Olli Maatta. Mandatory Credit: Russell LaBounty-USA TODAY Sports
2. Olli Maatta
Olli Maatta has had two awful breaks in his young NHL career. First came his devastating shoulder injury that inhibited him for the better part of the last fifteen months, which was then followed by the chance happenstance of a treatable form of cancer. Undeterred, Maatta announced himself fit to go and is looking forward to hitting the ice for the Pittsburgh Penguins as they begin training camp.
Maatta is beyond solid for someone with slightly over one NHL season under his belt. He has shown the ability to cover vast stretches of ice and can play on the offensive and defensive zones with aplomb. Maatta has the ceiling of a true number one defenseman that hasn’t been seen around these parts since Randy Carslyle.
When Maatta is on the ice he is a slick skater that plays the game as well positionally for someone his age since dare I say, a young Nicklas Lidstrom. Maatta has been touted the next great Finnish player in his native Finland by no less than Finnish hockey legends Teemu Selane, Jari Kurri and Sami Salo. This was during and after his run as a top pairing defenseman on the Bronze medal winning Finnish Olympic team.
Next: #1 - Kris Letang