2012's John Druce?

The playoffs is the time of the year when people start to wonder whether another John Druce will emerge from the shadows to become the talk of the hockey world.

Druce wasn't exactly as household name in NHL circles back in the early 1990s when he played for the Washington Capitals. He was a fourth-line fixture known more for his guts than glory. He was a part time winger with back to back 8 goal campaigns to begin a NHL career that appeared to be going nowhere fast.

But when sharp shooter Dino Ciccarelli became sidelined with a bad knee in the 1990 playoffs, Druce found himself on the Capitals' top line with Dale Hunter and Geoff Courtnall. The line clicked instantly and played like they had been playing together for years.

Druce stunned the hockey world when he netted 14 playoff goals in 15 games as the Capitals advanced to the conference finals. Druce became the unsung hero of the '91 post season. 8 of those goals came on the power play, and another shorthanded. 4 of his goals were game winners.

As an undrafted rookie, Ciccarelli preceded Druce as unexpected scoring hero, while Chris Kontos followed him. Every once in a while someone catches fire. More likely than not the player goes unselected through hockey pool drafts everywhere.

Who could be the John Druce of 2012? Here are a few possibilities.

Alex Steen, St. Louis. Make no mistake: Blues players will be hot at your playoff pool draft, but perhaps Alex Steen will slide to the middle rounds thanks to 39 games missed this season due to a concussion. Steen is just a fantastic player, comfortable in any situation. I keep waiting for him to have a breakout offensive season. Perhaps it will come in the 2012 playoffs? The Blues would be very happy with that.

Travis Zajac, New Jersey. Zajac's story is very similar to that of Steen's, except he missed most of the 2011-12 season with a left Achille's injury. Zajac has yet to find his game since returning, but if he can, New Jersey's playoff chances get a lot better. Especially since the Devils appear destined for 6th place and a showdown with the winner of the weak Southeast division. That means playing either Florida or Washington, which bodes well for the Devils making it out of round one.

Max Lapierre, Vancouver. Lapierre has a history of strong playoff performances. Lapierre has spent much of the season centering the Canucks' 4th line, but with Samuel Pahlsson, Manny Malhotra and soon Steven Reinprecht as pivot options, Lapierre could become something of a swingman in Vancouver, playing on several different lines. In Daniel Sedin's absence, Lapierre has 2 goals and 4 points along side Henrik Sedin.

Carl Hagelin, New York. Carl Hagelin, a rare Swedish hockey graduate of University of Michigan, has shown a very intelligent game in his rookie season with the Rangers. He even has had a stint on the top line here late in the season. If the Rangers are for real, they will need contributions from young players like Hagelin,

Craig Smith, Nashville - Last year's John Druce was Joel Ward, then with Nashville. Could this year's be the  Predators' Craig Smith? Smith is a first year pro who left Wisconsin University early to play in the NHL. He has 13 goals and 33 points so far in 70 games in his rookie season, including 6 goals and 13 points on the power play. If Nashville can get by Detroit and go for a deep run, the unknown Smith may play a nice role, especially if more PP time opens up.

Matt Read, Philadelphia -  The Flyers have a lot of good young forwards, but Read is perhaps the most overlooked. He can change that with a strong playoffs. The Flyers will need big post-seasons from a couple of their youngsters if they hope to get by Pittsburgh and go deep.

Who do you think will be this year's surprise playoff scorer?

Stanley Cup Playoff Legends: John Druce

The playoffs is the time of the year when people start to wonder whether another John Druce will emerge from the shadows to become the talk of the hockey world.

Druce wasn't exactly as household name in NHL circles back in the early 1990s when he played for the Washington Capitals. He was a fourth-line fixture known more for his guts than glory. He was a part time winger with back to back 8 goal campaigns to begin a NHL career that appeared to be going nowhere fast.

But when sharp shooter Dino Ciccarelli became sidelined with a bad knee in the 1990 playoffs, Druce found himself on the Capitals' top line with Dale Hunter and Geoff Courtnall. The line clicked instantly and played like they had been playing together for years.

Druce stunned the hockey world when he netted 14 playoff goals in 15 games as the Capitals advanced to the conference finals. Druce became the unsung hero of the '91 post season. 8 of those goals came on the power play, and another shorthanded. 4 of his goals were game winners.


Read the full John Druce biography.

