Eddie Razo: Nikita Zaitsev
He will be 24 years-old when the season starts, so I’ll have to go with Nikita Zaitsev as the young player I am looking forward to seeing in 2016-2017.
The Maple Leafs are loaded with young players on offense and next year they will showcase players like Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Nikita Soshnikov, Zach Hyman, Mitch Marner, and Connor Brown. However, when you look to the defense other than Morgan Rielly and Jake Gardiner, there are a lot of question marks behind them.
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Which is why it will be interesting to see if Zaitsev can grab a top four role and run with it. He is a puck moving defenseman with a right-handed shot, which Mike Babcock will love, so Zaitsev will definitely be given minutes on the power-play, so it will be intriguing to see how his offensive numbers translate to the North American game.
If anyone has seen any Youtube highlights of Zaitsev, the first thing they will notice is his shot. The thought of Morgan Rielly feeding him the puck on the power-play excites many Maple Leaf fans for next season. Although his offensive game is something that will excite the fanbase, his defensive game will be just as important and something to keep track of, especially if someone hasn’t seen Zaitsev play.
Overall, seeing if Zaitsev can be a steal for the Maple Leafs and a top four defenseman will be interesting to follow in 2016-2017.
Next: Tim Chiasson: Mitch Marner
Tim Chiasson: Mitch Marner
There are a lot of young players that will be great to see full-time, but I think that Mitch Marner is the most exciting of the group.
Auston Matthews has the expectation to come in and be a very great player, while people are still unsure of what to expect from Marner at the NHL level after destroying the Ontario Hockey League last year from start to finish.
Marner is an elite prospect with exceptional skill and he has the potential to be as much in conversation for the Calder as Auston Matthews and Patrik Laine – especially if he`s playing with Matthews.
He can score every way you can imagine and has great vision to find players all over the ice – just ask Christian Dvorak and Matthew Tkachuk.
Next: Replenished System Still Has Questions
Not only am I most looking forward to Marner over everyone else, but I think he could turn a lot of heads by the end of the season and, maybe, be the highest scoring rookie in the entire National Hockey League. Great players find ways to do great things even as rookies.