When building a rookie team to try to take on the send down players, I looked for a few things specifically. First, I want players that can see the ice, and are smart with their passing. I want to keep the puck away from the send downs. Second, I want players that get more points than they allow while on the ice. Third, I want players who don’t take too many penalties. I don’t want to lose a game because we took a bad penalty. So, I looked for assist numbers, +/- rating, and low penalty minutes with a decent number of minutes played. I weighed other factors as well, but these were the first things I looked at.

C – Evandrus Jesster

This is one of the easiest choices to make. In 20 games, Jesster has 18 points, 12 of which are assists. He is also a +5, which I really like to see. He also has only 10 total penalty minutes, while averaging more than 18 minutes per game. The only real fault he has is that he has only won 49% of his face offs, which isn’t great, but it’s a tradeoff I don’t mind making.

LW – Mario Nyquist

This pick requires a little bit more explanation. Nyquist is normally a center, however, right now he is being played at left wing. I also like having another player on the ice that can take face offs if necessary. With 20 games played, Nyquist has 6 goals and 10 assists. His +/- isn’t great, at a -1, but he takes very few penalties. He has just 6 total penalty minutes, averaging more than 18 minutes on the ice per game. Unfortunately, because he has been playing at left wing, he doesn’t have a large number of face offs taken so far, with just 27. Of those 27, he has won 59%, which is promising.

RW – Michael Burch

Burch has the most points of any of the rookies on a Detroit team that has scored a ton of points. He has 5 goals and 9 assists so far this season. He is a +8 so far this season, which is among the highest on the Falcons. Again, Burch is another player with low penalty minutes, only 2 so far. He is, however, played fewer minutes than the other forwards I’ve chosen, with an average of just under 12 minutes per game. He also has the highest shooting percentage of the three, sitting at 16.67%.

D – Maria Maximova

I would probably have put Maximova here if she had been one of the top 5 rookie defense. It turns out, I think she’s the best, so I didn’t have to make that compromise. 2 goals, 12 assists in 20 games. She is a -1, which isn’t ideal, but acceptable, given the Knights’ struggles this season. She has 17 penalty minutes on the season, with one major. She is one the ice an average of 17 minutes a game. Her physical play leaves a bit to be desired, but I think that her scoring potential makes up for it.

D – John Matthews

The highest scoring rookie on a team that also has Robb Wind? And he plays defense? I’ll take him. 3 goals, 13 assists. A +/- of +1. Only 4 penalty minutes, while averaging almost 20 minutes per game. He has the same knock that Maximova does, in that he isn’t a very physical player.

G – Austin Lemieux

Austin Lemieux is having a very respectable season as a rookie goaltender. 6-3-1 is a solid record. He does have a Falcons team in front of him that scores a lot of points, but he still holds his own in net. Lemieux has a save percentage of 0.863, and a goals against average of 3.26, neither of which are outstanding, but very acceptable from a rookie who still has time to develop.

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