Rookie Watch: Power, Pinto among best in Atlantic Division

The impact several rookies are making on the NHL is one of the major storylines of the 2022-23 season. Each week, NHL.com will examine topics related to this season's class in the Rookie Watch.
This week, the top seven rookies in the Atlantic Division (in alphabetical order):

Jonatan Berggren, F, Detroit Red Wings:The 22-year-old left wing is tied for third among Atlantic Division rookies in goals (12) and is fifth in points (23) in 57 games and averaging 13:29 of ice time in a bottom-six role. The second-round pick (No. 33) in the 2018 NHL Draft ranks second in the division with eight power-play points (four goals). He's a left-handed shot who can play either wing on any line and had 64 points (21 goals, 43 assists) in 70 games for Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League in 2021-22, his first season in North America.
"He makes plays," Detroit coach Derek Lalonde said last month. "He's making plays in tight areas. He makes plays on the rush. He helps our offense with his ability to make plays to gain some space."
Nick Perbix, D, Tampa Bay Lightning:Perbix is third among Atlantic defensemen with 19 points (four goals, 15 assists) and first among NHL rookies at the position with a plus-12 rating while averaging 15:15 of ice time in a top-four pairing role. The sixth-round pick (No. 169) in the 2017 NHL Draft had a solid training camp but wasn't on the opening-night roster. He made his debut in the fourth game of the season Oct. 18 and has since remained in the lineup.
Perbix signed a two-year, $2.25 million contract with the Lightning on Jan. 2. He's third in hits (63), sixth in blocked shots (54) and third in takeaways (26) among rookie defensemen in 61 games.
"You don't want to have to bring players along that quickly, because he doesn't have a ton of pro experience, but he's 24, so it's not that he's a young man," Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. "Perbix has the skills and everything to play in this league. It's just growth and being a little harder to play against and he's really working on that right now. He's going to be good for one for us in the future."
JJ Peterka, F, Buffalo Sabres:The 21-year-old forward, chosen in the second round (No. 34) of the 2020 NHL Draft, is tied for first among Atlantic Division forwards in assists (20) and third in points (30) in 68 games. Peterka averages 13:47 of ice time and is third among Atlantic forwards with 19 takeaways while playing a middle-six role when in the lineup. He had 68 points (28 goals, 40 assists) and was named to the AHL All-Rookie Team in his first season with Rochester in 2021-22.
Shane Pinto, F, Ottawa Senators:The second-round pick (No. 32) in the 2019 NHL Draft is first among Atlantic rookies with 19 goals and second with 32 points in 74 games. The 22-year-old right-shot center is third among NHL rookies with 140 shots on goal, tied for third with four power-play goals, and fourth with 36 takeaways while averaging 15:54 of ice time as the center between left wing Alex DeBrincat and right wing Drake Batherson. He leads all NHL rookies in face-off wins (399) and is second in face-off winning percentage (52.1 percent; minimum 300 face-offs taken).
Pinto set a Senators rookie record for consecutive games with a goal, scoring in five straight from Oct. 15-24 (five goals, six points). It was the longest goal streak by a rookie in the NHL since Kirill Kaprizov of the Minnesota Wild (April 17-24, 2021; six goals, six points).
Owen Power, D, Sabres:The No. 1 pick in the 2021 NHL Draft is tied for first among rookie defensemen in the division in assists (25) and points (29) and first among NHL rookies in average ice time (23:47) in 70 games. The 20-year-old is the third-youngest defenseman with a goal streak of at least three games in the past 35 years, scoring in three straight games from Jan. 23-26 (three goals, three points). Power is fourth in blocked shots (81) and tied for 15th in takeaways (22) among all rookies. He leads first-year defensemen (minimum 35 games played) in 5-on-5 on-ice shooting percentage (10.7 percent) and is fourth in 5-on-5 on-ice goals-for percentage (53.2 percent).
"Owen is pretty amazing, obviously, three goals in a row, it's impressive at his age," Sabres coach Don Granato said. "What he does on a nightly basis is just amazing when you factor in his age and lack of experience in our league, to dominate situations and really full games the way he does."
Jack Quinn, F, Sabres: Quinn leads division rookies in points (34), is second in goals (14) and averages 13:47 of ice time on the second line with center Dylan Cozens and Peterka. The 21-year-old is eighth among 10 NHL rookies with 27 takeaways. He has 14 points (six goals, eight assists) in 24 games since Feb. 1, tied for second among first-year players. The No. 8 pick in the 2020 draft won the Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award as the AHL rookie of the year last season after he had 61 points (26 goals, 35 assists) in 45 games for Rochester despite missing time with a lower-body injury and mononucleosis.
"I've just been playing with confidence (lately), so it's been going well," Quinn said. "Getting comfortable, learning tendencies is important and I think chemistry is built over time so just try to keep getting better and better when I get time on the ice."
Jake Sanderson, D, Senators:The 20-year-old, selected with the No. 5 pick in the 2020 draft, is a top-pair defenseman who also is the quarterback of Ottawa's top power-play unit. Sanderson is tied for first in assists (25) and points (29) among rookie defensemen in the division. He's first among NHL rookies in blocked shots (127), second in power-play points (16) and seventh in takeaways (29). Sanderson is averaging 21:20 of ice time in a top-pair role with Artem Zub in 69 games and the Senators control 50.8 percent of all shots attempted with him on the ice this season at 5-on-5.
"He's able to adapt to anything, whether it's penalty kill, power play or whatever," Ottawa coach D.J. Smith said. "And he's just trying to get better (on the power play); that is probably the last part of his game right now. He works on the defensive side the most."