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The Calgary Flames had a truly spectacular season, finishing 2nd – only to the powerhouse Tampa Bay Lightning – in wins, points, goals and goal differential.
Though the ending was certainly disappointing, it's hard to consider the year anything but a success – one which, naturally, captured the undivided attention of all the team's followers.
That led to other storylines within the organization flying completely under the radar; the most notable being the play, and development, of Dillon Dube.
After a slow start to the season in Calgary, he was sent down to Stockton for more seasoning. What he accomplished after that was nothing short of remarkable, especially given the state of the team (they finished 7th in an eight-team division).
Dube registered 39 points in 37 games at just 20 years of age. Very impressive.
What's especially encouraging is how much of his production came at 5v5. He mustered up 27 points in that game state, good for an average of .73 per game. That total ranked 1st among 144(!) U22 forwards to appear in at least 15 games.
Sam Steel, Roope Hintz, Troy Terry, Lias Andersson, Logan Brown, Martin Necas, Alexander Nylander, Filip Zadina, Eeli Tolvanen, and Martin Kaut are just a few of the notable players Dube bested – in some cases by significant margins – in terms of 5v5 output.
Dube didn't just produce because he was handed minutes on a bad team. He was *very* efficient with his ice time, contributing 1.39 goals (3rd) and 3.14 points (1st) for every 60 minutes he played at 5v5.
He may not be a highly touted marquee name, but he garnered much better results than many that are.
Combine his tools (most notably, speed and puck skills) with such strong AHL numbers and there is every reason to believe he'll become a quality NHL player. Perhaps sooner than later.
Numbers via Prospect-Stats.com.
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