25. Mark Stone
Apr 11, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Ottawa Senators right wing Mark Stone (61) celebrates his second goal of the game during the third period against the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center. Ottawa won the game 3-1 and clinched a playoff spot. Mandatory Credit: John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports
Stats: 103GP, 30G, 72P
Height/Weight: 6foot3, 200lbs
Acquired: 2010 NHL Entry Draft (6th Round)
Stone, much like Zibanejad has potential to jump way up this list.
And I’m thinking Top 10.
While you can say all you want about Stone’s luck in his rookie campaign, or the fact that all his production was due to a hot streak, there is absolutely nothing about his game that suggests regression. Mark Stone is still one of the NHL’s smartest players, as he has shown night in and night out.
This is a player who led the league in takeaways this year. He did it countless times to the leagues best, including Jarome Iginla and Jakub Voracek—during a critical game, nonetheless.
I think you could even put Stone ahead of a lot more guys on the list, but he’s beat out just due to the length of his career. Stone projects to be a first line threat for quite some time, and I have no doubts about his game. However, he’s played just north of 100 games, not enough to justify a higher placing at this point when talking about “the greatest Ottawa Senators, of all time”
However, I’d look for a few more years like last and you’d have to think hard about not placing Mark Stone inside the top 10 on this list. He’s a hard worker, intelligent player and has some of the best hands in the league.
I can’t rave enough about Mark Stone. His game earns a placing on this list, this early into his career.