It’s not easy when the world is expected of you. A hockey player makes his own bed with his talent and performance though. Expectations have destroyed many young careers before they even flickered to a start. The specter of a hockey icon, OK, the statue of perhaps the greatest player ever outside of your office might be a little much to take in.

Taylor Hall has seemingly taken it all in stride though. The former number one overall draft pick hasn’t yet met his potential, but the Edmonton faithfull have seen enough to know that a healthy Hall could mean big things for the once great franchise.

When Wayne Gretzky left Edmonton, it marked the beginning of the end for the Oiler dynasty of the 1980’s. Mark Messier would take them to glory one more time in 1990, before the stars were auctioned off in an Edmonton fire-sale. The Oilers made a surprise run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2005 before falling in seven games to the Carolina Hurricanes.

Not much success in Alberta since then as Edmonton has managed to get the number one overall draft pick for three consecutive seasons starting with Hall’s pick in 2010. The speedy left winger hit the ground run…er, skating and found the net 22 times in his rookie campaign. An ankle injury ended his season at 44 points and 65 games.

The following season with number one draft pick Ryan Nugent-Hopkins joining the lineup, Edmonton raced out of the gates to start the season. In the middle of the push was Taylor Hall and right wing Jordan Eberle.  The young guns couldn’t do it all themselves, and eventually faltered, missing the playoffs for the sixth consecutive year.

Taylor Hall started to establish himself as one of the brightest stars in the league with 53 points in 61 games. Injuries again cut short a promising season for Hall, who had established a magical chemistry with Nugent-Hopkins and Eberle.  When the NHL gets underway, look for Taylor Hall’s name among the soring leaders.