Special blog for all you hooligans. One of my young readers Marcus Morris has a dream of being a sports writer or broadcaster and in general wants to work in the hockey world. He’s a huge Flyer fan and has put together a nice little blog for us. I think Marcus has done a great job and I hope you all enjoy his blog as much as I did. Great work Marcus.

Hi my name is Marcus Morris and I am 14 years old. I love Hockey because it is an intense sport and it is the most fun sport. The passion in Hockey is unbelievable. I would love to be a writer for Hockey, and maybe be a radio personality with my own Hockey show. I know it will take a lot to get there, but I would love to do it.

Through the first quarter of this season, there have been some big time breakout seasons, as some players have emerged into stars. Others, well they have pooped the bed this season and have been duds. Here are the 10 breakout Stars and Duds:

Breakout Stars

Jeff Carter (Philadelphia Flyers)- Carts has emerged as one of the top snipers in this league, as his 18 goals put him 1st in the NHL. He has had the confidence this season and he can now take over a game. I think Jeff started to emerge last season, after there were rumors that he might be traded to the Leafs for Tomas Kaberle. Me and every single Flyers fan is happy that Paul Holmgren did not pull the trigger. I predict that Jeff gets 45 to 50 goals this season. Yes, I said it, 45 to 50 goals this season.

Thomas Vanek(Buffalo Sabres)- Vanek is having a huge season so far. He got on a tear early in the season and has continued that this season. Last year, he got that big contract extension, and struggled a bit, but he is on fire this season. He has been an important part of the Sabres attack on offense. In the end, I see Vanek scoring 40 to 45 goals.

Tim Thomas(Boston Bruins)- Timmy T. is having one heck of a season so far. He has been the key to the Bruins success. One of his biggest highlights of the season was when he shut out the Oilers and Canucks, in Edmonton and Vancouver respectively, 1-0 on back to back nights. It is hard enough to win, but when you can shut out Edmonton and Vancouver in their barn, then you are doing a great, great job. In the end, Timmy will continue his success, and he will help the Bruins make the playoffs. They may win a round as well.

David Booth(Florida Panthers)- This guy is getting better and better in Florida, and he is having a very good season for the Panthers. Booth has 10 goals this season, which matches his number, crazy enough. He is going to be a 30 to 35 goal scorer in this league for years to come, and his work ethic is really good as well.

Alexander Semin(Washington Capitals)- Wow, when you saw the word Alexander, you thought it was Ovechkin, right? Nope, I tricked you all and it’s actually Alexander Semin. With Ovie struggling a bit this season, Semin has stepped his game up, and he is playing very well. He has always had the talent to be a 40 goal scorer in this league, and he is finally fullfilling that. He is hurt right now, but when he comes back, he will be a force along with Ovie. If he comes back very soon, he may be able to get 40 goals, but if he is out for a long period of time, then that might be tough to get.

Shea Weber(Nashville Predators)- I’ll tell you what, Shea Weber is having one heck of a season offensively as a defenseman. He leads the league in goals scored for defensemen, and is playing great. He is going to be the big number one defenseman for the Preds for years to come. In the end, I see him scoring 20 to 25 goals and 55 points.

Kris Versteeg(Chicago Blackhawks)- Versteeg is having a great rookie season for the Hawks. He has emerged as one of their better scorers this season. Honestly, I didn’t know anything about Versteeg until he came up with the Blackhawks and started having success. He is a nice compliment to Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. In the end, I see Versteeg scoring 25 goals.

Niklas Backstrom(Minnesota Wild)- Don’t get confused with the Nicklas Backstrom in Washington. This Niklas Backstrom here in Minny is playing great in net. Backs has been consistent, game after game this season for the Wild. He is one of the reasons why this team is where they are at. Right now at this point, Backstrom starts every night except when there is a back to back. I predict that he gets 42 wins and a 2.29 goals against average.

