Despite a freak leg injury ending his season early last year, Nikita Zadorov had a coming out party last season. No, his coming out party didn’t show up on the score sheet, in fact, big Z is still looking to collect that first Avalanche goal. But Zadorov arrived as a presence on the Avalanche’s blue line (Just ask Mark Scheifele). With big hits and growing defensive awareness, Zadorov will be looking to grow his role with the Avalanche. But how much ice time will the Russian get this season.
Over/Under: 22 minutes a game
Case for Over: Zadorov proved he was ready for top-4 NHL work before he went down for the season last year.