The NHL draft brings with it a new crop of rookies and the hype that follows them. And in all that excitement, some young players, who have spent time with an NHL squad but still retain their rookie eligibility, get lost in the shuffle.
Here are four rookies who have already felt the pressure of competing against NHL-caliber players and are ready to make a splash in 2018-19.
Related: Ranking the top NHL rookies for 2018-19
(Position eligibility according to Yahoo)
Lias Andersson, C, Rangers
| Age | GP | G | A | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
The seventh overall pick of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft closed out his season with the New York Rangers after splitting time in Sweden and the AHL for the majority of the year. Andersson will now have a chance to make the big club out of training camp and could even compete for the second-line center role behind incumbent No. 1 Mika Zibanejad, who has missed time in each of the last two seasons. Andersson should be flanked by a pair of veteran wingers, which will only help him make the leap from prospect to pro.
Valentin Zykov, LW, Hurricanes
| Age | GP | G | A | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 8 |
Zykov should be provided with an opportunity to play extended minutes and grow as a player, as the Carolina Hurricanes enter yet another rebuild. The 2013 second-round pick debuted with a two-game appearance in 2016-17, scoring a goal while averaging just over six minutes of ice time. He led the AHL with 33 goals and 54 points last season and could reward Carolina's patience if he's able to stick on the top line for a full campaign.
Dylan Sikura, RW, Blackhawks
| Age | GP | G | A | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
Sikura was a top-10 Hobey Baker finalist in his final year at Northeastern. He notched 22 goals and 54 points over 35 games and earned a five-game stint with the Chicago Blackhawks to finish the season. Chicago's roster has recently become rather top-heavy, but the 2014 sixth-rounder could be on the fast track to offensive success if he's able to crack the top six, now that he's fully developed at the NCAA level.
Logan Brown, C, Senators
| Age | GP | G | A | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Brown opened last season on the Ottawa Senators' roster but was quickly returned to the OHL, where he totaled 48 points over 32 games. At 6-foot-6 and 220 lbs, he's the prototypical power forward and should be able to offer fantasy managers value with shots on goal and penalty minutes, even if the point production doesn't come immediately. He's definitely worth a late-round flier in banger leagues, in which he'd be credited with hits and blocked shots, but he could even warrant consideration in deeper standard leagues with ice time so readily available in Ottawa.
Related: 5 rookies who can make a fantasy impact this season
(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)
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