Folks! The preseason is officially over, we’re staring down opening night, and that means we’re close to winding down our season previews, in turn. It’s time to talk key contributors, and there have been few more key of late than Scott Laughton. Let’s dig into it. 2022-23 Rundown Games PlayedGoalsAssistsPoints5v5 CF%5v5 xGF%7818254345.51%44.91%stats via Natural Stat Trick What did we see from Laughton last season? In short: last season was another very typical Scott Laughton season. His all-around game was strong, and he once again proved he could be relied upon in all situations. He even chipped in a nice bit of scoring, landing himself fifth in both goals scored and overall points scored of all skaters. He also, by making it through 78 of 82 games without serious injury, just survived the season, and while that feels like it should be an easy bar to clear, with how injury riddled the team has been the last few seasons, it is a major accomplishment. So good on him for that one too. There really aren\'t any major holes we can poke in his game, in truth, and that\'s something that\'s come to be sort of an expectation (but more on that later). We know that in difficult seasons when the results aren\'t coming and frustration is bound to mount, it\'s hard to show up day in and day out and still do one\'s best, but Laughton did it without fail, and that was a large contributing factor for him being brought into the leadership group last season. It wasn’t easy, but by all accounts, it was a successful season for him. What type of role do we expect Laughton to play this season? If last night\'s preseason lineup — which we\'re told was pretty close to what the team envisions the opening night roster looking like — was any indication, we should see him getting some time on the third line and also on the penalty kill. And that, all in all, feels like an appropriate spot for him. A lot has been asked of Laughton over the last few seasons, but he\'s now looking set to start the season at a place in the lineup which probably best suits his skillset — that is, playing alongside Noah Cates on his checking line. This role, however, really doesn\'t feel set in stone. On the one hand, because we know Laughton as a strong utility player and someone who keeps showing up when things are going badly, if things do start to go sideways for a stretch, he is a player that we can see getting shuffled up in a hope to provide more energy in the lineup. But on the other hand, if the team really decides down the road to commit fully to \"play the kids mode,\" and we see one or two of the veteran fourth liners pushed out of the lineup, Laughton is a player we could reasonably see getting shuffled down to fill in their place. There are a wealth of options here folks. What would make for a successful season for Laughton? But the beauty of Laughton\'s game is that no matter where he finds himself in the lineup at whatever point in this season, we expect that he\'ll be able to deliver a strong performance. His history to date has shown him as a consistent and reliable forward, and we expect that to continue going forward. It\'s a real rebuild happening here, and for it to go off smoothly, everyone needs to be pulling in the same direction, even when things might get difficult, and Laughton is going to need to be a key part of that. He\'s in a real leadership role right now, and he\'s going to be one of the key pieces not only in making sure the team is playing the right way on the ice, but also that the young players being introduced to the league are introduced properly. That\'s the real crux of what we need to see from Laughton this season — continuing to lead by example as far as playing the right way goes, but also leading more directly as the team works to get its young players up to speed and ready to be competitive again. If there was ever a time to take that next step forward fully into the leadership role, now is it.