Despite being passed over in the NHL Draft, Gourde has since played in nearly 500 regular-season NHL games.
The 50 rookie skaters in these playoffs are the most since teams used 54 in 2005-06. That could be a reflection of teams having greater trust in young players arriving from junior hockey or college, or the need to stock rosters with cheap talent as a greater percentage of the salary cap is devoted to the elite.
These young guns have taken their best shot, literally, in 2017-18. While they might be short on NHL experience, this handful (plus one) of rookies is seriously big on talent.