Five Thrashers You Can’t Have

The New Jersey devils sought their first win at The Rock for the season to little fruition. The Atlanta Thrashers pumped two powerplay goals, a rookie’s second goal of the season and a shorthanded goal past goaltending great Martin Brodeur.

Atlanta is working through a rather odd schedule, just completing their fourth game whereas the majority league is playing their sixth, seventh, and even eighth games. Furthermore, only the first game was at home, and it is followed by a five-game road trip. Still, these Thrashers that have played four games so far are 3-1. This team has made clear their determination to defy the general consensus and earn the respect they feel they and the city of Atlanta deserves.

Regardless of a win or loss in Buffalo tonight, the birds have shown guts on the road and at home, and there are five guys that will become crucial to the Thrashers fight for a playoffs spot.

5. Ilya Kovalchuk. Kovalchuk has to be last for a couple reasons. Captain Ilya is Atlanta’s only recognizable figure, an elite goal scorer, and to put him number one on this list would just be obvious. Secondly, his contract status is still up in the air, and until he signs that dotted line, he’s uncommitted to the team. There’s a few sources (like here, here, and here) that could lead you to believe that a deal may get done, but until it happens, he is a pending free agent.

Still, though, the star winger has accumulated five goals and a helper in four games, and none of those came in Atlanta’s road win in New Jersey. He didn’t register a single shot on goal, yet led ice time up front. While Kovalchuk is the obvious choice to carry the team, the captain’s mission is to build a hard working team independent of him, and games like October 16 show great promise to that.

Prediction stats: 48g/53a/+6

4. Marty Reasoner. Drafted by the St. Louis Blues in the first round in 1996, Reasoner has had his career year a little past his prime in Atlanta. He ended the 2009 season as one of the few Thrashers with positive plus/minus, and a +11 at that, surpassed only by Tobias Enstrom and Rich Peverley.

Over the 2009 offseason, Reasoner extended his stay with Atlanta for another two years. Unlike last season on the third line, he has been dropped to the fourth line in lieu of Jim Slater. No worries for Marty; he and linemates Eric Boulton and Chris Thorburn are even more effectively shutting down their opponents. Marty has two assists and a +3, leading the team along with four other Thrashers. On a team that suffers so much in the defensive awareness department, the club may consider him untouchable.

Prediction stats: 10g/33a/+14

3. Bryan Little. If any name is getting recognized in Atlanta besides Ilya Kovalchuk, EJ Hradek could point you to Byron Young Bryan Little. Little, 21, is not only rising in Atlanta, but rising to become recognized in the league. Finishing the season with 31 goals, 50 points total, he wants to show the league that the Thrashers finished as the 9th best offense in the league thanks to his contribution.

With that said, guys like Kovalchuk and Little stand out on their teams when scoring is pretty evenly distributed throughout the front lines. Though his plus/minus suffered with the rest of the team, he has a +2 and 4 helpers in 4 games. I predict with his third year of experience, he will have an even greater breakout season.

Prediction stats: 38g/42a/+9

TIE 2. Tobias Enstrom and Zach Bogosian. There was much lost faith in Toby last year, coming off a stellar 82 games in the 2008 campaign to a downright uninspired start of the season. It wasn’t until after the 2009 all-star break that Enstrom and linemate Zach Bogosian began to move the puck, provide effective defense while still scoring just as effectively, and Toby finished the season with a +13, leading the team. He was just behind Ron Hainsey in both assists and overall points with 27 assists, 32 points.

Zach Bogosian suffered a leg injury that cost his rookie season 35 games. Upon his return, he netted 9 goals, leading Thrashers defensemen and a +11 to end the season. Zach was drafted 3rd overall by the Thrashers in 2008.

Toby so far has a -1, but four assists in his four games played. Linemate Bogosian isn’t faring much better with a -2, but netting a goal and an assist. If the two can shake these numbers off soon, I predict another powerful year for Atlanta’s most important defensive pairing.

Prediction stats:
Tobias Enstrom—6g/40a/+18
Zach Bogosian—16g/24a/+17

1. Rich Peverley. A highly criticized waivers claim initially at a time where Atlanta desperately needed a better solution than Jason Williams, Rich Peverley not only surprised Atlanta fans by ended his campaign playing at nearly a point-per-game, he left Nashville kicking themselves, and the league saw him frequent the “three stars” section. There is no statistic for passion, so arguably, Rich could be considered one of the hardest, most consistent workers on the whole roster. He’s visible on the ice and is always looking for opportunities while his defensive awareness increases, something the Thrashers desperately need up front.

Rich Peverley, 27, was acquired off waivers from the Nashville Predators in January of 2009. In the 39 games he played, he netted 13 goals and 22 assists. His consistency still shows with 6 points which leads the entire team: 4 goals, 2 assists, and one of the team’s leaders in plus/minus at +3. Is Peverley on his way to become the likes of a Getzlaf or Thornton?

Stats prediction: 25g/31a/+14

Honorable Mentions. Rookie Evander Kane has posted 3 points: 2 goals and an assist. The lates of his two was an unassisted breakaway past Martin Brodeur. Ron Hainsey led the Thrashers blueline in points last season and currently has one goal and +3. Pavel Kubina acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs has four assists in his four games. Goaltender Ondrej Pavelec is looking for the number one job as injured Kari Lehtonen isn’t expected to return to the lineup very soon. He is 3-1, 2.76 GAA, and a .918 save percent.

And no, you can’t have them.

Photos by Matthieu Masquelet via Flickr.

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