Stanley Cup Legends: John Druce

The playoffs is the time of the year when people start to wonder whether another John Druce will emerge from the shadows to become the talk of the hockey world.

Druce wasn't exactly as household name in NHL circles back in the early 1990s when he played for the Washington Capitals. He was a fourth-line fixture known more for his guts than glory. He was a part time winger with back to back 8 goal campaigns to begin a NHL career that appeared to be going nowhere fast.

But when sharp shooter Dino Ciccarelli became sidelined with a bad knee in the 1990 playoffs, Druce found himself on the Capitals' top line with Dale Hunter and Geoff Courtnall. The line clicked instantly and played like they had been playing together for years.

Druce stunned the hockey world when he netted 14 playoff goals in 15 games as the Capitals advanced to the conference finals. Druce became the unsung hero of the '91 post season. 8 of those goals came on the power play, and another shorthanded. 4 of his goals were game winners.

2008's John Druce

To most of us, Johan Franzen is developing into 2008's version of John Druce. Every year we see unexpected playoff scoring heroes emerge. Every once in a while we see extreme examples, such as when Druce scored 14 goals in 15 games in the spring of 1990, after a season just 8 goals in 45 games. A year before that Chris Kontos came out of nowhere to score 9 goals in 11 games for the LA Kings.

Enter Johan Franzen, who now has 7 goals in 8 playoff games after game two against Colorado, a game where the player affectionately known as Mule scored a hat trick.

Kudos to those who drafted Johan Franzen in your hockey pool. I say that because Franzen really shouldn't have been such a surprise scorer. At least not if you had properly done your homework.

Franzen did score 27 goals in 72 games this past season. If you felt the Wings were going to go a long ways this spring, you likely were looking at Franzen as an inclusion anyways.

But a closer look suggests Franzen should have been a priority pick. Including today's game, Franzen is hockey's hottest scorer. Going back into regular season play, Franzen now has 22 goals in his last 24 games.

"The puck keeps coming to me in front of the net," said Franzen, after his two goals and an assist performance in Game 1 against the Colorado Avalanche. "I seem to be getting extra pokes at the puck and I just happen to be putting it in the net. You feel it (confidence). You feel you've scored before, so you can do it."

Here is a great biographical article on Johan Franzen's career thus far.

NHL Playoff Legends - John Druce

The playoffs is the time of the year when people start to wonder whether another John Druce will emerge from the shadows to become the talk of the hockey world.

Druce wasn't exactly as household name in NHL circles back in the early 1990s when he played for the Washington Capitals. He was a fourth-line fixture known more for his guts than glory. He was a part time winger with back to back 8 goal campaigns to begin a NHL career that appeared to be going nowhere fast.

But when sharp shooter Dino Ciccarelli became sidelined with a bad knee in the 1990 playoffs, Druce found himself on the Capitals' top line with Dale Hunter and Geoff Courtnall. The line clicked instantly and played like they had been playing together for years.

Druce stunned the hockey world when he netted 14 playoff goals in 15 games as the Capitals advanced to the conference finals. Druce became the unsung hero of the '91 post season. 8 of those goals came on the power play, and another shorthanded. 4 of his goals were game winners.

It's still early, but I'm not sure if we've seen a true John Druce yet this 2007 playoff season.

I don't think anyone expect New Jersey's Zach Parise to score 6 goals in his first 4 playoff games this season. But the sophomore is a 30 goal scorer and one of New Jersey's few offensive threats. He's hot, but John Druce he is not.

New York Rangers' pivot Michael Nylander had 8 points in a first round sweep of the Atlanta Thrashers. But he is a veteran offensive threat and he is playing alongside Jaromir Jagr, one of the greatest offensive players of our time. He may not have a reputation as a great playoff player, but he'll have to keep up this production through round two if he wants the John Druce award.

I'd be tempted to say this year's John Druce is Jannik Hansen. Hansen came out of nowhere (actually Denmark, with a couple of year long stops in Winnipeg and Portland) to make his NHL debut in these playoffs. He has slipped right in, playing in the Canucks top three line rotation. For someone who has never played in the NHL before, he has shown great speed, no fear, a good passing eye and occasionally has looked dangerous. Unfortunately he's only got one assist for his efforts, which prevents me from giving the John Druce award out to him.

At least so far. Maybe this year's John Druce will still emerge.