Lars Eller

Ned or Eller for the pens

I'd have to add Pettersson to this list.

 

[Pablo El Perro]

Mikkola on the panthers has surprised me. Was expecting a purely defensive dman but can actually chip in on offense as well, up to 10 points already.

Second this, surprised me how solid he's been both ways and with whoever he has plays with.

 

[Strangle]

So, who has been your teams pleasant surprise? Someone who is defying expectations, kid who is breaking out, etc

For Hawks Alex Vlasic looks great in all situations and has already shown he can be top 4 defender IMO

Nearly 20 minutes a night and is one of the few bright spots on dismal Hawks team. Also, despite how awful Hawks are he is far and away best +/- on team (+9 somehow)

Joseph woll

And his season might be over. Sucks when that stuff happens

 

[Canadiens Ghost]

Pearson and Gallagher started strong but have both cooled off since.
Newhook would probably be the best answer but he is now injured.

 

[Raistlin]

Laf for me.

Lafferty that is, was expecting absolutely nothing, but is turning out to be one of those glue guys that make every line hes on better. His speed/size combo is amazing for the price Allvin acquired him for.