Phil Kessel

Last year, Daniel Sedin won the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer for the 2010-2011 season.

In the 2009-2010 season, his elder (by six minutes) twin brother Henrik won the Art Ross.

The back-to-back Art Ross trophies by teammates marked the first time this has happened in almost 20 years.

He's young. He's fast. He's explosive—and he's been silencing critics with his exceptional play well into the 2011-12 NHL season.

Oh, did I mention he plays for the Maple Leafs?

Phil Kessel has climbed the rankings of elite talents in professional hockey and has clearly emerged as one of the NHL's most dangerous scorers.

The Toronto Maple Leafs head to Boston for their fourth meeting against the Boston Bruins.

So far this season, the Bruins have won all three meetings rather convincingly, outscoring them 19-5 and look to feed on a very successful November, having won 25 of a possible 26 points.

The Pittsburgh Penguins rebounded from an ugly loss to the New York Rangers by shutting the Washington Capitals down. The Capitals could only manage two shots on goal in the third period and lost to the Pens by the score of 2-1.

The Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team is creating some serious buzz around the NHL this year.  With a new look, a new go-to goalie and Phil Kessel lighting up the score board, things are looking up for the Leafs this year.

Unlike last year's hot start, the Leafs have managed to sustain the momentum.  This article will look at some of the reasons why the Leafs are currently tied for first in their division. 

The start the Toronto Maple Leafs have had this year is impressive.

With a 4-1-1 mark out of the gate, the Leafs look to have a few things under control.

Their star player, Phil Kessel, is tops in the points race with 12 and tops in goals scored with seven.  He is even second in plus/minus with a plus-six.

Before people start getting the wrong idea about the purpose of this article, it is solely a look at the Toronto Maple Leafs system and who amongst them would be the most likely to win one of the yearly NHL awards. This is a completely hypothetical article and we have no way of determining whether any of these will win or even be nominated for an award in the future.

The horse ain't dead yet.

We're closing in on two years since Phil Kessel was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs from the Boston Bruins and there is still no consensus, at least not among Leaf fans, as to who won the trade.

Critics of the trade felt, and still feel, that it was one of the bigger mistakes made by Brian Burke during his tenure as the Leafs' GM.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have been steadily improving since Brian Burke took over the helm as General Manager. There are few doubters left in Leaf Land regarding his hockey acumen and prowess at the negotiation table.

Whether by draft, trade or free agency, Burke has put quality players on the roster and given them the chance to succeed.

There are again exciting prospects in the ranks—a novel concept for Leaf GMs of the past.

With the NHL season (slowly) approaching, not much has been set in stone.  Nobody really has a Stanley Cup prediction quite yet, or the slightest clue to who will emerge as the breakout star of the year.  One thing that is inevitable, however, is the often unrealistic optimism by fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs, myself included.