Patrik Laine has played a dominant role in the NHL as a teenager from the moment he entered the League in 2016-17.
The 19-year-old Winnipeg Jets right wing and No. 2 pick in the 2016 NHL Draft now has an opportunity to do it on the biggest stage of his hockey career in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Laine, the seventh teenager to score at least 30 goals in back-to-back NHL seasons, is one of eight teens in the playoffs.
Joining him are center Nico Hischier and forward Jesper Bratt of the New Jersey Devils; center Nolan Patrick of the Philadelphia Flyers; center Pierre-Luc Dubois of the Columbus Blue Jackets; defenseman Mikhail Sergachev of the Tampa Bay Lightning; defenseman Samuel Girard of the Colorado Avalanche; and forward Eeli Tolvanen of the Nashville Predators.
"When you're building something for the future, you have this vision of this player in his prime, [like] Blake Wheeler," Jets coach Paul Maurice said of Winnipeg's 31-year-old forward. "To get to that prime, they have to go through that playoff grind and understand it so the coach isn't telling them something they've never really understood. It's going to get a lot harder. It's going to get a lot heavier."
Maurice said many of the teams that qualified for the playoffs will rely on young players even before their entry-level contracts expire.
"The numbers they're going to put up are going to command a chunk of the resources, so now's your time," he said. "We need them. They're driving our bus in a lot of ways.
"There's an awful lot of growth in [Laine's] game available [now], and he's interested in doing these things now. This guy's going to be a really special player to watch."
The last teenager to score at least 30 goals in consecutive seasons was Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby in 2005-06 (39 as a rookie) and 2006-07 (36). Laine scored 36 in 2016-17 and 44 this season, second in the League to Alex Ovechkin's 49.
Crosby played five playoff games as a 19-year-old and had five points (three goals, two assists), but Pittsburgh lost in five games to the Ottawa Senators in the 2007 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.
"I do think you're a little more confident after your first year," Crosby said. "You understand who you're playing against and I think that helps. But I don't like to compare years. I think it's difficult regardless of what you need to do as a young player to be consistent. Laine's obviously a big talent and knows how to score, so he's proven that early on."
Former NHL center Pat LaFontaine, who played 16 games for the New York Islanders as a 19-year-old in the 1984 Stanley Cup Playoffs, said he had the benefit of being surrounded by veterans.
"We were going in with cagey vets who were champions (after winning the Stanley Cup four straight years), so seeing and learning how they approached each game was my lesson," LaFontaine said. "You're really not thinking anything too big because you don't know what to expect, so there's this innocence about just going and playing and not trying to make it more than what it is. I think that's when you have your most success, when you're just happy and excited to be there and not thinking that everything is riding on every game.
"It's a mindset in how your team approaches it and the type of players you have that helps determine success."
Laine is third in NHL history in goals by a teenager (80 goals in 155 games), behind former Jets forward Dale Hawerchuk (85 goals, 159 games) and former Los Angeles Kings forward Jimmy Carson (92 goals, 160 games).
Hawerchuk was the first teenager to have back-to-back seasons of at least 30 goals (1981-82, 45; 1982-83, 40). He also scored twice in seven playoff games in those two seasons.
"The veteran players told me when you're not feeling it, just keep it simple," Hawerchuk said. "It's like the old saying goes, 'You can never tell when a good pro is having an off night because he does all the little things right,' like going to the net, being hard on the forecheck. You never know when one will hit you in the rear end and go in, and suddenly you have your legs back and you feel good again."
LaFontaine said he sees a lot of fellow Hockey Hall of Fame forward Mike Bossy, his teammate with the Islanders, in the way Laine shoots the puck. Beginning with his rookie season in 1977-78, Bossy scored more than 50 goals nine straight times and finished his NHL career with 573 in 752 games.
"Ovechkin and [Brett] Hull are more of the quick-release, muscle-shooting players, where Bossy and Laine are strategic snipers," LaFontaine said. "The puck comes off [Laine's] stick so naturally and the guy he most reminds me of is Bossy. Laine is very comfortable where he's playing and playing with, and he has great hands."
Here's a look at the other teenagers hoping to make an impact in the playoffs:
Nico Hischier, C, New Jersey Devils: The 19-year-old, selected No. 1 in the 2017 NHL Draft, finished among the top 10 NHL rookies in goals (20, tied for seventh), assists (32, fifth), points (52, tied for sixth) and shots (180, fifth) in 82 games.
Jesper Bratt, F, New Jersey Devils: Selected in the sixth round (No. 162) of the 2016 NHL Draft, the 19-year-old played a top-nine role much of the season. He had 35 points (13 goals, 22 assists) in 74 games.
Nolan Patrick, C, Philadelphia Flyers: The 19-year-old, picked No. 2 in the 2017 draft, appeared to gain confidence following the All-Star break; he had 21 points (10 goals, 11 assists) in 32 games since Jan. 31. He finished with 30 points (13 goals, 17 assists) and won 50.6 percent of his face-offs, second to forward David Kampf of the Chicago Blackhawks (53.0) among NHL rookies with at least 200 taken, in 73 games.
Pierre-Luc Dubois, C, Columbus Blue Jackets: Chosen No. 3 in the 2016 draft, the 19-year-old is the only player on this list other than Laine to score an NHL hat trick. He is the fourth rookie in Columbus history to do it (Cam Atkinson, 2011-12; Matt Calvert, 2010-11; Nikita Filatov, 2008-09). Dubois finished with 20 goals to pass Rick Nash (17, 2002-03) for most in a season by a Blue Jackets rookie, and had 48 points, 127 hits and a plus-8 rating in 82 games.
Mikhail Sergachev, D, Tampa Bay Lightning: The 19-year-old, the No. 9 pick in the 2016 draft by the Montreal Canadiens, was acquired by the Lightning in a trade with Montreal for forward Jonathan Drouin on June 15, 2017. He ranked second among NHL rookie defensemen in assists (31), points (40), shots (141) and power-play points (16) in 79 games.
Samuel Girard, D, Colorado Avalanche: Selected in the second round (No. 47) of the 2016 draft by the Nashville Predators, the 19-year-old was part of the three-team trade that sent Matt Duchene to the Senators and Kyle Turris to the Predators on Nov. 5. He ranked seventh among NHL rookie defensemen with 23 points (four goals, 19 assists) and third with 13 power-play points in 73 games.
Eeli Tolvanen, RW, Nashville Predators: Tolvanen, who turns 19 on April 22, skated on a line with Ryan Johansen and Viktor Arvidsson and even saw time on the power-play unit during his three-game regular-season audition to end the season. The Vihit, Finland, native signed an entry-level contract on March 29 after the most productive season by a teenager in the 10-year history of the Kontinental Hockey League. His 36 points (19 goals and 17 assists) for Jokerit in 49 games set a league record for an 18-year-old; the former mark was held by Evgeny Kuznetsov (Washington Capitals) with 32 points in 39 games.
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