MARK STONE-RW-OTTAWA SENATORS You would think that a rookie with 26 points in 44 NHL games this season that Mark Stone would be in the hunt for the Calder Trophy awarded to the top NHL rookie. Unfortunately for Mr. Stone, he has some steep competition with this year's overall no. 1 Aaron Ekblad, Calgary Flame Johnny "Hockey" Gaudreau and 2012 1st round pick Nashville Predator Filip Forsberg battling it out for top honors. There is still a lot of season left, but the way these three are playing, a lot would have to fall in place for the Ottawa Senator to get ample consideration. Mark Stone was drafted in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft in the sixth round and, at age 22, is older than the three rookies mentioned earlier. A relative unknown commodity at the beginning of the season, Stone has seen his responsibilities and ice time increase ever since the Senators made a surprise coaching change.  His ice time has increased from his earlier average range of 11-16 minutes per game to an average range of 15-19 minutes with significant power play ice time included.  If the rookie saw any decent power play ice time at the beginning of the season, it was rare.  That all changed once Dave Cameron replaced Paul MacLean behind the bench.  Stone played four years with the Brandon Wheat Kings of the WHL with the last two seasons showing impressive statistics of 78-151-229. Those last 2 seasons at Brandon were after he was drafted, so the Senators seemed to have found a gem late in the 6th round. He did play 1 ½ seasons in the AHL before being called up in 2013 for a second stint with the big club.  His made his NHL appearance playing in one playoff game in 2011-2012 and then 4 regular season games the following season but it was in 2013 that showed that Stone was ready for the major leagues by going 4-4-8 in 9 games. Now that he is being relied upon to provide some offense to a team in a semi-rebuild mode, Stone has taken it upon his shoulders evidenced by the increased scoring under Cameron. Playing under MacLean, Stone was decent with 11 points in 25 games with limited ice time, but once Cameron took over and gave him increased time both 5-on-5 and with the man-advantage, we have seen his numbers increase to15 points in 19 games and is currently riding an 8-game scoring streak.  There is no doubt that Stone has the offensive capabilities to play in the NHL but it took a big break with a new head coach that provided the opportunity for the rookie Right Wing. Will Stone be able to continue this point-per-game streak he is currently on?  As with all rookies it is safe to say that they will have their ups and downs like every other rookie but if the coach keeps putting Stone out there in favorable situations, there is no reason that the rookie can't keep it close to the current rate for the balance of the season. ICE POPS: CAP GUN---There is no doubt that this kid will be a star someday, and if he continues to lineup up with Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom, the Capitals will be loaded for years to come. All Andre Burakovsky has done in the last three games is go 2-2-4 giving him confidence as he continues to adjust to the NHL game. He hasn't seen a boost in ice time and his power play time has been quite limited, but if he continues to put up the numbers, it will be hard to ignore him much longer....BARK AT THE MOON---He was the talk of the 2013 rookie class but an injury cut his season short. In 54 games, Aleksander Barkov scored 24 points but played with poise and played big amongst men. He started off slow with just 6 points in 26 games, but don't look now as the turn of the calendar has sparked the talented Center with 8 points in 8 January games. It appears his game is about to take off for the moon.