Laine's resounding early impact blowing teammates away

Twenty-six games into the Patrik Laine era, and it's pretty safe to say the Winnipeg Jets are happy with their second overall pick.

Laine's been remarkable, with 15 goals to his name already and a two-point advantage in the rookie scoring race.

After all the pre-draft hype, the Jets were excited to land the Finnish sniper, but they never imagined this sort of production.

"When we got the pick, everyone was excited at the prospect of having Patty," Jets captain Blake Wheeler told ESPN's Pierre LeBrun. "You heard all the stories about his shot and the dynamic things he could do. That's all well and good, but he's 18. You expect there to be a learning curve, you expect to be some speed bumps along the way.

"All of a sudden, he's leading the NHL in goals, and it's not by mistake. It's crazy. He gets the puck in areas (where) you don't really feel like (he has) a scoring chance. All of sudden, it's in the back of the net. You just kind of shake your head."

Laine has thrived in the spotlight, currently on pace for a whopping 47 goals and already netting two hat tricks in his young career.

Emphasis on young - even the Jets sometimes forget their most dynamic scorer is only 18.

"It kind of blows your mind. You watch them play, and then they're back in the hotel room playing video games all day. You pinch yourself, and you say, 'Right, they're kids,'" Wheeler said of Laine and his cohort of youthful talent across the league.