2. Cole Sillinger
Cole surprised the hockey world when he stepped right into the NHL as an 18 year old three years ago. It's not often that a #12 overall (11th in reality) pick steps right into the league.
He never once looked out of place in his rookie season. In fact, I found myself impressed on many occasions by the swagger he brought to the ice. At just 18 years old, he looked like a veteran middle-six center on a lot of nights.
His sophomore season saw its share of struggles, however. He was snake bitten for almost the entire year, scoring just 3 goals and 11 points in 68 games before a late season demotion to the AHL. Worse, he struggled offensively for the Monsters, also.
But this year, we saw a bit of a bounce back from the young pivot. Sillinger skated in 77 games for the Jackets, scoring 13 goals and setting a new career best with 32 points - quietly finishing 6th on the team in scoring.
In hindsight, maybe Cole was just going through the old sophomore slump in 2022-23? Every player has to go through growing pains at some point, and it seems like he found his way through it. He definitely played with more confidence this season.
When you break it all down, Sillinger is already a reliable #3 center on this team - with legitimate #2 center upside. I think the Jackets would be really wise to lock him up for as long as possible right now, before his offensive game starts to really take off.
From the player's perspective, however, that doesn't make as much sense. I think Sillinger looks to sign a bridge deal, with the hopes of cashing in bigger later. Likely, the two sides will meet somewhere in the middle - with the club making sure they get one more RFA contract out of the deal.