Today we are taking a deeper dive into a few players who are taking a big step forward from previous years and on pace for some big career years.

First player we are highlighting is none other than our current season points leader Emile Poirier of the San Jose Sharks.  In his 13th season Poirier is coming off a career year where he put up 74 points.  Even though it has not helping the Sharks improve his individual play this year has been steller, putting up 50 points and 22 goals after only 44 games played!  He is on pace to shatter his career best 27 goals, potentially finishing at or close to the 40 goal mark by year end and close to 100 points.

Second player we are taking a closer look at is Kent Johnson on Vancouver, one of the most creative and skilled players to come out of the 2028 draft.  Third time is a charm with Johnson as he is really figuring the league out this year, having only played 41 games he sits with 21 goals in his third year as a pro, he is on pace for a 40 goal season at 22 years old.  Compare that to his career high goal total of 24 which he posted in his first two seasons and you have almost a 40% increase in goal production.  Not only that but Johnson has become a more efficent scorer bring his shooting percentage up by over 25% from 13.2 to 17.9%.  Vancouver fans rejoice, Kent Johnson has arrived and will be one of the top goal scorers for years to come.

Third and final player we are looking at is another youngster looking to reach star status for the Calgary Flames. The player I am referring to is 23 year old Sam Colangelo who currently is in his sophmore year with the team and sits with 32 assists and 43 points after 45 games played, that is four assists away from his career best 36 points set in his rookie campaign.  At this pace he could very well reach close to 60 assists and close to a ppg in just his second season in the league.  Flames fans are loving it as they are not only a potential playoff team but seeing a star taking their game to a superstar level in the playmaking department.