The 2023-24 NHL season has reached its halfway point and during that time many Western Conference players have stood out. Nathan Mackinnon, Blake Coleman, Quinn Hughes and Joey Daccord are definitely showing what they got, writes Carol Schram.

On Saturday, the NHL officially passed the midway mark of the 2023-24 season. And while a group of Eastern Conference talents are on track for some impressive career-best seasons, the West is not without its own galaxy of stars.

Here's a look at a couple of top-tier names, a buzzworthy breakout candidate and a solid veteran who has taken his game to a new level. All four are playing the best hockey of their careers — and so are a few honorable-mention candidates who also deserve some attention.

Nathan MacKinnon, C, Colorado Avalanche

A Stanley Cup winner and three-time Hart Trophy finalist, Nathan MacKinnon has been so good for so long that it might have escaped your notice that he's having his best season yet.

Carrying the NHL's highest cap hit ($12.6 million) and real salary ($16.5 million) this season, the 28-year-old is averaging a career-high 23:01 a game, trailing only his teammate Mikko Rantanen (23:10) among NHL forwards.

The top-scoring forward in the Western Conference brings it every night. He has been held off the scoresheet just once since Dec. 1, and his 69 points in 43 games put him on pace for career highs of 43 goals and 131 points. That's rarefied air.

Blake Coleman, C, Calgary Flames

You know him as a reliable depth center who won a pair of Stanley Cups with the Tampa Bay Lightning. But in his third year with the Calgary Flames, Blake Coleman has evolved into one of his team's most reliable offensive options.

Coleman's 19 goals and 37 points lead the Calgary Flames in both those categories. His shooting percentage of 18.4 percent is crushing his career average of 10.2 percent, and he's just one point shy of his career-high of 38 points, set last year. 

At 32, Coleman hasn't lost his two-way touch. On a Flames team with a minus-1 goal differential, he's a team-leading plus-23. Also impressive — Coleman's power-play goal in Vegas on Saturday was just his second point all year with the man advantage, but he has six points, including four goals, while the Flames have been shorthanded.

Quinn Hughes, D, Vancouver Canucks

With a record-setting five players headed to the All-Star Game, it's no easy task singling out one member of the Vancouver Canucks. 

J.T. Miller has been in the top 5 in scoring all season and should easily crush his previous highs of 32 goals and 99 points. Elias Pettersson should also eclipse last season's 39 goals and 102 points, his career best. Thatcher Demko's 2.47 goals-against average is the best of his career, and his four shutouts in 31 starts this year are already better than the three that be posted in his 168 prior games over six seasons.

Other career years are also being built further down the lineup by players like Dakota Joshua and Filip Hronek. But if we're going to put the spotlight on one Canuck, it has to be Quinn Hughes. 

Firstly, Hughes's team took a quantum leap forward in his first year as captain. Also, the 24-year-old has already hit a new career high with 11 goals and is tied with partner Hronek for the league lead in plus-minus. And already at 51 points, he has a legitimate shot at matching or exceeding Erik Karlsson's historic 101-point campaign from last season. 

A shout-out, also, to Hughes' closest Norris Trophy rival, Cale Makar. Though he has missed five games due to injury this season, the 2022 Norris winner is also on the precipice of a 100-point pace which would be the best of his career.

Joey Daccord, G, Seattle Kraken

Six weeks ago, this spot would have gone to Adin Hill. He seemingly came out of nowhere to backstop the Vegas Golden Knights to the Stanley Cup last spring, then carried on this fall like he'd been an elite No. 1 keeper for his whole career. 

But now that an injury has limited Hill to just 15 games this season, Joey Daccord has seized the momentum with the surprising Seattle Kraken. 

Though he had played just 19 NHL games in his career before this season, Daccord is now up to 24 games as a starter in 2023-24. His .923 save percentage and 2.29 goals-against average are both career bests by a mile and among the best numbers in the league. Daccord is riding a personal 10-0-2 streak in his last 12 games, with two shutouts. After a slow start for the Kraken, Daccord's play has helped vault his team right back into the playoff picture.