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When Kyle Turris came over to Ottawa it seemed as though he may be handed the role of number one center, that hasn't been the case as Colin Greening has earned himself a spot playing first line minutes playing in between Milan Michalek and Jason Spezza. He's starting to heat up (5 points in 3 games) and is shaping up to be a dependable player for the Sens down the middle. If he continues his strong play, a 50 point season may not be out of the question.
The highly touted 1st rounder from 2008 hasn't put up much offense in the big leagues thus far but Luca Sbisa has chipped in with points in 6 of his last 9 games. He's playing with Lubomir Visnovsky and Cam Fowler at times where opportunities to score should be aplenty. Roll the dice on Sbisa, he's finally arrived.
The first Nashville Predators defenceman on this list is a name most will find familiar, it's Ryan Ellis. At the junior level he put up sick numbers including 101 points in only 58 games with the Windsor Spitfires in his final season. His first campaign in the pro's is off to a great start too with 17 points in 26 with the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL. He was called up not too long ago and should stay the rest of the way if 4 points in his first 7 games is any indication on how good he could be. Get him on your team now.
Nashville always seems to develop great NHL defenceman within their system, Roman Josi could be the next. He's been given a handful of minutes playing with Kevin Klein, who is a stay-at-home kinda guy allowing Josi to cruise up the ice. He's taken advantage of his chances as 8 points in his first 22 games is a sign, like Ellis, that he will be around for the long run.
Thought we were done talking about defenceman? You're wrong. Justin Faulk may be the most intriguing defenceman in the Hurricanes line-up right now. He's beginning to chip in more consistently and the Kirk Muller has given him more ice-time. His pairing partner is veteran Jay Harrison who is enjoying a career year. Faulk is a nice depth pick up as of right now, but could develop into the Hurricanes main source of offense from the back end one day.