One player to root for from every NHL Western Conference team

With a new NHL season underway, ardent fans are eager to watch their favorite teams and hate on rivals. But for the teams you don’t dislike but don’t know much about, this guide may help you when your favorite team isn’t playing. 

Here’s a player on each Western Conference team to root for:

Anaheim Ducks: Cutter Gauthier, Winger

Gauthier forced his way out of Philadelphia, which resulted in fans showing up to heckle him at Boston College games. Now Gauthier finds himself with one of the best troves of young talent in the sport in Anaheim as a reward.

Calgary Flames: Dustin Wolf, Goaltender

Wolf is an undersized goalie (6-foot, 156 pounds), among the smallest in the league, and plays for a team expected to be at the bottom of the standings. So he’s an easy sell, right? Doubters have forced Wolf to prove himself at every level of hockey. 

Chicago Blackhawks: Taylor Hall, Winger

Hall is coming off a significant knee injury that cost him nearly all of last season. He was signed to help insulate future franchise superstar Connor Bedard, but fans didn’t see too much of them together. The league will be better off with Bedard reaching the height of his powers as quickly as possible, and Hall can help make that happen. 

Colorado Avalanche: Oliver Kylington, Defenseman

In the offseason, Kylington left Calgary — the only team he had played for — following a turbulent two years in which he played only 33 games after stepping away from the team to deal with a family issue. Kylington was open about dealing with mental health issues during that period. Now he’s back with a team uniquely qualified to use his unbelievable skating ability.

Dallas Stars: Matt Dumba, Defenseman

Before suffering a shoulder injury in 2019 in a fight with then-Calgary winger Matthew Tkachuk, Dumba was among the elite shooting defensemen in the league. Now a journeyman, he has the chance to find his game on the other side of the Minnesota-Dallas rivalry.

Edmonton Oilers: Ty Emberson, Defenseman

Emberson’s whirlwind past few seasons led from him being something of a long-shot prospect to being traded in one of the many dominos to fall as a result of St. Louis’s surprise dual offer sheets on then-restricted free agents Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway. Now he’s back with Kris Knoblauch, who coached him at Hartford in the American Hockey League. He’s expected to play big minutes for the current Stanley Cup favorite. 

Los Angeles Kings: Quinton Byfield, Center

The No. 2 overall pick in 2020 was written off a few times because of injury issues limiting the first phase of his career. Last season, Byfield finally arrived, and it feels like the sky is the limit for the 6-foot-5, 220-pound behemoth.