FanHouse Jonathan Bernier

It's officially the offseason, meaning the time is right to look into the future. We continue our division-by-division preview of the potential wheeling and dealing with the Pacific Division.

San Jose saw its Presidents' Trophy campaign come to a surprising end in the first round of the NHL playoffs, Los Angeles is still the perfect spot for Dany Heatley, and is there any hope for success on the ice in Phoenix?

Every few weeks, FanHouse will feature a look at this season's rookie class, spotlighting surprising diamonds on the rough, struggling blue chippers, and everyone else in between.

After about a half dozen games, we're approaching the point where teams with junior-eligible players have to decide to keep the player for the entire season, or send him back down. Sam Gagner (pictured) of Edmonton, as discussed previously, is the biggest such name. Teams must weight the benefit of developing and having the player on their roster against the possibility that said player will become an unrestricted free agent at the age of 25 or 26.

Now that we're well underway, we've also had a pretty decent look at this season's rookie class, and can see a few trends.

1. Rebuilding teams are doing well. The Phoenix Coyotes, Edmonton Oilers, and Chicago Blackhawks each two of their rookies in the top 10 in the rookie scoring race.

2. Andrew Cogliano = The early leader. While Sam Gagner grabs all of the headlines, Cogliano has been the one churning out the offence for the struggling Oilers. With five points in six games, the 20-year old 2005 first rounder looks to have arrived in style. He's also the only rookie to have a short-handed goal, pointing to his flexibility to adapt to many roles and kill penalties.

Over at his home blog, James Mirtle has been keeping tabs on players which have survived the last of their team's training camp cuts, and will begin the season on their respective pro rosters.

Along with the well-hyped Calder candidates (such as Nicklas Backstrom, Patrick Kane, and Jack Johnson) are quite a few other skilled prospects which teams hope will develop into a solid full-time players for their squad.

A few to watch out for:

1. Jonathan Bernier, G, Los Angeles Kings - The Kings had some serious issues on goal. Rather than go with old hand Dan Cloutier, the Kings decided to keep the 19-year Bernier (their first rounder from '06) and start him in their season opener against the LA Kings. So far, so good, as Bernier won his debut match.

2. Milan Lucic, W, Boston Bruins - The Memorial Cup MVP (pictured) didn't have a point in the preseason, but the Bruins loved his physical style and brute strength. Lucic has come a long way in the past year, and will make at least a very good 4th line enforcer. He has a lot of upside, and is expected to be returned to the WHL. Keep an eye on him, as he'll be kicking ass and taking names in the NHL in the near future. Whether he'll be another Todd Bertuzzi (minus all of the attitude issues) or another Brad May (minus the cheap shots) remains to be seen.

3. Andrej Sekera, D, Buffalo Sabres - A third round pick from '04, Sekera is an underrated delight who is adept at both ends of the rink. He's not a likely Calder candidate, but should provide the Sabres with solid 2-way play for many years to come. Is he ready this year? I would opine that he needs another season of AHL seasoning, but the Sabres might not have the luxury of time.