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Before final cuts were made at Vancouver Canuck training camp this year, Jason King would have been the one of the last players that most people would have thought to make the 2003-04 squad. The 22-year-old left wing had played eight games for the Canucks in 2002-03, spending most of his time with the AHL Manitoba Moose.  Most expected him to remain with the Moose, but King was on the 23-man Canuck roster for the season opener vs. Calgary, the only rookie to crack the roster. High profile rookies Ryan Kesler, Kirill Koltsov and Brandon Reid did not make the cut.

Even after it was announced that King would be on the opening night roster, it wasn’t certain he would actually get to play. He might be like most rookies, win a spot at camp, sit in the press box for a few games and then be sent back to the minors. When opening night was rolling around the corner vs. the Flames, Coach Crawford had King penciled in to play on the right side with Daniel and Henrik Sedin. Was this just Crawford trying to get a winger to get the Sedin twins going? Crawford has tried ever winger possible with the duo over the past few seasons. He used Trent Klatt, Trevor Linden, Matt Cooke and even Todd Bertuzzi on a line with the Sedins, and so far, nothing was working.

Jason King brought excellent skating and a good shot to the left wing side of that second line.  He scored his first ever NHL goal on opening night at General Motors Place in Vancouver. Coach Crawford must have liked what he saw from King and the twins they were kept together and indeed have had good production. It finally looks as if the Canucks had found their winger on the second line.  King is a bit of a surprise to the organization, selected as a 20-year-old in the seventh round of the 2001 Entry Draft.  He’s a late round pick that has earned dividends already.  Averaging 13:11 in icetime per game, he is a key part of a line that is itself a key part of Vancouver’s early success.

It's only mid-November and the Sedins are having career year. King has played in all 16 Canuck games this year, scoring nine goals, is fifth on the Canucks in scoring and is tied with the Bruins' Patrice Bergeron for first in rookie scoring with eleven points. He has more points then Calgary's Jarome Iginla, Colorado's Teemu Selanne and Dallas's Mike Modano. How's that for company? 

If King keeps up the pace, he could be the first Canuck to win the Calder trophy since Pavel Bure won it in 1992.