In this week's Eastern Edge, we'll discuss a few players who produced at an impressive rate this past calendar year. Obviously, 2022 isn't over just yet, so the calendar-year period we're discussing runs from January 1^st, 2022, to December 19^th, 2022.

Taylor Hall

The 31-year-old winger has collected 74 points through 86 games in 2022. That point total places him among the top-50 scorers during the calendar year. I think that's remarkable when you consider the difference in perception between him and some of the players around him. For example, John Tavares has 74 points in 82 games so far this year. Hall has been significantly more productive than he was in 2021, when he posted 47 points in 79 games – split between Buffalo and Boston. His fantasy reputation took a hit after a poor 2020-2021 campaign, but he's turned himself into a valuable secondary scorer on a powerhouse Bruins team.

Jeff Skinner

After signing an eight-year deal with an AAV of $9 million during the summer of 2019, Skinner went on to have the least productive seasons of his career. He posted a 32-point pace in 2019-2020 and followed that up with a 22-point pace during the 2020-2021 campaign. Fast forward to the present where Skinner is experiencing an offensive resurgence thanks to an infusion of new talent in Buffalo, as well as a coach who better understands how to deploy his players. Since January 1^st, Skinner has 40 goals and 42 assists through 79 games.

Tage Thompson

Easily one of the best stories this year. Prior to 2022, Tage Thompson had posted just 55 points over 177 NHL appearances. This calendar year has seen him rack up 98 points in 78 outings –

only 13 players in the league have more points per game in that span. Among those who played at least 50 games in 2022, only Auston Matthews (0.72) and David Pastrnak (0.69) scored more goals per game than Thompson (0.67) this year. It's taken some time for the 6'6" center to find his footing in the NHL, but he has emphatically graduated to superstar status this year.

Brock Nelson

The Islanders' leading scorer in 2022 is none other than the high-profile, highly touted…Brock Nelson. In 86 games this year, Nelson has tallied 79 points. Only 12 players in the league have scored more goals than Nelson (42) so far in 2022. Shifting our focus to the 2022-2023 campaign, Nelson is scoring at a point-per game pace thanks to an expanded role. His average ice time has increased by a minute since last season and his share of New York's power-play time has also gone up (from 53% to 68%). The increased power-play role has boosted Nelson's production with the man advantage. He has nine power-play points through 33 games this season (0.27 PPPs/game) after posting 14 in 72 (0.19 PPPs/game) during the 2021-2022 campaign.

Nick Suzuki

The Canadiens' captain carved out a larger role for himself in 2022, using his high hockey IQ to earn the trust of recently hired head coach Martin St. Louis. Suzuki is averaging 21 minutes of ice time in the calendar year, which ranks eighth among league forwards. It's a significant increase from the 19 minutes he averaged in 2021. The increased opportunity has resulted in more production, with Suzuki posting 74 points through 81 games (0.91 points/game) in 2022 after tallying 59 in 89 last year (0.66 points/game).  

Cole Caufield

The young winger has scored 41 goals through 74 games so far in 2022. Among forwards who've played at least 50 games this year, Caufield ranks 11^th in goals per game (0.55). He's found great success under fellow short king Martin St. Louis, who also managed to be a productive despite being 'undersized'. It's been an impressive bounce-back year for Caufield, whose goal-scoring talent had been supressed under coach Dominique Ducharme in 2021 – a calendar year that saw him score just five times in 35 games.  

Brady Tkachuk

2022 was the year that Brady Tkachuk took his offensive game to new heights. After scoring at a 50-point pace in each of his first three seasons, Tkachuk has posted 81 points in 85 games so far in 2022. He also used the calendar year to reinforce himself as a multicategory beast, ranking fifth in the league for shots, eighth in penalty minutes, and 11^th in hits. He's an underrated asset in formats that track faceoff wins, chipping in a few every game from the wing position of your fantasy roster. You'd be hard-pressed to find another point-per-game player who can give you such a high level of production across so many peripheral categories.

Tim Stützle

The third overall pick of the 2020 draft started living up to his potential this past calendar year. After posting a modest 44 points through 81 games in 2021, Stützle took a massive step forward in 2022, racking up 70 points in 79 appearances. His production with the man advantage has been particularly impressive as his 32 power-play points rank 27^th among league skaters. That's not bad for a 20-year-old forward whose best years are still ahead of him.

Mitch Marner

The 25-year-old forward doesn't get the respect he deserves for the scoring he provides. That changed a little bit this season when he went on a franchise record-setting 23-game point streak, but the praise still isn't proportional to the production. In 2022, Marner ranks fifth in the league with 113 points through 80 outings. He's seeing just over 21 minutes of action a night this year – only six forwards in the league average more time on ice.