Matt Moulson has seemingly come out of nowhere and is leading the Islanders in scoring right now, with 5 goals and 3 assists in eight games. I proclaimed the other day that anyone that considers themself a scorer in the National Hockey League that knocks in five goals in the first games should be a definite lock for 20. Right? I mean, even if his pace slows down, which it inevitably will over the course of a long season, he should be able to pot at least 15 more goals in the next 75 games. After all, barring a major drop in his play, he should continue to play with John Tavares and/or Kyle Okposo, and get some power play minutes.
So lets assume Moulson gets 20 this year. I recognize that this is the Islanders I'm talking about and nothing is ever a sure thing, but hypothetically, let's say he does. A fellow Islander fan the other day asked if anyone has ever come in with basically zero fanfare, like Moulson did, and scored 20 or more goals for the team. I thought about that for a while, and was drawing blanks. But early this morning, I think I came up with a pretty good comparison.
The guy I'm thinking of was a big time college scorer earlier in his career, much like Moulson, but bounced around mostly in the minors in his early twenties. The Islanders scooped him up for "future considerations" during a terrible season, and most Islander fans probably barely blinked when they heard news of the acquisition. However, this player went on to have multiple 20 goal seasons in an Islanders uniform, and even one season where he scored a heck of a lot more than 20. If you haven't figured out who I'm talking about by now, this should definitely give it away: this player played for the same team that Moulson did before both of them came to the Islanders.
That's right folks. I'm talking about #55, the speedy little workaholic, Jason Blake. Now the situation isn't exactly the same. Blake established himself as a reliable fourth line checker before he started scoring up a storm, while Moulson came in scoring right off the bat when throwing on an Islander jerseys. But both players are excellent examples of perserverance paying off. Neither was a hot-shot first or second round draft pick that had high expectations right away. And while most players would find themselves signing contracts in Europe or some other low level league if they hadn't established themselves as NHL players by the time they were 25, these guys kept at it and it worked out.
Now I know it is probably very premature to compare Moulson to Blake, and I might be getting a little ahead of myself. If Moulson has a career anywhere close to Blake's, that would be an excellent accomplishment. Hopefully, he starts by netting 20 this year.
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