Ducks' Bobby Ryan? A star is born (OK, chosen, not born)

If Brian Burke were still with the Ducks, Bobby Ryan might not be, so at least one good thing came out of Burke's departure from Anaheim.

When Burke resigned as the Ducks' general manager, he was deep into trade discussions involving Ryan, who had an impressive training camp but started the season in the minor leagues because of salary cap considerations. Ryan was promoted after Francois Beauchemin suffered a serious knee injury and was placed on injured reserve, opening cap space.

Since his Nov. 16 debut, Ryan has been the most productive rookie scorer, recording 12 goals and 26 points in 26 games, including a hat trick against the Kings last week. That performance led NHL public relations and hockey operations executives to honor him as one of the league's three stars of the week ending Jan. 11.