The biggest names we heard about all pre-season were 1.) Kessel 2.) Towes 3.) J.Johnson 4.) Skille 5.) Lee 6.) Niskanen etc....
But, being a Gopher fan I will have to say the one that did not get much hype in my opinion was T.J.Oshie. This kid has been a great surprise for everyone to watch. If you can get past the heated rivalry, he has, at least in my opinion, played the best of any freshman in the country.
I know that is a surprise, but, that is how this Gopher fan sees it so far. I got to see him play in several Minnesota High School games the last two years, and knew he was a stud but I never thought he would shine this bright in College hockey this early.
As for the rest of the big names that got the early hype they have played well and early grades for them would be:
Kessel - B+
Toews - B
J.Johnson - A-
Lee - B+
Niskanen - B
As for the big man himself:
T.J OSHIE gets an A+
At least this far into the season...
Well, that is it for now but feel free to bash my views. Like I said, this is a Gopher fan's view and I may be way off, but this my version of how things are in college hockey right now.......