With the 2021-22 NHL regular season now several weeks old, several New England natives have made a positive impression with productive starts to the new campaign.
Veteran Flyers forward Cam Atkinson has tallied points in each of his team’s first four games and looks to be back in the form that saw him score a season-high 41 goals for the Blue Jackets in 2019. Always a sparkplug on every roster he’s been on, the Nutmeg State product’s ability to score consistently makes him one of the best early-season success stories leaguewide.
On the colder side of the thermometer, New Englanders Zach Sanford and Nick Bonino are in different situations in Ottawa and San Jose respectively, but both bring the kind of tools and experience to reverse the trend.
Here’s a list of New Englanders who are hot in the NHL right now, and a few who are…not.
HOT
Conor Garland, Vancouver (Scituate, Mass.); 7gp, 3-5-8, 8 pim, +4
The region’s top scorer out of the gates is currently in the NHL’s top-15. Garland was poised for a breakthrough campaign after being traded from Arizona with Oliver Ekman-Larsson in the offseason.
So far, so good.
“We’re just trying to win some hockey games here; it’s a what have you done for me now league,” Garland told Vancouver media before his first home game against the Minnesota Wild Oct. 26 “I’m fortunate to play with two really good players that play the right way, push the pace and play direct. So, easy guys to play with.”
Garland has shown impressive chemistry with captain Bo Horvat at center and veteran Tanner Pearson on the other flank. The team came up short in front of the home crowd, dropping a 3-2 decision to the Wild, but Garland (who went scoreless in the contest) has brought the skill, explosiveness and scoring as expected. In the previous four games, he tallied three goals and 7 points.
With his speed, shot, ability to possess the puck and new role as a top right wing, Garland is a sure bet to keep the numbers up and the good times rolling in Vancouver.
What does @rayferrarotsn like about Conor Garland and his start here in Vancouver? Find out below and catch his full thoughts on the #Canucks https://t.co/ZzDGCxDGOU pic.twitter.com/dMMRVFxi86
— Donnie & Dhali (@DonnieandDhali) October 26, 2021
Cam Atkinson, Philadelphia (Greenwich, Conn.); 4gp, 4-1-5, 0 pim, +8
After more than 200 career goals and 400 points for the club that drafted him out of Avon Old Farms in 2008, Atkinson was traded from Columbus to the Flyers during the 2021 NHL draft. The former national champion at Boston College looked primed to bounce back offensively during the preseason and he’s off to a great start so far.
With points in each of his team’s four games to help the Flyers go 2-1-1 in what has been (like the Boston Bruins) a light slate of games in the first two weeks, he’s been precisely what Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher envisioned when he sent Jakub Voracek to Columbus for Atkinson in an increasingly rare 1-for-1 NHL veteran player swap.
The veteran has spent more time practicing with his new club than playing in games, but that extra time looks to have paid off in terms of helping him adjust and ease into his new situation.
3rd goal as a Flyer. #89 is liking Philly. pic.twitter.com/N7ktM3jDDo
— TLY (@TheLibertyYell) October 21, 2021
Noah Hanifin, Calgary (Norwood, Mass.); 6gp, 0-2-2, 0 pim, +8
The Flames are off to a strong start in the Pacific Division with a 4-1-1 record, good for second place behind the Edmonton Oilers, hearkening back to the late 1980s when the two Smythe Division powers vied for NHL supremacy.
Hanifin has been a quiet, but effective contributor in the early going. He joins another former Boston College Eagle in Johnny Gaudreau (eight assists) making plays for the Flames, though Hanifin’s impact has been more in puck support and playing a more refined, poised two-way game. He has just two assists, but his minute are up with a 22:06 average time on ice (almost a full minute more than his previous season-best), and he’s done a good job keeping things simple and steady.
He could probably stand to shoot more pucks, and his percentage of shots attempted versus what gets through on net is below 50 percent, but he’s cut down on the giveaways and is making his presence felt in a positive way. His +8 rating is tied for fourth in the NHL (with Atkinson).
NOT
Nick Bonino, San Jose (Hartford, Conn.); 6gp, 0-0-0, 8 pim, -1
The Boston University national champion in 2009 and veteran of nearly 700 career NHL games, including two Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins, has been one of the best value picks of all time after being a Sharks sixth-round draft pick. Now with the team that originally dealt him to Anaheim, he has yet to post his first point in six games and at age 33, his role and impact is decreasing.
Centering the Sharks’ third line with Rudolf Balcers and fellow former Terrier Matt Nieto, Bonino took a tripping penalty that resulted in the game-winning score. Sharks head coach Bob Boughner called out the lack of contributions from his bottom two lines after the 3-1 loss.
“I was getting good offensive shifts from (Couture’s) line and Tommy Hertl’s line, but other than that, we didn’t get much from the bottom part of our lineup tonight,” Boughner told the (SJ) Mercury News. “Difficult when you’re on the road. You need four lines and you need to have some offensive shifts from the bottom six, too.”
He’s smart and experienced, but it’s been a brutal start for him after being a reliable two-way center throughout his pro career. His team started out 4-0 but dropped the last two games, including a first loss of the season to Boston on Sunday by a 4-3 score.
Zach Sanford, Ottawa (Auburn, N.H.); 6gp, 0-1-1, 0 pim, -3
With just one helper and averaging 10:47 of ice time to begin the new season, the Granite Stater is in a frustrating situation.
After the 26-year-old role player who won the 2019 Stanley Cup with St. Louis near home in Boston, he was dealt to the Senators during exhibition season for Logan Brown. At 6-foot-4, 206 pounds, the former Boston College standout and 2013 second-round selection of Washington involved in the 2017 trade that sent Kevin Shattenkirk to the nation’s capital is an intriguing physical specimen.
More of a defensive presence up front, Sanford nonetheless has an intriguing set of physical gifts and is young enough to have a breakout ahead of him. He took a step backward in 2020-21, and ultimately, didn’t fit into the Blues’ plans, as they sent him to Ottawa on Sep. 25.
“I’m excited to be here,” Sanford was quoted in the Ottawa Sun saying after his first skate with his new team. “It’s a good, young group of players and I think this team is on the up and up. I’m excited to come in and help out as much as I can.”
Ottawa does not appear to be in the right situation, so unless he can find a way to get his game going, it looks like another tough year in Canada’s capital for that roster. The Sens are 2-4 and have lost their last three straight.
Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche (UMass); 6gp, 1-3-4, 2 pim, -9
Okay, he’s not a New England native, and he’s a terrific player- a true NHL superstar after winning the 2020 Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year. Having said that, his Avalanche are off to a horrid start after high expectations and he’s a minus 9. That’s right: he's a minus NINE. While the importance of plus/minus is up for debate, it should not be dismissed altogether, and that number reflects his team's disappointing early showing.
Makar will get things going into high gear, but this is an uncharacteristic stumble. The former Minuteman who helped lead the program into prominence under head coach Greg Carvel from 2017-19 and was a top-four selection by Colorado in the NHL Entry Draft four years ago is as dynamic as they come. He won’t be held in check for long.
