Pucks of a Feather’s NHL Awards Ballot Part One
By Ed Stein
Breakout Player Of The Year
This is awarded to the player who exceeded his previous production and became a star this year.
3rd Place – Nathan MacKinnon. We have MacKinnon as the winner of one of the league’s standard awards (you’ll have to check back in another few days). After averaging a pedestrian 52.5 points in his first four seasons, he broke out in a big way this year. 39 goals and 58 assists proved that he was the top player in Colorado, and allowed the Avs to deal Matt Duchesne for some much-needed assets. The only reason he isn’t higher on the list is because he is a former number one overall draft pick (2013).
More from Pucks of a Feather
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- Is Pierre-Luc Dubois on the cards for the rebuilding Anaheim Ducks?
- Making the case for the Anaheim Ducks to trade with the Edmonton Oilers
- Anaheim Ducks might benefit tremendously by trading John Gibson
- How close are the Anaheim Ducks to becoming contenders again?
2nd Place – Connor Hellebuyck. This is another player you will read about in a later edition. If it weren’t for him, the Jets wouldn’t have been close to the team they were this year. Hellebuyck won 44 games, with a 2.36 Goals Against Average and .924 Save %.
1st Place – William Karlsson. “Wild Bill” earned the top spot and is our Breakout Player of the Year. Much to the chagrin of Ducks fans, he was traded away from Anaheim in 2015 as part of the deal to acquire James Wisniewski. Last summer he was selected by the Vegas Golden Knights in the expansion draft. Even they couldn’t have imagined the impact he would have on their team. 43 goals, 78 points, and an astounding +49.