I'm going to look at some players in the West that have seen elevated roles in recent weeks or have been added to the lineups and been allowed to shine with less than eight games to play in the regular season. Some of these players have shown well, while others have struggled.

Michael Amadio – Vegas

The 25-year-old Amadio was taken on waivers from Toronto in late October 2021. With Vegas needing to do salary cap gymnastics and having so many injuries, it's opened a spot for Amadio to grab a regular role. In April he has two goals and an assist in seven games while averaging 14:02 per game while mostly playing with William Karlsson and Evgenii Dadonov.

Sheldon Dries – Vancouver

With Bo Horvat going down for the regular season with an injury in the Canucks win over Arizona, Dries slotted in on the first PP unit and was skating with Connor Garland and Elias Pettersson at even strength. He had a goal on four SOG while playing 14:55 in his last game. The 27-year-old led the Abbotsford Canucks in scoring in the AHL with 35 goals and 27 assists in 54 games. I can see the role Horvat played on the power play going to Dries or Podkolzin down the stretch.

Vasili Podkolzin – Vancouver

In April, Podkolzin has three goals and three assists in six games, while playing 15:46 per game skating with J.T. Miller and Alex Chiasson and seeing some time on the second unit of the PP. The 20-year-old had averaged 12:30 for the season.

Alex Chiasson – Vancouver

Chiasson has not always been a regular in the lineup and has skated on the fourth line at other times averaging 11:15 per game. In April he has five goals and four assists in six games on 20 SOG while averaging 15:48 per night. The 31-year-old is riding a hot streak right now while skating with Miller and Podkolzin and playing on the first unit of the PP with Brock Boeser out injured. 

Nick Leddy – St. Louis

The Blues gave up a lot to get Leddy when they sent Jake Walman and a 2nd round pick in 2023 to Detroit. He has been paired with Justin Faulk and in April he has played nine games with a goal and four assists while averaging 20:15 per game. Torey Krug is back in the lineup so his time on the PP has been curtailed recently.

Vince Dunn – Seattle

When Mark Giordano was traded to Toronto, it gave Dunn the chance to increase his minutes, which have gone from around 20 per game to over 23 since. The offense is starting to come, as he has five assists in his past 11 games. The rest of the games are important to Dunn and the Kraken to give the club an idea if Dunn can fill this role next season.

Kole Lind – Seattle

Lind has been on the cusp of the NHL for the past two seasons, but just hasn't quite done enough when given a few games last season in Vancouver or earlier in the season with Seattle. Since the beginning of March, Lind has averaged 12-14 minutes per night and in the past 14 games, he has one goal and four assists with 23 SOG. I think he will be a regular next season.

Karson Kuhlman – Seattle

The 26-year-old Kuhlman has played 91 career NHL games over the past four seasons averaging 11:35 per game with only nine goals and 10 assists. In April, he has played seven games with Seattle and has two goals and two assists with 15 SOG while averaging 14:29 while skating with Alex Wennberg and Jared McCann at even strength.

Ryan Donato – Seattle

Since missing three games in early March, Donato has played 15 games with four goals and six assists on 32 SOG while averaging about 15 minutes per game. In the 51 games before he averaged about 12:30 per game. In his last two games, he has played with Jordan Eberle and Matty Beniers at even strength and averaged about 16 minutes. His 15 goals this season are his career-high.

Matty Beniers – Seattle

The second-overall pick from 2021 made his NHL debut and had an assist while playing 17:10. In his second game, he got his first NHL goal and drew a penalty in overtime. Kraken fans will be excited to see what he can do in the remaining games this year.

Sasha Chmelevski – San Jose

The 22-year-old Chmelevski played five games last season and is getting a longer look this year with the Sharks. He has dressed for 13 games this year with four assists while averaging 14:01 per game. He has struggled in the face-off circle but has played well otherwise. He has a chance to stick next season.

Jaycob Megna – San Jose

The 29-year-old Megna had only played 43 NHL games before this season all with Anaheim. This season he has managed 37 games with the Sharks and since Jacob Middleton was traded, he has played 11 games with a goal and two assists while averaging over 20 minutes per game. With a regular role next season, he could be a multi-category addition as he has 60 hits and 76 blocked shots in 37 games.

Sean Durzi – Los Angeles

Durzi has been given the power-play keys with Drew Doughty out of the lineup. Over the past 12 games, Durzi has seven points with four of them on the PP. He has averaged over 24 minutes per game in those 12 games, up from the 18 he was playing before then.

Artturi Lehkonen – Colorado

Lehkonen has played on the first unit of the PP over the last six games in Colorado and he has two goals and three assists over that period. With Nazem Kadri and Gabriel Landeskog injured, Lehkonen might see a bump in production until one or both are back.

Taylor Raddysh – Chicago

In his 14 games with Chicago since being traded from Tampa Bay, Raddysh has four goals and four assists with 29 SOG while averaging just under 16 minutes per game. In Tampa Bay, he played 53 games with five goals and seven assists while averaging about 11 minutes per game. He has been on the first unit of the PP with three PPGs recently in Chicago.

Urho Vaakanainen – Anaheim

Vaakanainen has played 10 games with Anaheim after being traded from Boston in the Hampus Lindholm deal. He has two assists while averaging just under 19 minutes per game paired with Kevin Shattenkirk most of the time. The Ducks will want to get an idea of what they have with the 23-year-old Vaakanainen.

Anthony Stolarz – Anaheim

With the Ducks out of the playoffs, they will probably split Stolarz and John Gibson 50/50 the rest of the season. This should give Stolarz a few more opportunities to show the team what he is capable of for next season.

Derek Grant – Anaheim

In his past 15 games, Grant has seven goals and seven assists on 31 SOG while averaging over 16 minutes per game, while playing with Troy Terry and Trevor Zegras for the most part during that stretch. In his other 54 games, he has eight goals and seven assists.

Thomas Bordeleau – San Jose

The 20-year-old 38th overall pick from 2020 signed with the Sharks after his junior season at the University of Michigan finished in early April. He made his debut with San Jose and had an assist skating with Rudolfs Balcers and Noah Gregor. The Sharks will want to get a good look at him for the balance of the season.

Scott Wedgewood – Dallas

Wedgewood hasn't been great in April but he has been good enough to start four times in the nine games the Stars have played in the month. He has two wins and two overtime losses in some very important games for Dallas.

Logan Thompson – Vegas

Thompson has outplayed Robin Lehner in April and with Laurent Brossoit on the LTIR, the backup job is his for the rest of the season. In three starts in April he has two wins, a 93.0 save percentage and a GSAA of 1.90. He could earn some more starts the rest of the way.

Thanks for reading, and let me know if you want me to focus on any players or topics by messaging me below or following me on Twitter @gampbler15.