Malmo's Trunov and Stone set for breakout seasons

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Last season, the Malmo Nighthawks were one of the worst offensive teams in the league. They were 4th from the bottom with 2.46 goals per game, and expectations are that they will be near the bottom again this season. Still, there are some bright spots on the team that are going to be worth watching. The recently acquired Ivan Retoslav has consistently scored near 30 goals, and playing on a team where he will be leading the offense, he could very well set a new career high. Then there are the young stars on the team, either of whom could emerge as candidates for the Dustin Funk Trophy. Yaroslav Trunov and Jacob Stone are two players who the Nighthawks hope will be big factors for the team for years to come. Trunov, a wing who was drafted 6th overall in S87, has 29 goals and 62 points in the first two seasons of his career. Stone had 12 goals and 40 points in his rookie season after falling to 5th overall despite being the consensus best player in the draft.

 

Both Trunov and Stone will be focal points in the offense along with Retoslav. If the three of them can work well together, they should likely perform better than the team leaders from a season ago. The leader in points from S88, defenseman Rex Wolffe Gregor, was traded in the off-season. Stone has surpassed him in skills. Saku Kotkakoivu led the team with 22 goals despite being traded 50 games into the season. Retoslav is arguably a better offensive player than the aged Kotkakoivu was in his final season. The Nighthawks of a season ago didn't have the offensive help for Kotkakoivu like Trunov will provide for Retoslav. The continued improvement from other players on the team should also help take some of the pressure and attention off of Malmo's star players.

 

The team's roster for the upcoming season is likely not complete. They will certainly add at least one forward to the squad either through free agency or in the draft. Whether they intend to go with a similar approach as last season and sign several more players remains to be seen. The team continues to rebuild, and while almost all pre-season predictions will have them missing the playoffs again, that doesn't mean there won't be reasons to watch the team.