Last year it was Alex Tuch who made the long climb from rookie camp to the Vegas Golden Knights NHL roster. Can someone else make that ascent this year?
Every player runs his own race and they all have their own personal finish line. Development can't be rushed or scheduled. It's one of the most unpredictable charts in hockey and nearly impossible to graph ahead of time.
But as we saw last season with almost the entire Golden Knights roster, opportunity can result in unexpected growth and results. And, as of right now, there are openings on the Golden Knights roster.
With Nate Schmidt lost to Vegas for the first 20 games of the season, Shea Theodore currently unsigned as well as Luca Sbisa no longer on the roster - there is the potential for three jobs on the blueline to be open once main camp opens.
GM George McPhee touched on the subject Thursday.
"I like carrying eight defensemen and we did it last year because none of the young guys were really ready to be called up," said McPhee. "The good news is we now have guys ready to be called up. We have some good young players."
Jake Bischoff made strides last season in the AHL and Zach Whitecloud played a game in the NHL down the stretch and has a mature game. Both could potentially step forth and fill a void. Erik Brannstrom is exceptionally smooth and Nic Hague is a huge body with offensive instincts.
Up front, James Neal and David Perron have departed and that's a lot of offense. Can a prospect get hot and force management to give him a long look which stretches into the regular season?
Cody Glass and Nick Suzuki have been dominant players at the junior level. Paired with the right veterans, there is a possibility one or both could generate offense.
It's likely that most of the prospect pool requires additional growth before making the jump. But surprises happen. They happen more and more often in a league which continues to skew younger.
McPhee would prefer to take his time with prospects and to over-cook them at lower levels rather than force them into the NHL. Ultimately McPhee and his staff will make those decisions but players can go a long way into defining the direction.
The best players play regardless of contract and age, and players come to a training camp expecting to make the team. They have to be in that mindset or they are destined to fail before they tie up their skates.
And so it begins. They are all prospects this morning. But come October 4, one of them just might be a Knight.
