10/10/2006 12:20:44 PM

Shortly before the NHL regular season got under way, we looked at the biggest impact rookies in the league, but that short list hardly covered all the newcomers.

Throughout the league, there are a number of players either getting their first taste of NHL action or those that have had brief chances in the NHL and are looking at a more extended opportunity.

One player that got his feet wet in the NHL last year was Buffalo's Jiri Novotny.  A first-round pick out of the Czech Republic in 2001, Novotny took some time to adjust to the North American game and the Sabres gave him a chance to play 14 regular season and four playoff games last year.  His continued improvement indicates good potential for the 23 year-old and he opens this season centering the Sabres' third line with Thomas Vanek and Jason Pominville, as well as getting some penalty-killing time.

Anaheim's Ryan Shannon is the picture of a player who wouldn't get a sniff in the old NHL -- 5-foot-9, 178 pounds -- but the 23 year-old Boston College grad uses his speed effectively and he put up 86 points and a plus-30 rating in the AHL last year, proving that he deserved a chance.  He's starting the season on a line with fellow speedster Todd Marchant and big winger Dustin Penner.

Shannon's teammate in Anaheim, Shane O'Brien, comes from the other end of the spectrum.  The 23 year-old defenceman is 6-foot-2 and a sturdy 237 pounds and isn't afraid to use his size as a tool of intimidation, racking up 769 penalty minutes in three AHL seasons before getting an opportunity with the Ducks this year.  While he is sixth on the Ducks blueline depth chart, O'Brien does have some offensive ability as well (highlighted by his 22 points in 19 AHL playoff games last year), so he will see some power play time on occasion.  What is certain, is that the eighth-round pick won't take his spot for granted, telling the Los Angeles Times, "It's awesome that I made it out of camp, but you can't stop working for not even one second. It's a business up here and you have to treat it like that."

Perhaps the anticipation of O'Brien's arrival helped make the decision to trade Ladislav Smid easier for the Ducks.  Smid was dealt to Edmonton as part of the Chris Pronger trade this summer and the 20 year-old is being brought along slowly, playing almost exclusively in even-strength situations.  Smid had a strong pro debut in the American Hockey League last year and has given every indication that he will be a top-four defenceman for years.  "He's green, as most 20-year-olds are when you're trying to play defence, and there's lots he's got to learn, but I see lots there," coach Craig MacTavish told the Edmonton Sun.  "I see a player who's going to develop very quickly over the course of the year."

One of Smid's rookie teammates in Edmonton, Norwegian winger Patrick Thoresen, took a circuitous route to the NHL.  Thoresen played junior hockey in Quebec, with Moncton then Baie-Comeau, before going to Sweden to embark on his pro career with Djurdardens.  After putting up 36 points in 50 games last year, ranking second on his team, Thoresen earned a look from the Oilers and impressed enough in camp to stick.  The 22 year-old is in a fourth-line role now, and could end up spending some time in the AHL.

While he doesn't qualify for the Calder Trophy, since he's 31 year-old, Swiss winger Patrick Fischer has landed a job in Phoenix.   A top scorer in Swiss hockey for more than a decade, Fischer impressed at the Olympics, was signed in the spring as a free agent and is working in a third-line role with the Coyotes to start the season. 

Just as surprising in Phoenix is centre Joel Perrault, a 23 year-old who was acquired from Anaheim at the trade deadline last year in exchange for veteran blueliner Sean O'Donnell.  Perrault started to come into his own offensively last year, after two ho-hum AHL seasons, putting up 31 points in 37 games, earning a five-game trial with the Coyotes.  A strong camp this year has landed Perrault a second-line job to start the campaign, with substantial power play time included.

The New Jersey Devils have long been proponents of U.S. College hockey and this year brings them one of their top prospects out of the University of North Dakota.  Travis Zajac was a first-round pick in 2004 then spent two productive seasons in college, scoring 86 points in 91 games, before the Devils signed him in the spring.  Zajac has earned a regular spot with the Devils and is getting some power play time as well.

Zajac's teammate in New Jersey, defenceman Johnny Oduya, took a longer path to the NHL.  The Swedish-born blueliner had one fine junior season (68 points, plus-22, 259 penalty minutes) in the QMJHL before returning to Sweden for four seasons.  The Devils then signed him this summer, the Devils' tight cap situation helped create an opportunity for him and Oduya impressed right off the bat.

A trio of 19 year-old defencemen from the QMJHL, with junior eligibility remaining, have started the season in the bigs.

Lost amid the Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal praise, Penguins defenceman Kristopher Letang is on the small side, at 5-foot-11, 190 pounds.  However, the third-round pick in 2005 is very good at moving the puck and is on the Penguins' second power play unit as a result.  Unless he falters in the early going, Letang seems like a good bet to stick in Pittsburgh this year.

