Joe Yerdon
November 25, 2023
Buying or Selling the NHL’s Early Breakouts
A few of our favorite stories of the early part of the NHL season surround players who are off to such huge starts that it makes all of us question if we’re enjoying the start of something huge. Or maybe the extension of what we thought might be the opening salvos of a breakout.
Now that we’re almost 20 games into the NHL season, it’s time to analyze some of the league’s most popular players. We’re not talking about rookies who are showing the league that they might be its next stars– that’s another conversation unto itself. We’re also not talking about established veterans with a long history of being among the very best in the league either.
We’re going to be buying or selling the hot starts of a handful of guys under 30 years old, some of whom are on some of the NHL’s most unexpected teams. Other guys have forced their coaches to give more ice time by contributing more to the attack.
We’ll take a look at each case based on how this season’s numbers compare against previous ones and keep a keen eye on different elements to see if there’s more to come or if this is a flash in the pan.
Jesper Bratt, New Jersey Devils
It’s a lot of fun to watch Jesper Bratt play hockey.
For the past couple of seasons, he has been one of the league’s more underappreciated players, and that’s probably the way the New Jersey Devils would prefer it. When teams match up against New Jersey, the first thoughts revolve around trying to shut down Jack Hughes or Nico Hischier and finding a way to limit Dougie Hamilton’s impact on the game.
Bratt scored 73 points in each of the previous 2 seasons, making him one of the league’s best and most consistent scorers. This season he’s taken things to another level with 23 points in 18 games. He’s averaging more than a point per game for the first time, and it’s due to his ability to set up others for goals, especially on the power play.
It’s a scorching start for Bratt, and although the power-play points might be a reason to hesitate on whether this hot start is real, how he’s performed the previous 2 seasons indicates he’s meant to be a point-producer– he’s just doing so now at a higher rate.
That said, his 12 power-play assists this season are 3 short of his career high set in 2021-2022 in 76 games, and he’s on pace to blow away his 73-point career high. These things can happen when you’re a top-tier player and that’s what Jesper Bratt is.
