So in other posts, people have been judging our talent, figuring out where we are going to land in the standings, etc. This is all great, especially to get to know the younger talent. But which players are the team "wildcards" whose performances will dictate where we land come next spring? We know what's expected of Staal/Ward/Gleason and some of the other steady eddies, but which players with previous up/down seasons need to show up?

My wildcards, in order from least impact to highest:

5) Samsonov - if this cat gets on track on the third line or elsewhere, and give us 15-20 goals, hell yeah we have a shot at the playoffs.

4) Rosie - if he plays his regular hustle game night in/night out, stays healthy, scores 20+ goals then we've got someone for the other team to worry about in addition to hate.

3) Cole - ah, the Erik Cole from 4/5 years ago, how we miss you in front of the net.

2) Jokinen - when this guy is hot, he's a beast. when he goes cold, he's a wasted roster spot.

1) Ruutu - in a sense the heartbeat of the team, when he's hitting, hustling and scoring (in the crease, best of all) we have a shot to win every game. Would LOVE for him to play a complete season and score 15 goals or more.