San Jose's second-round pick in 2005, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, made a quantum leap last season.  He was sent back to junior early and had a tremendous season for Quebec, scoring 73 points with a plus-41 rating in 66 regular season games before adding 29 points in 23 playoff games.  As a result, the 6-foot-1, 190-pound Vlasic entered camp this year ready to challenge for a spot on the Sharks bluelne and not only has he not looked out of place, he's been logging more than 20 minutes per game in the early going.  Sharks GM Doug Wilson, a former defenceman himself, appreciates the simplicity of Vlasic's game, telling the Monterrey County Herald, "Often, defensemen catch your eye with the home-run play. But Marc is someone who makes the right decisions in all situations."  The Sharks expected to be sending Vlasic back to junior, but that may not happen based on how he's played very early in the season.

Highly-touted Luc Bourdon was Vancouver's first-round pick in 2005 and, although he's still with the Canucks, he's been unable to crack the game-day line-up.  When Rory Fitzpatrick is keeping you from a turn on the blueline, more seasoning is needed.  Good news for Moncton in the Q.

29 year-old Jeff Hamilton seemed to show NHL skills with the Islanders last year, tallying eight points in 13 games, but the best he could get out of it was an invite to camp with Chicago this year.  He's earned a spot, at least for now, as a power play specialist, getting 8:12 of power play time, out of 9:15 total ice time, through the first two games.  "You can have a special-teams player on your roster now," coach Trent Yawney told the Chicago Sun-Times.  "More and more teams will do that. Hamilton has poise on the blue line with the puck, and he can shoot it."

Joining Hamilton on the lower end of the Blackhawks depth chart, speedy 25 year-old Finn Tony Salmelainen is back in North America after going back to Finland last year.  Acquired from Edmonton last year in the Jaroslav Spacek deal, Salmelainen's biggest asset may be his chemistry with countryman Tuomo Ruutu, the Blackhawks' talented, yet oft-injured, young star. 

Nigel Dawes was a junior sniper in the Western Hockey League, scoring 144 goals in his final three seasons, and carried that right into the AHL last year where he buried 35 goals and 67 points.  Though he's only 5-foot-8, Dawes is energetic and determined, but the 21 year-old is still trying to push for more than a fourth-line role in Manhattan.

Washington's Mike Green, who will turn 21 this week, did get into 22 games with the Capitals last season, but he was especially effective in the AHL playoffs, notching 18 points and a plus-16 rating in 21 games with Hershey.  A first-round pick in 2004, Green will get a chance to work on the Caps power play and could become a productive offensive player because of his strong skating ability.

Toronto's new coach, Paul Maurice, has a number of players making the jump to the NHL with him from the Leafs' AHL affiliate.  Among them, defencemen Jay Harrison and Ian White are opening the season with the Leafs, while several other defenders are on the injured list to start.  Harrison, 23, was a third-round pick in 2001 and the 6-foot-4 defenceman was effective in eight games with the Leafs last season.  This year, Harrison is fighting for playing time, but he does offer a safe option.

Ian White, on the other hand, is undersized at 5-foot-10, 185 pounds, and provides a puck-moving power play option.  White also boasts a rocket shot from the point, and it has earned him some time with the second PP unit.  A sixth-round pick in 2002, 22 year-old White is always going to have to work at overcoming his size disadvantage in the defensive zone, but his offensive ability may help him earn his keep in the NHL.

27 year-old Johnny Pohl is another Leaf following Maurice across town to the Air Canada Centre.  Pohl was a big scorer in college at the University of Minnesota, and has been very productive in the AHL for four seasons (183 points in 196 games) as well.  After four points in a seven-game audition with the Leafs last year, Pohl opens the season with the fourth-line centre job.

Though he hasn't played yet because of injury, Philadelphia's Lars Jonsson has a chance to contribute this year as the Flyers endeavour to make their defence corps more mobile.  Drafted seventh overall by the Bruins in 2000, Jonsson was unable to come to contract terms with Boston and is getting a look-see on a one-year deal with the Flyers.  The 24 year-old had impressed before spraining his ankle, so he'll get a chance in a few weeks, when he's expected to be healthy.

That's a lot of new faces, and there are surely going to be more to come throughout the season.

Others: Yan Stastny, C, Boston; Mark Giordano, D, Calgary; Adam Burish, C, Chicago; Matt Keith, RW, Chicago; Lasse Kukkonen, D, Chicago; Cam Barker, D, Chicago; Ole-Kristian Tollefsen, D, Columbus; Fredrik Norrena, G, Columbus; Mike Smith, G, Dallas; Tomas Kopecky, C, Detroit; Jan Hejda, D, Edmonton; Jean-Francois Jacques, LW, Edmonton; Alexei Mikhnov, LW, Edmonton; Brad Winchester, LW, Edmonton; Niklas Backstrom, G, Minnesota; Mikko Lehtonen, D, Nashville; Greg Zanon, D, Nashville; Thomas Pock, D, New York Rangers; Chris Thorburn, C, Pittsburgh; Karl Stewart, LW, Pittsburgh; Ryane Clowe, RW, San Jose; D.J. King, LW, St. Louis; Roman Polak, D, St. Louis; Johan Holmqvist, G, Tampa Bay; Nick Tarnasky, C, Tampa Bay; Brendan Bell, D, Toronto; Ben Ondrus, RW, Toronto; Aleksander Suglobov, RW, Toronto, Dany Sabourin, G, Vancouver.

Scott Cullen can be reached at scullen@tsn.ca