The NHL is not short on talent from New England and an early look shows the 2022-23 NHL season will showcase that trend.
Last season saw a few notable New Englanders land in prominent roles from the Seattle Kraken to the Boston Bruins. Those players will look to build on their success in 2022-23.
For others, this season will serve as a chance for a new beginning after rough starts to careers.
Here are the 10 New England-centric storylines to watch for during the 2022-23 NHL season.
Beniers gets Kraken
What more could 19-year-old Matty Beniers (Hingham, Mass.) have asked for in his first taste of the NHL with the expansion Seattle Kraken last spring?
After his sophomore year at Michigan ended in Boston at the NCAA Frozen Four, Beniers made an instant impact with nine points in his first 10 NHL games. He jumped right into the center position alongside fellow Bay State product Ryan Donato (Scituate, Mass.) on the top line and logged a point in his debut before scoring goals in the next two games.
Seattle’s No. 2 overall draft pick from 2021, Beniers now looks to thrust himself into the Calder Trophy discussion, but he won’t be the lone blue-chip prospect after fellow center Shane Wright was the team’s top choice in July.
Thompson’s big pay day
GM Kevyn Adams expects Tage Thompson (Orange, Conn.) to be a player who will help the Buffalo Sabres “reach even greater heights” as he was signed to a seven-year, $50-million contract on Aug. 30.
After moving to center during training camp, Thompson scored 38 goals and 68 points — 54 more than his previous career-best mark — while playing in all 78 games. He was the first Sabre to record at least 38 goals and 30 assists in a single season since Thomas Vanek in 2006-07.
Thompson was an even greater threat later in his fifth NHL season with 24 goals after Feb. 1, the fifth-most in the league. He’s just one of a number of Buffalo stars on the rise, joining the likes of 2021 No. 1 overall pick Owen Power on defense and fellow forward Jack Quinn.
Eichel’s Knights
The first full season of the Jack Eichel (North Chelmsford, Mass.) era as a Golden Knight is upon us.
Eichel has played in just 55 games over the past two seasons due to a herniated disc in his neck and an injury-related disagreement that led to his trade from Buffalo to Vegas last November. Despite leading Vegas with 14 goals in 34 games last season, Eichel finished with his fewest points per game (0.74) since his rookie season of 2015-16.
Now that he’s recovered from last season’s surgery and playing with a non-displaced fracture in his thumb for six weeks, Eichel expects to return to his three-time NHL All-Star form and help Vegas return to the postseason with former Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy as the new man in charge.
Kreider key to Rangers’ run
If the New York Rangers are going to continue an upward rise toward their first Stanley Cup championship since 1994, Chris Kreider (Boxford, Mass.) will continue to be a major piece of the puzzle.
It doesn’t hurt that Kreider has huge momentum following a 52-goal, 77-point season and finishing as the third-leading scorer in the entire NHL behind Toronto’s Auston Matthews and Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl. He was just the fourth Ranger ever to net a 50-goal season and the first since Jaromir Jagr in 2005-06.
The 11th-year NHLer is etched into a top-six role — likely with Mika Zibanejad on his line again — and could have 21-year-old Kaapo Kakko or 20-year-old Alexis Lafreniere on the opposite wing. If there was any doubt at this time a year ago, Kreider surely has proven his role as a continued leader for the Blueshirts.
Meet Noel in St. Louis
Noel Acciari (Johnston, R.I.) certainly isn’t unfamiliar with the St. Louis Blues uniform that he will be wearing for the first time after signing a one-year, $1.25 million deal in August.
The former Providence College captain’s tenure as a Boston Bruin came to an end following a 2019 Stanley Cup Finals defeat to the Blues, a series during which he was on the receiving end of the infamous uncalled trip from Tyler Bozak.
He spent the past three years with Florida, netting a career-high 20 goals in 2019-20 before moving into a depth role over the past two seasons. The versatile, hard-hitting forward reunites with longtime Bruin Torey Krug in St. Louis, where he looks to become a constant in the bottom six.
Miles back
Boston College product Miles Wood (Manchester, Mass.) is another New Englander whose last season was significantly shortened due to injury, as he missed all but three games while recovering from hip surgery.
The alternate captain, who had scored double-digit goals during each of the four seasons prior to 2021-22, returns to New Jersey on a one-year, $3.2 million contract after entering the offseason as an unrestricted free agent.
Devils coach Lindy Ruff looks forward to having Wood’s hard-working, physical style of play back in the fold for a full season. His presence should boost an offense that welcomes in a Tampa Bay veteran in Ondrej Palat and former Bruin Erik Haula.
Sens to Sunrise
Colin White (Hanover, Mass.) is looking to realize his full potential as a Florida Panther after having the second half of his six-year contract bought out by the Ottawa Senators.
Once free agency began this past July, it didn’t take long for White to sign a one-year, $1.2 million contract with the Panthers, officially putting multiple injury-plagued seasons up north behind him in favor of a fresh start.
White logged just 10 points in 24 games last year, losing time to two different injuries. After preseason shoulder injury required surgery and sidelined him until February, he missed the final few games due to COVID-19 protocols. With a pair of 10-goal seasons on his résumé, however, White has proven he can be a valuable contributor for the reigning President’s Trophy winners.
More rookie reruns
After captaining Boston College, Marc McLaughlin (North Billerica, Mass.) signed a free-agent deal with the Boston Bruins and proceeded to score in his first three games at TD Garden. McLaughlin will look to impress new coach Jim Montgomery as he likely competes with Chris Wagner (Walpole, Mass.) for a fourth-line spot.
Fellow former Eagle Matt Boldy (Millis, Mass.) will get to start a season in the NHL for the first time after an ankle injury last preseason sidelined him from the Minnesota Wild lineup until January. Boldy scored his first goal — a game-winner — as a visitor at the Garden and ended up scoring 0.83 points per game, tops among all rookies.
Former Northeastern defenseman Jordan Harris (Haverhill, Mass.) should return to NHL action after an impressive 10-game stint with the Montreal Canadiens that included his first career goal.
Growing goalies
If the Panthers are able to offload two-time Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky’s big contract, Spencer Knight (Darien, Conn.) is more than ready to handle a starting role after a very strong first full NHL season. The 21-year-old Knight played in just four games prior to going 19-9-3 with two shutouts last season, including one during his 6-1 stretch to finish the regular season.
Joey Daccord (North Andover, Mass.) hopes for a greater opportunity to make an impact in the Kraken’s crease. He played in just four games with Seattle last season, but his .925 save percentage for the Charlotte Checkers ranked second in the AHL.
Caps connection
Washington Capitals defenseman John Carlson (Marlboro, Mass.) is six points away from 600 in his career and will take sole possession of fifth place on the franchise’s all-time list upon reaching that mark. Carlson is already the leader in career assists and points among Caps blueliners and needs 18 goals to take over that category as well.
Carlson’s teammate Conor Sheary (Melrose, Mass.) is looking to build upon the second-best season of his career, having ranked fourth on the Capitals with 19 goals. Sheary’s 43 points last year marked his highest total since his second season as a Pittsburgh Penguin in 2016-17.
Garnet Hathaway (Kennebunkport, Maine) lit the lamp a career-high 14 times.
