Many believed the 2017-18 season would be a make-or-break year for Jacob de la Rose in his quest to become a full-time NHL player. This was mostly because the 24-year-old centre appeared in just nine games in the previous season — a personal low since first entering the league in 2014-15. After impressing in the latter half of the final season for the St. John’s IceCaps, he was either primed to break into the NHL full time or find himself stuck in 13th-forward purgatory.
Fortunately, he did take a step forward last season. The Swede started the campaign with the big club, remained there for the entire season, and appeared in a career-high 55 games.