The New Wave

The NHL has just gone through a huge change with the lockout, which was just a couple years ago. More goals, shootouts and new rules. Now, the NHL is going under a new change. The new wave of young talent.

The last generation of NHL players brought such greats as Teemu Selanne, Chris Chelios and Eric Lindros, but now those players are fighting for jobs, and their talent is deteriorating. But there are more than enough players to take their spot.

The draft this year brought 2 stand out players so far. Sam Gagner and Patrick Kane. Kane is right at home in Chicago, as he shares the pressure of the being the "next one" with fellow rookie Jonathon Toews. Kane already has 13 points in the season and Toews has a good 8 points. Another big rookie combo is in Edmonton, where Andrew Cogliano and Sam Gagner play.

Gagner was expected to play in the OHL for another year, but he impressed at the Super Series, and at Oiler training camp. Now, he is a full-time Oiler and 2nd on the team in scoring. Cogliano also made the team and is 2nd on the team in scoring as well.

But these are just the rookies. What about the sophomores in the league? Guillaume Latendresse, Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Stall, and Anze Kopitar can all call themselves successful NHLers, and none of them are 25! Latendrasse looks to imprive on his rookie year and help the Habs get to the playoffs again. Malkin and Stall both had phenomenal rookie year, with Malkin getting close to the 100 point mark. Both will be key parts of the youth movement in Pittsburgh this year. Finally, Kopitar will try to get to the point-a-game mark this season while on the top line with Mike Cammeleri.

And lets not forget the 2 biggest young stars in the game, Alex Ovechkin, and Sidney Crosby. I really don't think I have to go into detail about these 2. Everyone already knows about their skill and ability. Both players are looking toget to the playoffs and win the Cup. Crosby will have the best chance of doing this, as he has an even better team than the 100+ point team of last year, and Ovechkin has Micheal Nylander and Nicklas Backstrom to centre him now. Both players will challenge for the scoring title.

There are a lot more players I could of covered, but I just did those to show you how much the NHL is turning toward their young players for points. This is the year that the new generation takes over and the last generation of players take a step back.