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Ek's Top 5 Breakout Players in 2011-12

August 31, 2011, 3:03 PM ET [ Comments]
Eklund
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Ever year we try and predict the players who will break through...and every year it not only gets harder to predict, but it gets more and more surprising. Of course there are always a few guys we expect big things from...rookies who are highly touted...but this list is going to attempt to not only look at the young guys who are about the take the league by storm, but the veterans (even of a few years) who appear on the verge of exploding onto the scene...

So without further delay...

Ek's Top 5 Breakout Players for 2011-12

# 5 Evander Kane

He will be Mr. Jet and is the perfect type of player who will feed off of all that amazing emotion surrounding the Jets return. He works harder than almost anyone and that is perfect for the system the Jets will be bringing.

#4 TJ Oshie

If healthy there are very few players I would rather have out there for for the key shift of the season... He missed 25 games last year and yet they were chanting his name in St. Louis on more than on occasion last season. He is that electric out there. And he is, in my opinion, heading towards becoming the best power forward in hockey. He doesn't just hit. He punishes players. And loves that part of the game.

#3 James van Riemsdyk

He was the best player on the ice when he was good last year. He has shown to be a little streaky, but once the playoffs arrived you could see him doing the little things he can do better than 90% of NHLers. When he gets the puck along the Right Wing boards he WILL drive to the net and you will NOT be able to stop JvR. He not only cut free from his reputation of being soft, he learned how to be very tough nosed around the net and was never afraid to take a hit to make a play..even a small play. The simple fact that Flyers fans were chanting J-V-R in a playoff series the team was swept in was simply worth the price of admission.

#2 John Tavares

This will be a season to remember for JT. It has to be and Tavares is one of the most competitive players in the game today. He has the experience now, and the line-mates now, to truly turn into the top ten player we all believe he will be. Garth does need to find some transitional defenders to get the puck up the ice (McCabe looks like a strong possibility) After that Tavares will take over. I am betting on 40+ goals

#1 Nik Kulemin

There is a very good reason that every trade rumor through Toronto starts and ends with Kulemin. He is the player everyone wants. Because of the Leafs struggles he has gone relatively unnoticed around the NHL...but people in the know, including one NHL Scout I respect fully tell me many feel he is Datsyuk...but he is progressing at a different pace...in come ways behind Datsyuk at this point in his career, in many ways ahead of him at this point. "He is an all around player, and we haven't even seen a quarter of what he CAN do. This year we will see much, much more as his confidence grows and the Leafs as a team improve around him."

the next list..."Top 5 players who need to turn things around (comeback players)"

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