#5 – David Pastrnak
Yes, he plays on the best line in the NHL, which includes the perennial hart trophy candidate Brad Marchand as well as the best defensive forward in Patrice Bergeron, and all of this has been taken into account, but Pastrnak is one special player.
The three stars have carried the Bruins offence for the past few years, and they finished with 106 goals altogether this past season, while the rest of the team scored 148.
The young Czech winger finished 16th in goals this past season with 38, while playing only 66 games due to injury, which was the least amount of games played for anyone in the top 20, so this was clearly the year Pastrnak was set to break out.
Pastrnak has unmatched confidence and swagger. On a team with so much talent through all four forward lines and on the defensive end, Pastrnak is third in the NHL in iCF, and is creative in finding ways to create scoring chances for himself in many situations. He is the best power play scorer in the league with 12 goals, but is also second in the NHL in even strength goals.
First in NHL goals with 25, Pastrnak has already put himself in elite company in his young career. Pastrnak became just the eighth player in the last 30 years to reach the 25-goal mark in 27 or fewer games, and could quite possibly join the 50 in 50 club this season; something only Mario Lemieux, Wayne Gretzky, Maurice Richard, Mike Bossy, and Brett Hull have done.