Devin Setoguchi(San Jose Sharks)- This kid has been one of many rising stars in San Jose this season. Devin is putting up some pretty good numbers so far. How can’t you put up good numbers when you have guys like Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau there? I predict that Devin scores 30 goals and 60 points.

Christian Ehrhoff(San Jose Sharks)- He is another one of the young, rising stars on the Sharks that have played well this season. Offensively, he is near the top in assists, and he is having a great season. Not only that, but having veteran d-men like Dan Boyle and Rob Blake there as well helps Ehrhoff. I predict that he ends up with 45 assists.

Duds

Braydon Coburn(Philadelphia Flyers)- Coby has struggled a little bit for the Flyers this season. I honestly don’t know what is going on with his game. I don’t know if there is an injury that he is hiding or what, but he is struggling. I do expect Braydon to get back on track and score 7 goals and 35 points.

Rod Brind-Amour(Carolina Hurricanes)- Who would have thought that Rod the Bod would be on the duds list? He is a -16 this season, and I think some of that is because of the depature of Erik Cole. Not only that, but Rod had a knee injury last season, and that still may be hampering. I expect Rod to get 25 goals and 55 points, with his +/- rating a little bit higher.

Jose Theodore(Washington Capitals)- Even though Theodore has played a little better lately, he still has struggled this season. When the Caps picked him up from FA, I didn’t think it would work out for the Caps. He mightly struggled early on in the season, and Brent Johnson ended up being the number one starter. I expect Theodore to share time with Johnson and get about 20 to 25 wins.

Radim Vrbata(Tampa Bay Lightning)- Vrbata signed a 3 year, 9 million dollar contract in the offseason, and so far, he is not fullfilling that contract. He has struggled mightily this season. Part of that is injuries, but also the fact that former coach Barry Melrose didn’t use him that much. Now that Rick Tocchet is the new coach, I expect Vrbata to get 25 goals and 50 points.

Maxim Afinigenov(Buffalo Sabres)- Whew, Max has played terrible this season. He has had no jump throughout the season, and his goal scoring touch is damaged. Lindy Ruff has sat him down on multipule occasions, but I don’t think Max will get the point. I don’t see Max doing much this season, and he will be traded.

Dallas Stars team- This team is in shambles right now. They are playing terrible, uninspired hockey, and it shows. They are last in the Western Conference, and they are terrible. Unfortunately, Brenden Morrow is out for the season with a torn ACL. Brenden, it might be a good thing in some sorts for you that you are not playing because this team is terrible right now, and nobody wants to play for them. Marty Turco has just plain sucked. I can’t put it much easier than that. Sean Avery has been a determent to this team, and even Modano and Brenden told Brett Hull not to sign Avery, but yet, Hull signs him. This team is terrible, and there will be some major changes.

Kyle Turris(Phoenix Coyotes)- The kid has struggled this season, and I can understand because he is a rookie. He’ll be fine, and he’ll score 20 goals and about 45 points this season.

Sam Gagner(Edmonton Oilers)- He has struggled mightily this season for the Oil, and I guess you could say it is a sophmore slump. However, I do think Sam will get better and he’ll get 15 goals and 45 points by the end of the season.

Dustin Penner(Edmonton Oilers)- When Mac-T says that you do not fit on this team, that tells you that you gotta pick up your game right now. Penner has played bad for the Oilers this season, and has played with no inspiration. He will be lucky to get 15 goals this season.

Joffrey Lupul(Philadelphia Flyers)- Lupul has been terrible this season, after receiving a 4 year extension last offseason. He is playing uninspired hockey, and he had to be put on the 4th line by coach John Stevens. I absolutely hate it when players do not go out and play hard and give effort. Lupul has to pick up, or otherwise, he’ll be gone. He’ll get 20 goals, but that’s about it right now.

Thank you for reading this blog, and happy Hockey!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008 at 7:13 PM and is filed under Flyers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.