Edmonton Oilers, Ethan Bear (Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports)
Last year was a bit of a banner year for the Edmonton Oilers D corps. We saw Ethan Bear come out of nowhere to win a spot in camp, after a promising callup 3 seasons ago, followed by a season in Bakersfield in which he put up 6 goals and 31 points in 52 games. He was also a +14 that season and followed that up by putting up 2 goals and 4 points in 8 playoff games for the Condors.
He surprisingly earned a spot in camp, and quickly became a mainstay in the D corps, moving up to the top pairing in short order with Oscar Klefbom or Darnell Nurse.