Top 25 Under 25: #15 Jacob de la Rose

Thrown to the wolves as a rookie first to replace an injured Lars Eller, and then to play on his wing in 2014-15, it seemed unlikely that any time Jacob de la Rose spent in the NHL in the 2015-16 season could be worse.

It was.

Coming off wrist surgery during the off-season, de la Rose began the year quite slowly in Saint John’s, where he had been named one of the team’s alternate captains. Unfortunately, he missed a total of 12 games to three different injuries, and was out for most of November as a result.

By the end of December, and through the beginning of the new year, with his injuries finally behind him, he began to pick up some momentum, and it seemed like the scoring part of his…