"When somebody asked Ryan Nugent-Hopkins if he thought he could be a point-a-game rookie several weeks back, he did what he does best.

He stickhandled.

"Geez, I don't know. The National Hockey League is a very tough league," he said.

Well, Nugent-Hopkins has 22 points in 21 Edmonton Oilers games.

Only 20 rookies in NHL history have managed at least 82 points, including Peter Stastny (109 in 1980-81 with the Quebec Nordiques), Stastny's brothers Marian (89) and Anton (85), plus Mikael Renberg (82).

Only 51 rookies have racked up even 70 points, including current Montreal Canadiens centre Scott Gomez in a tie with Billy Mosienko, who is in the record book for the fastest three goals (21 seconds) in history."