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Can Kyle Okposo maintain momentum from his breakout year?

New York Islanders v Winnipeg Jets

WINNIPEG, MB - MARCH 4: Kyle Okposo #21 of the New York Islanders skates down the ice during third period action in an NHL game against the Winnipeg Jets at the MTS Centre on March 4, 2014 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. (Photo by Marianne Helm/Getty Images)

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John Tavares rightfully grabs the most attention as the New York Islanders’ best player in decades, but in an era where depth can make the difference between contending and just surviving, it’s crucial for others to step up. As much of a difference as the team’s impressive offseason moves might make, the team could be especially dangerous if the Kyle Okposo we saw in 2013-14 is the one who’s here to stay.

That’s not to say that Okposo was lackluster in other seasons, mind you.

A big leap

At 26, he’s one goal short of 100 in his NHL career. Including his career-high 27 from last season, he has two 20+ goal seasons and two others that were very close (18 in 2008-09, 19 in 2009-10) to boot.

The 2013-14 campaign stands out because of two reasons: 1) he fired more shots on net and 2) he generated more assists.

Okposo collected 42 assists in just 71 games, giving him almost a point-per-game overall (69 in 71). To give you an idea of how big of a jump that was, consider that his previous career-high for points was just 52.

No doubt about it, some of that stems from playing with Tavares, especially when the Islanders enjoyed the work of that blistering-but-short-lived trio that also included Thomas Vanek. It would be foolish to depict Okposo as a mere passenger, however.

Growing into his role

His work in the month of March is demonstrative enough, as Tavares was already out for the season and Vanek’s last game with the Isles took place on March 2. Even with those two stellar linemates out of the picture (for the most part), Okposo scored three goals and seven assists for 10 points in 11 games before suffering a season-ending ailment of his own.

There have been some measures taken to explain why, exactly, Okposo made such a big jump ... but here’s a vote for the vague notion of “being more assertive.”

It’s a generalization to say that more shots translate to more confidence, but it might be a decent measure for a power forward like Okposo.

Okposo averaged 2.75 shots per game in 2013-14, second only to the 3.11 he managed in 2009-10. Most other seasons he leaned closer to two per contest.

That might not seem like much, yet 80-100 extra shots during the span of a season could mean something like 8-10 additional goals (based on his career 10.4 shooting percentage). To get dorky for a moment, Islanders fans should be excited to see that his shooting percentage was a fairly repeatable 13.8 last season, as that’s not the kind of “puck luck” that is often a red flag for a fluky year.
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Of course, the big jump in assists is probably the easiest place to see the “Tavares effect.” But, really, is that such a bad thing? The ultimate message might be that the Islanders would be wise to keep Okposo with No. 91 and give him the green light to shoot.

Will he maybe slow down a bit in 2014-15? It’s plausible, but there are also plenty of reasons to believe that he’s going to be one of the league’s more productive power forwards.

Follow James O’Brien @cyclelikesedins