Last June, John Tavares, Victor Hedman and Matt Duchene held their collective breath as New Islander general manager Grath Snow walked to the podium to announce the first overall pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.
The Islanders selected Tavares first overall, while Hedman followed to the Tampa Bay Lightning and Duchene was picked by the Colorado Avalanche.
Four months later, Tavares is scoring points for the Islanders, Hedman is logging big minutes with the Lightning and Duchene is a big part of the surprising Avalanche.
But three other members of the draft class appear ready to make the jump and stick with their respective NHL teams for the remainder of the season.
Fourth overall pick Evander Kane of the Atlanta Thrashers, 19th selection Dmitry Kulikov of the Florida Panthers and second round pick Ryan O'Reilly of the Avalanche have all been given a vote of confidence by their organizations.
Teams have nine games to evaluate junior-eligible players before deciding to keep them and use up one year of their contracts. They can still be sent back to their junior teams after the 9-game mark but they would only have two years left on their entry-level contracts. Should they play 40 games in the NHL, they would be one year closer to restricted free agency.
In 10 games this season, Tavares has registered seven points, including five on the power play as the Islanders have shown small signs of improvement. But the new face of the franchise, who is receiving close to 20 minutes of ice-time, knows he's part of a long-term plan and this season has been a learning experience.
"It's definitely been a transition, but every day I've been getting better and feeling more comfortable," Tavares told The Canadian Press last week. "I'm learning something new every day, and learning how to handle it. It's the highest level in the world and some things you have to go through yourself to learn how to handle them, but so far it's going pretty well."
In Tampa Bay, Hedman has been paired with veteran Mattias Ohlund and his development appears to be right on schedule. In nine games, the Swedish blueliner has four assists with a +1 rating and leads all rookies with almost 25 minutes of ice-time per night.
"As a coach, you don't want to look in the future too much," Lightning head coach Rick Tocchet told the St. Petersburg Times. "But he does all the things and has all the makings of a great defenceman and having a great career."
The Avalanche appear to have hit the daily double with Duchene and O'Reilly. While it's not a shock to see Duchene suiting up for his favourite boyhood team, O'Reilly has been a pleaseant surprise.
Duchene has picked up six points this season, including four assists on the power play, as the Avalanche have been one of the feel-good stories of the early season, leading the Western Conference with a 9-1-2 record.
O'Reilly has not seen much time on the power play but that has not stopped him from piling up the points. Playing mostly with David Jones and Cody McLeod, the former Erie Otter has two goals and eight assists in 12 games.
But the early success of the dynamic duo has not been a surprise to the rookie head coach of the Avalanche, Joe Sacco.
"Going into training camp, we expected both guys to challenge for a roster spot," Sacco told the Edmonton Sun. "Right from Day 1, they certainly deserved the right to be here. They've played well, they're being used in all different situations, they're playing lots of minutes and they're helping our team win."
Kane has not passed the 10-game threshold for players to be sent back to junior but he has likely played his last game with the Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League. This season, the Vancouver native has three goals and five points in eight games with the Thrashers.
"There is nothing that indicates we'd want to send him back," Thrashers' head coach told the Vancouver Sun last week. "He's been a pleasure to coach and he's been doing everything we've asked, especially defensively. I don't see that he is going to be sent back."
Kulikov signed with the Panthers at the end of training camp and has not disappointed in his first nine NHL games. The smooth-skating defenceman has three assists, all on the power play while sharing the ice with veteran Bryan Allen.
On Tuesday, Panthers general manager Randy Sexton made it clear that while Kulikov will stay in the NHL for the foreseeable future, he could still find himself back with the Drummondville Voltigeurs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
''We have to do the best thing for the long term development of Dmitry Kulikov and what is in the best interests of our team,'' Sexton told the Miami Herald. ''I think we accomplished both things. The best thing for Dmitry right now is staying with us. But he has to work, has to continue to improve. If there becomes a time when he's not developing, I will send him back [to juniors]. But he's here and he's excited. Now he can relax a little, get settled in.''
One common thread among these six young stars is the healthy amount of ice-time they are receiving, which is a good sign that their NHL careers are well underway.