The impact several rookies are making on the NHL is one of the major storylines of the 2021-22 season. Each week, NHL.com will examine topics related to this season's class in the Rookie Watch.
This week, a look at the top six NHL rookies from the Pacific Division.
Rookie Watch: Zegras, Kaliyev among best in Pacific Division
Ducks forward leads first-year players in power-play goals, Kings wing averaging 12:59 per game
Trevor Zegras, F, Anaheim Ducks:The 21-year-old (6-foot, 185 pounds) leads NHL rookies with six power-play goals and is first among Pacific Division rookies with 47 points (16 goals, 31 assists) in 60 games. Zegras set the record for the most assists by a rookie in team history, passing Cam Fowler (30 assists, 76 games in 2010-11). He's first among division rookies who've played at least 30 games in points per game (0.78). The No. 9 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft averages 17:43 of ice time, has drawn 22 penalties with his speed and creativity, and has scored the most goals by a Ducks rookie in the past 13 seasons (Bobby Ryan, 31, 2008-09). He leads rookies with six shootout goals on 10 chances.
Jamie Drysdale, D, Anaheim Ducks: Drysdale (5-11, 183) ranks second among rookies in the division with 26 points (three goals, 23 assists) and third with 11 power-play points (all assists) in 66 games. Anaheim has controlled 49.3 percent of all shots attempted at 5-on-5 when Drysdale is on the ice. Selected with the No. 6 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, Drysdale played 24 NHL games last season, scoring eight points (three goals, five assists). He's second among NHL rookie defensemen in assists and points and fourth among all first-year NHL players who've played a minimum 10 games in average ice time (19:52).
Sean Durzi, D, Los Angeles Kings: Durzi (6-0, 195) is third among division rookies with 23 points (three goals, 20 assists), second with 12 power-play points (two goals, 10 assists) and first with 78 blocked shots in 49 games. He averages 18:41 of ice time, including 2:13 on the power play, and ranks second among all rookie defensemen with 26 power-play shots. Durzi had three assists in a 4-3 shootout loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on March 24 to tie the Kings record for most by a first-year defenseman in one game, joining Alexei Zhitnik, Derek Forbort, Mark Hardy, Larry Murphy, Craig Redmond and Bill White. His 23 points are the most by a Kings rookie at the position since Drew Doughty scored 27 (six goals, 21 assists) in 2008-09, and he's scored four points (one goal, three assists) in his past two games. The 23-year-old was selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the second round (No. 52) of the 2018 NHL Draft and traded to Los Angeles with forward Carl Grundstrom and a first-round pick in the 2019 draft (defenseman Tobias Bjornfot) for defenseman Jake Muzzin on Jan. 28, 2019.
Jonathan Dahlen, F, San Jose Sharks:The 24-year-old is tied with Arthur Kaliyev of the Kings for fourth among division rookies with 22 points (12 goals, 10 assists) and fifth with 18 takeaways in 52 games. He is third among first-year players in the Pacific with three power-play goals and averaging 14:20 of ice time. The son of retired NHL forward Ulf Dahlen, Jonathan (5-11, 180) was selected by the Ottawa Senators in the second round (No. 42) of the 2016 NHL Draft and acquired by San Jose in a trade with the Vancouver Canucks for forward prospect Linus Karlsson on Feb. 25, 2019. Last season, Dahlen scored 71 points (25 goals, 46 assists) in 45 games for Timra IK and was named forward of the year (for the second straight season) and most valuable player in HockeyAllsvenskan, Sweden's second-highest professional division.
Arthur Kaliyev, F, Los Angeles Kings: The second-round pick (No. 33) in the 2019 draft is tied with Dahlen for second among division rookies with 12 goals while averaging 12:59 of ice time in 66 games. The 20-year-old (6-2, 210) leads NHL rookies with 168 shots and is tied with Detroit Red Wings right wing Lucas Raymond for second among all NHL rookies with five power-play goals. Los Angeles controls a team-high 58.8 percent of all shot attempts 5-on-5 when Kaliyev is on the ice (minimum 15 games).
Vasily Podkolzin, F, Vancouver Canucks: The No. 10 pick in the 2019 draft is sixth among division scorers with 16 points (10 goals, six assists) in 64 games while averaging 12:10 in ice time. The 20-year-old is the third Russia-born player in Canucks history to score a goal within his first two NHL games, joining Vladimir Krutov (1989) and Artem Chubarov (1999). Podkolzin (6-1, 190) played three seasons for SKA St. Petersburg of the Kontinental Hockey League. He scored 11 points (five goals, six assists) in 35 games for St. Petersburg in 2020-21, and four points (two goals, two assists) in seven games for fourth-place Russia at the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship.
"Vasily is a competitor who plays an aggressive game," Canucks general manager Jim Benning said. "He's effective using his size and skill to get to the net and produce offensively."
