LEE,ANDERS – NIELSEN,FRANS – STROME,RYAN

7

17.95%

Very quietly, Lee is second among NHL rookies in goals, fifth in points, 10^th in plus-minus, third in power play goals, and second in shots.

6. Mike Hoffman

The future of the Sens is looking bright with the crop of rookies they trotted out this year. Two Sens players made this list, and a third, Curtis Lazar, just missed the cut. Hoffman has had an up and down season, struggling a little bit at the start, but really finding his stride once Dave Cameron became the new coach. Lately he's been down a little bit again, but overall, he's had a great season. He leads all NHL rookies in goals, and is fourth in points. He's also first in plus-minus, fourth in game-winning goals and third in shots.

5. John Klingberg

It would have been great to see Klingberg play a full season in the NHL to get a true sense of how he stacked up against other rookies. He's on pace for 53 points over an 82-game season, which would probably be a top-10 offensive defenceman overall, not just among rookies. Regardless, he's been one of the best rookies this season. Among rookie dmen, he's first in goals, assists, points, fourth in plus-minus, second in power play goals, first in power play points, and second in game-winning goals. He's also fourth in hits and blocked shots.

4. Aaron Ekblad

Ekblad has quickly shown why he was the number one draft pick in the NHL draft and in most prospect fantasy drafts last summer. As an 18-year-old on a team that struggles to score, Ekblad has been the best rookie defenceman this year. Among rookie defencemen, he's first in goals, second in assists, second in points, second in plus-minus, first in power play goals and points, first in game-winning goals and first in shots. He's also second in hits and blocked shots for leagues that count those categories.

3. Mark Stone

Out of everyone on this list, Stone has probably been the biggest surprise, and a lot of that is thanks to the firing of Paul MacLean back on Dec. 8. Since then, Stone's ice time and confidence has risen. He's fifth in goals, third in assists, third in points, sixth in plus-minus, fifth in power play points, and third in game-winning goals. He also leads all NHL players in takeaways.

2. Johnny Gaudreau

Even the most ardent Gaudreau supporters probably didn't think Gaudreau would be this good. On pace for 61 points, Gaudreau seems to be getting better as the season goes along, with 14 points in 14 games in March. After a slow start (just six points in 11 October games), Johnny Hockey has been pretty consistent, never really going through a big cold streak. Among all rookies Gaudreau is fourth in goals, first in assists, second in points, first in power play goals and first in power play points.

1. Filip Forsberg

The consensus number one rookie for the first half of the season, Forsberg has just nine points in the last 22 games. That may be tough in head-to-head leagues, but he's still been solid overall, and with his numbers, is having the best rookie season fantasy-wise. Forsberg is second in goals and assists, but first in points. He's also second in plus-minus, second in power play goals, first in power play points, first in game-winning goals and first in shots.