Ducks McTavish Poised For Breakout Sophomore Season

Anaheim Ducks center Mason McTavish is poised for a breakout sophomore season.

The Anaheim Duck's season won't be defined by wins and losses, but rather by the development of young players under new head coach Greg Cronin.

Trevor Zegras will try and take the next step to become a true superstar and Jamie Drysdale will look to get back on track to becoming a top-pair defenseman.

The player who has the most potential for a breakout season, however, is 20-year-old center Mason McTavish.

Last season, Mctavish finished third amongst rookie skaters in points with 43 in 80 games which earned him just under 6% of the Calder Trophy votes.

Now, he can take his game up a level and establish himself as a legitimate top-six center in the NHL.

Things are set up well for McTavish, the Ducks should improve under Cronin and he's playing on a solid line with Ryan Strome and Frank Vatrano to start the season, with Alex Killorn expected to replace Vatrano after his injury.

In Killorn and Strome, McTavish has two quality veterans to play off who can help him reach new heights. 

It was a tough first season in Anaheim for Strome as he posted his lowest point total, 41, in four seasons. I'm not sure if you can expect him to get back to the fringe 60-point player he was in New York, but he should improve this year.

When Killorn is healthy, you have a player come off a career-high 64 points whose gritty style compliments McTavish well. Another 60-point season from Killorn is probably asking too much, but he will be a big help.

Of course, the crucial piece in a potential breakout season for McTavish is himself. He's a highly skilled, physical pivot who can hurt teams in a variety of ways.

He's been a prolific goal scorer at every level and showed flashes of that goal-scoring last season. Especially, his ability to score a variety of goals. He grabs scrappy goals in and around the net, can beat you with skill and can overpower goalies with a powerful shot.

If he gets more support, and he should this season, 25+ goals is a very realistic target. The Ducks should also see an improvement on the man advantage which will help McTavish.

He's always been a physically impressive player, but another year of physical growth will help as well. 

It's important not to expect too much from a 20-year-old in just his second NHL season, but a 25+, 50-60-point season feels achievable.

Add in improvements in McTavish's 200-foot game and some improvements in the dot and you're looking at a breakout season for the budding star.