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Pacific Division breakout picks for 2019-20 |
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Todd Cordell
I picked Ondrej Kase last season. Unfortunately, injuries prevented him from having the true breakout season I expected.
He certainly showed promise when in the lineup, though. Kase put up 20 points in 30 games for Anaheim, which equates to ~55 over 82. Pretty good!
Kase was efficient as they come at 5v5. He ranked 39th among forwards averaging 2.34 points per 60 minutes. That was more than Mark Stone, Mikko Rantanen, Tyler Seguin, Sean Couturier and Nathan MacKinnon, to name but a few.
More than half of his 5v5 output came from goals. Not exactly surprising given he ranked *checks notes* 2nd in the NHL with 1.11 expected goals per 60.
He is extremely efficient and should get all the ice he can handle on a retooling Ducks team. If he’s healthy, I think he could put up 60+ points and really open some eyes.
Michael Stuart
Quinn Hughes.
The exact same reasoning applied to my Calder argument applies here. The Canucks don't have much on their back end, so Hughes should get plenty of opportunity to play meaningful minutes right away. He looked very much at home during his short cup of coffee to end last season, so it makes sense that he'll be even better after another summer of training.
He's also going to get a chance to play lots of games against teams that, quite frankly, aren't that good. The Pacific Division is going to provide for a lot of opportunity for Hughes to demonstrate the offensive side of being a defenseman in today's NHL.
Between Hughes and Elias Pettersson, the Canucks should be moderately entertaining to watch this season.
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