Shayne Gostisbehere Sets Rookie Record

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Flyers' Shayne Gostisbehere in midst of incredibly rare season - Rookie defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere has been an breath of fresh air for the Philadelphia Flyers since he was called up in November. They're certainly more dangerous offensively with the 22-year-old on the ice, but more than that, they're getting what could end up going down as an all-time great performance by a rookie defenseman.

Thursday night, the Florida native actually matched a longstanding NHL record to add to his string of early accomplishments. He notched an assist on Wayne Simmonds' goal in the Flyers' 5-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres to extend his points streak to 10 games. That tied the record for longest streak by a rookie defenseman, which has stood since 1977-78.

On top of that, Gostisbehere's streak also ties the longest by a Flyers rookie at any position. He matched Mikael Renberg's 10-game streak from 1993-94. Renberg finished that season as a Calder Trophy finalist.

Now Gostisbehere is making his own case for Calder consideration. Despite the fact that he has played in just 35 games, Gostisbehere is fifth in rookie scoring. There are a lot of other reasons that he's going to be receiving heavy Calder consideration, though:

1. Gostisbehere is on a scoring pace not seen in decades for a rookie defenseman

The assist Thursday pushed Gostisbehere's season total to 29 points in 35 games, good for an average of 0.83 points per game. That's a pretty strong pace for any current defenseman, but it's incredibly rare for a rookie. So rare that you have to go back to Brian Leetch in 1988-89 to find a rookie blueliner that was more productive on a per-game basis than Gostisbehere.

Among rookie defensemen who played at least 35 games in his first season, Gostisbehere's 0.83 points per game is the ninth highest average in NHL history. It's a better pace than Ray Bourque, Nicklas Lidstrom, Denis Potvin and Bobby flippin' Orr had in their freshman seasons. The guys ahead of Gostisbehere on the list include Hall of Famers Larry Murphy, Chris Chelios, Brian Leetch and Phil Housley. The only player that comes remotely close to Gostisbehere in more recent years is John Klingberg, who had 0.62 points per game last season for the Dallas Stars. (Source: hockey-reference.com)

Of course, all of those players managed those totals over full seasons. Gostisbehere has only played 35 this year. Still, he's doing it in one of the lowest-scoring NHL seasons on record and if he maintains this incredible scoring pace, he's going to have put together one of the best seasons by a rookie defenseman ever.

Gostisbehere is on pace to finish his season with 53 points. That would put him in the top 15 for scoring by a rookie defenseman in NHL history. Had he played the full season, his 82-game pace is 68 points, which would have put him in the top four.

This kind of thing just doesn't happen these days and it's especially surprising for Gostisbehere to be doing it considering what happened last year.

2. Gostisbehere overcame what could have been a major setback on his path to the NHL

Defensemen are said to have a steeper learning curve when it comes to reaching the NHL and contributing when they get there. Gostisbehere might be 22, but he's actually only in his second professional season since leaving Union College after leading them to their first national title as a junior in 2013-14. And while he's a second-year pro, Gostisbehere's first season was completely derailed by injury.

Over the 2014-15 season, Gostisbehere played a grand total of seven games – two with the Flyers and five with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms – after undergoing knee surgery and having a few setbacks in his recover. It essentially cost him the entire season. That's a year of lost development time, or so it would seem. That's another reason we're looking at a truly unique talent.

Coming off such a significant injury, Gostisbehere started this year by putting up 10 points in just 14 games with the Phantoms. He was recalled in mid-November and immediately started producing for the Flyers. Gostisbehere had points in his first two NHL games this season and has pretty much never looked back. He's gone from replacement player to catalyst in no time flat.

3. The Flyers have historically had a hard time developing defensemen

Based on his performance to date, and if he can maintain it, it is pretty much a guarantee that Gostisbehere will be the best rookie defenseman the Flyers have ever had. From a pure production standpoint, he's having the best year by any Flyers rookie defenseman by a wide margin. That might not be saying a whole lot because this organization has really struggled when it comes to drafting and developing defensemen.

Gostisbehere is the only player on the team's current blue line that they actually drafted. The rest have come in via free agency or trades and that's hardly a way to build a stable blue line. You have to go back to Joni Pitkanen, who the Flyers drafted in 2002, as probably the best recent example of a defenseman that “panned out” specifically for the Flyers and he lasted only three years on the NHL roster.

But Gostisbehere might actually only be the first in a wave of strong blueliners for Philadelphia coming through the pipeline now.

The team has emphasized defense in the draft over the last three years. Gostisbehere was a steal as a third-rounder in 2012. Then the team took Samuel Morin and Robert Hagg in the first and second rounds of the 2013 draft. Both are on track to be everyday NHLers. Then the team can start dreaming about the remarkably high upside of 2014 first-round pick Travis Sanheim and No. 7 overall pick in 2015 Ivan Provorov, both of whom are still developing and excelling in the Western Hockey League.

If you're looking at the reasons this team has struggled so much in recent years, its inability to draft and develop defensemen has to be a major symptom. Times are changing, though, and Gostisbehere is the one leading the way.

It's very difficult to find players that can alter your franchise in a significant way. If what Gostisbehere has shown over the last few months is a sample of what's to come, however, the Flyers may be entering a brand new era in a position that has repeatedly been a trouble spot. That's pretty big.