Patrik Laine's shot might be the most dangerous weapon in the NHL and it has put him atop a very prestigious list.
Laine notched his fourth career hat trick as the Jets shutout the Rangers and Laine was the only person to score for his team. Two of the goals were on absolute lasers that made Henrik Lundqvist look like he didn’t even see them (Without a screen). It has been the peak night in a stretch for Laine where he has seemed unstoppable, scoring 13 goals in his last nine games.
To give him full credit though, it’s fair to say he has seemed unstoppable for his entire career thus far.
It’s sometimes easy to forget that the Jets superstar is just 19 years old as he chases Alex Ovechkin for the Rocket Richard trophy, but it should be noted that he has been one of the most elite teenage scorers to ever play in the NHL. Just look at this list of era-adjusted goals from teenagers (He’s actually up to 89 after last night’s hat trick).
Obviously era-adjustment is never something that will be recognized by the hall of fame or any official stats record, but it just makes sense. The goaltending was so different from the 1980s to what it is now, that it just makes Laine’s scoring that much more impressive.
Keep in mind, not all elite hockey players had the same opportunity to be on this list.
Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Eric Lindros and Auston Matthews are players that only played one season as a teenager in the NHL and still rank in the top 30 players. Then you have to consider that some players were not brought into the NHL as quickly as some of the phenoms on this list, but maybe deserved to.
Regardless of all the caveats that will still bring doubters to Laine’s success, his first two years in the NHL have been ridiculous. Add in that he missed a significant chunk of games last season and still has a month to play this year – this could get ridiculous.
Here’s what the list looks like if you switch from 18 and 19-year-old seasons to first two seasons in the league. He could still have some time to move up this list before the season is done as well.
