There was a lot to like from Noah Ostlund's rookie season, but there is reason to believe his sophomore season could be even better. However, it is surprising that the Buffalo Sabres forward was nowhere to be found in a recent list on Daily Faceoff.
Mike Gould of Daily Faceoff put together his top players who are set to have a sophomore breakout. There were some expected players on the list, like the New York Rangers' Gabe Perreault, the San Jose Sharks' Michael Misa, and the Washington Capitals' Ryan Leonard.
However, Noah Ostlund was surprisingly left off even though his season was in line with the other players on the list. Of the seven players, six were forwards, and among those six, Ostlund was tied with Perreault and Danila Yurov for second in points with 27.
Even taking into account the fact that these players had a wide range of games played, Ostlund's point per game of 0.45 was towards the bottom but still better than Yurov's average (0.37) and in the same range as Misa (0.47).
Opportunity matters when taking into account players ready to have a sophomore breakout
One of the things that Gould overlooks is opportunity, and of this group, Noah Ostlund is in one of the best situations to break out. The Sabres lost Alex Tuch and are going to rely on their younger skaters to replace that production. He won't be expected to replace all of it but should see an increase in ice time that gives him an opportunity to build on his season.
For some players, like Leonard, the opportunity might not be there with how much the Capitals added this offseason, like Jordan Kyrou, Boone Jenner, and Tuch. There are also some teams that are rebuilding and don't have enough talent around a player, like the New York Rangers. Those opportunities certainly could help a player like Perreault break out or teams can just gameplan to shut him down as he is one of their best players on a rebuilding team.
The Sabres have the right balance of opportunity and talent around a player like Ostlund that could set him up for a true breakout season in his second year in the NHL. With Alex Tuch no longer on the team, there is a major hole in their Top 6, and Ostlund could be the answer, which would mean more ice time than the 13:58 he averaged last season.
On top of that, there is a chance for Ostlund to help out the Sabres' power play more, and if he keeps similar efficiency rates, then he has a great chance to break out.
While it would be great to see some of these players get the recognition they should, it isn't going to be very surprising (at least for Sabres fans) when Noah Ostlund improves off last season and is one of the best sophomore players in the NHL.
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