Keep an eye on these up-and-coming NHL players in the East when the puck drops in October.
The dog days of summer are upon us, and many hockey fans are counting down the days until their favorite team hits the ice in October. Every season, new NHL stars are born and some players will shock fans with breakout seasons. Whether it’s a veteran having a career year, a highly touted prospect finally putting the pieces together, or someone stunning the hockey world and coming out of nowhere – there will be players who break out big-time during the 2023-24 season.
Here are the top breakout candidates from every team in the Eastern Conference.
Boston Bruins: Morgan Geekie, C
With the futures of veteran pivots Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci up in the air, the Bruins will lean on their center depth to potentially replace two franchise cornerstones. The Bruins signed Geekie to a two-year contract on July 1, and if the 24-year-old can secure a spot in Boston’s top six, he’s poised for a breakout season.
Buffalo Sabres: Jack Quinn, RW
The Sabres have put together an excellent core that’s poised to make the jump to playoff contention after a lengthy rebuild. Quinn had a good rookie year with 14 goals and 37 points in 75 games. He was an elite goal-scorer in the OHL and AHL, and it’s only a matter of time before he becomes one of the top snipers on the Sabres.
Carolina Hurricanes: Pyotr Kochetkov, G
In 27 career NHL games, Kochetkov is 15-7-5 with a .908 save percentage. The 2019 second-round pick is entering the first year of a four-year contract that pays him $2 million per season. While the Hurricanes do have Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta signed for the coming season, both goalies have a lengthy injury history making it likely that Kochetkov will get a chance to make his claim in the Canes’ net.
Columbus Blue Jackets: Kent Johnson, C
Johnson is a human-highlight reel – it’s must-see television whenever he steps on the ice as one of hockey’s most offensively gifted young players. He’ll be a star one day, and it’s only a matter of time before the No. 5 overall pick in 2021 breaks out.
Detroit Red Wings: Lucas Raymond, LW
Raymond had a good rookie season in 2021-22, but his production dipped in his sophomore year on an underachieving Red Wings team. He’s a prolific offensive talent who possesses a good shot and is great at creating space for himself on the ice. This year is a chance for him to prove last season was a sophomore slump and continue to develop into one of the NHL’s premier offensive players.
Florida Panthers: Anton Lundell, C
Lundell is one of the best up-and-coming two-way forwards in the NHL, and he gets the privilege of learning from one of the league’s best in Aleksander Barkov, a former Selke Trophy winner in his own right. Lundell’s two-way game has improved every season he’s been in The Show. Look for him to take a bigger step this year.
Montreal Canadiens: Alex Newhook, C
The Habs paid a premium for Newhook in a draft-day trade with Colorado, but the gamble they took will pay off greatly if he breaks out in the 2023-24 season. Newhook has the tools to be a good top-six forward in the NHL, and a change of scenery will likely help the 22-year-old, whose production dipped last season after winning the Stanley Cup with the Avalanche in 2022. Newhook sometimes struggles to generate his own shots, so perhaps pairing him on a line with fellow 2019 first-round pick Cole Caufield can draw some of the attention away from him.
New Jersey Devils: Nolan Foote, LW
The youngest son of former NHL hard-rock defenseman Adam Foote, Nolan has excelled in the AHL and is ready to make the jump to the NHL. He’s played 19 games in The Show and has scored seven points. Finding ice time may be difficult as the Devils have one of the NHL’s best forward groups, but if Foote can crack the roster, he could have a breakout season.
New York Islanders: Alexander Romanov, D
The Islanders traded the No. 13 pick for Romanov at the 2022 draft. He’s a defensive defenseman but hasn’t leaped into a top-four role consistently yet. A breakout 2023-24 will be important for the success of his career – and that of the Islanders – going forward.
New York Rangers: Alexis Lafreniere, LW
Lafreniere hasn’t lived up to the expectations of a No. 1 overall pick through his first three NHL seasons. The clock is ticking for Lafreniere’s name not to be featured with the likes of Nail Yakupov and Patrik Stefan. It took a few years for Jack Hughes to establish himself in the NHL, and Lafreniere, drafted a year later, could do the same in 2023-24.
Ottawa Senators: Shane Pinto, C
Pinto’s been on a steady trajectory since being drafted in the second round by the Sens in 2019. Last year, he scored 20 goals and 35 points as an NHL rookie, and he’ll continue to get better with age and experience. Look for him to see an elevated role on the power play after the trade of Alex DeBrincat to Detroit.
Pittsburgh Penguins: Drew O’Connor, LW
O’Connor finishes checks and wins puck battles, and he’s starting to come into his own at the NHL level. He’ll be a key part of the Penguins’ bottom six, and he’s coming off of a strong performance at the World Championship with Team USA this spring, where he had eight points in 10 games.
Philadelphia Flyers: Carter Hart, G
It can be argued that Hart has already broken out at the NHL level, but he hasn’t untapped the full extent of his elite potential. A breakout season for Hart means that he unlocks his potential and becomes one of the elite netminders in the NHL.
Tampa Bay Lightning: Michael Eyssimont, C
The Lightning have a special ability of finding undervalued talent, and Eyssimont looks like their next success story. Tampa Bay sees potential in him and signed him to a two-year contract extension in May. Injuries in the playoffs limited Eyssimont, but he checks off all the boxes to be another pleasant surprise for the Lightning.
Toronto Maple Leafs: Jake McCabe, D
McCabe is a top-four defenseman for whom the Leafs paid a first-round pick to acquire. The reason the 29-year-old is the top breakout candidate for the Leafs is that this will be the first full season he’ll spend on a contender after previous stops with the Sabres and Blackhawks. He’s a physical defenseman who can move the puck, and he should excel with a full training camp with the Leafs and prove why he was worth the high pick Toronto gave up for him.
Washington Capitals: Rasmus Sandin, D
Sandin was never going to unlock his full offensive potential being stuck behind Morgan Rielly in Toronto. Being traded to the Capitals might be the best thing to happen to him in his career. His offensive upside is alluring, as he scored 15 points in 19 games after being dealt to Washington. But there are defensive issues in his game, such as struggling with his defensive positioning, turnovers and being a minus-7 in Washington. That being said, if his offensive abilities can outweigh the defensive lapses, look for him to have a breakout campaign with the Caps.