One player that isn’t getting the coverage he might deserve is the Chicago Blackhawks’ Artemi Panarin. In the midst of a fantastic rookie campaign, Artemi has 46 points (16 G, 29 A) and has gotten a ton of credit for the Blackhawks second line success.
But where dies Panarin’s season rank among the best rookie seasons ever?
Back in 1982-83, Steve Larmer scored 90 points in his 80-game rookie season, and that ranks as the best points season for a Blackhawks rookie. Patrick Kane finished with 72-points in his rookie campaign, to set the modern Blackhawks pace. But even guys like Bobby Hull (55-points), Denis Savard (57-points), Jeremy Roenick (18-points), and Stan Mikita (29-points) couldn’t compete with Artemi’s point pace.
Panarin’s current pace (0.88 points per game) puts him at 72-points this season. Although Artemi is currently 24, and has played several professional seasons in the KHL, this is a remarkable feat for any player.
Perhaps this isn’t Sidney Crosby great, or Alex Ovechkin great, but when you consider the Blackhawks loss of Brandon Saad and Patrick Sharp, the breadman has helped fans forget about those two. Even more so, Sharp has scored more than 72-points once in his career, while Saad hasn’t been within 15 points of that kind of production.
The Blackhawks have waited a long time for a steady winger to play alongside Kane. There have been short term fixes, the single season signings, the one more dip in the pan guys. While the skill of Kane has always been enough to allow those band-aids to work, Artemi shows the promise to finally be a long-term linemate with Kane. Artemi appears to be the first linemate, not named Jonathan Toews, that can equally get as much out of Patrick Kane as Kane gets out of the other player.
Their ability to play alongside one another, is truly a beautiful thing to watch.
I want to make sure that it is clear, I’m not saying Artemi is or will be one of those greats, but so far Panarin is showing that he belongs on this team. Perhaps in two or three seasons time, we are holding Artemi up there with Toews and Kane, right now let’s just sit and admire what this tandem can become.
