There's always the big-name freshman who comes in and competes for major awards, well, what about the lower-end players who can step in and play a role for their team right away?
It’s easy to look at and praise the freshmen who step onto the ice and dominate the scoresheet every weekend, but a lot of teams require freshmen to be role players. They will be relied on to forecheck, backcheck, play defense, and essentially do the dirty work. So here are the freshmen who can make the most impact for their team without producing a ton of points.
Jack Hextall - Center - Michigan State
Hextall was drafted 30th overall by the Calgary Flames this past June, and he brings good defensive instincts and a great work ethic to go with it. Although he put up 58 points in 59 games last season with the Youngstown Phantoms, I don’t expect him to have the same opportunity.
Hextall will become very valuable if he can become elite on the faceoff dot. He already has a great skill set in his own zone, and if he’s able to add that element to his game, he’ll bring an insane amount of value to Michigan State
Casey Mutryn - Right Winger - Boston College
The best way to describe Mutryn is that he’s an Energizer...