inating. The?Toronto Maple Leafs?Mitch Marner, who was second among rookies in scoring through Thursday, is also 19 -- as is?Auston Matthews, who

Winnipeg Jets captain Blake Wheeler had heard all the stories and scouting reports last offseason about his teams new phenom from Finland, who could shoot a puck from everywhere and score at will.Watching it firsthand, well, thats a whole other thing.Its pretty incredible, Wheeler told ESPN.com this week. That phenom -- 18-year-old forward?Patrik Laine?--?has 15 goals in his first 26 games.When we got the pick, everyone was excited at the prospect of having Patty, Wheeler said. You heard all the stories about his shot and the dynamic things he could do. Thats all well and good, but hes 18. You expect there to be a learning curve, you expect to be some speed bumps along the way.All of a sudden, hes leading the NHL in goals, and its not by mistake. Its crazy. He gets the puck in areas [where] you dont really feel like [he has] a scoring chance. All of sudden, its in the back of the net. You just kind of shake your head.After scoring two more goals on Thursday night -- albeit in a 6-3 loss to the?Edmonton Oilers?-- Laine is just one goal shy of the leagues goals leader,?Sidney Crosby.Laine is on pace for 47 goals. He has already had two hat tricks and, yes, hes earned a few nicknames already.That was the big thing: What do people call him? said Wheeler, 30, chuckling. He started with Patty, and then he got more comfortable and revealed that all his buddies back home call him Patsyuk, obviously after Pavel Datsyuk.So its either Patty or Patsyuk. Then after a couple of hat tricks, there were a couple of Great Ones thrown around too. Instead of 29 [Laines number], well throw out 99 and stuff like that.No. 99s former team, the Oilers, has a current star in No. 97, Connor McDavid,?who added three assists on Thursday night to pad his NHL scoring lead. McDavid, who is still only 19, has 34 points (11-23) in 25 games -- and he showed during his rookie campaign last season that he was already capable of dominating. The?Toronto Maple Leafs?Mitch Marner, who was second among rookies in scoring through Thursday, is also 19 -- as is?Auston Matthews, whos third in the rookie scoring race.Laine, who tops all those guys with 21 points, wont turn 19 until April.Its crazy. I remember myself at 18. Well, shoot -- I could barely play college hockey. I was having a hell of a time keeping up in the college ranks, and these kids now are leading the league in scoring and doing all kinds of ridiculous things, said Wheeler, who played for the University of Minnesota. It kind of blows your mind. You watch them play, and then theyre back in the hotel room playing video games all day. You pinch yourself, and you say, Right, theyre kids.Wheeler, who had a career-high 78 points last season, has watched another Jets kid bloom before his eyes the last few years. Center?Mark Scheifele?exploded for 34 points (17-17) in his last 26 games last season and has carried that hot streak into 2016-17. The 23-year-old leads the Jets with 26 points (13-13) in 26 games.Young Mr. Scheifele, who is in his fourth NHL season, has 60 points (30-30) in his last 54 games.I havent played against many guys who have been on the same level as he was the last 30 games last year and now into this season, Wheeler said of Scheifele, a Kitchener, Ontario, native. He has really elevated his game.Wheeler has been there to give Scheifele advice the last four seasons, and now the veteran is doing the same for Laine.The biggest thing Ive tried to tell him is, Never get pushed out of a game. Just stay with it all night. A guy like you, all you need is one opportunity to change the whole game, Wheeler said.Wheeler has seen plenty of examples. In Tuesday nights game against the?New Jersey Devils, Laine patiently waited for his chance. When he got one, he made it count, firing a wicked shot -- even when it appeared there was simply nowhere to aim -- that beat?Cory Schneider?top corner. It proved to be the game winner.Laine does things like that in practice, day in and day out.On a 2-on-1 drill, hell just kind of come down and skate all the way to the goal line and throw it right off the back bar, said Wheeler. Everyone is like, What just happened? Who is this guy?Wheeler saw similar heroics from his young teammate during a Nov. 13 game against the?Los Angeles Kings.?We had a shootout against L.A., and I went and shot it right in the goalies chest. [Laine] was like, Hey, was five-hole open? And I said, I dont know, maybe. Then he goes out and does that ridiculous move, and Im like, Yeah, I told you five-hole was wide open, Wheeler said, laughing.You just wait. These young Jets have only begun to take off. China Jerseys . -- Whether Jeremy Hill deserves a prominent role in LSUs offence this early in the season is a matter for debate. Stitched Cheap Jerseys . He says so-called TRT is only one problem and he wants to go even further than the ban. "Its about time," St-Pierre told reporters at a promotional event in Montreal on Friday. "I think its a good thing. http://www.jerseyscheapauthentic.com/ . -- The goal posts lying flat on the field, Arizonas fans lingered on the field, congregating around the locker room entrance nearly 30 minutes after rushing out of the stands. Cheap Jerseys . Hazard cut in from the left and scored with a swerving right-footed shot for ninth goal of the season, which proved to be enough for the victory despite Chelseas forwards again lacking a cutting edge up front. Cheap Jerseys Fast Shipping . Pedro scored from a pass by Lionel Messi in the 33rd minute and added two more goals in the 47th and 72nd after Valdes saved his second penalty in four days following his stop in Wednesdays 4-0 over Ajax in the Champions League. Why play the games?Given the hype surrounding the Alabama Crimson Tide, we might as well hand them the trophy before the College Football Playoffs top four are even selected.But Bama might not be quite the slam dunk to win the title that most think.dddddddddddd Heres why. ' ' '