Gustav Nyquist is currently one of the hottest players in the National Hockey League. On Tuesday April 2, Nyquist was named the NHL’s second star of the month after scoring twelve goals in the fifteen games he played in March.

Nyquist, 24, has carried the Red Wings through a very tough season. The Red Wings are arguably facing the most injuries to any team in the league this season, including elite forwards Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg. Despite these injuries, the Wings are currently sitting at the top wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. This favorable ranking is partly due to Nyquist’s sensational effort over the past two months.

Nyquist was drafted 121st overall in the 2008 NHL draft. After being drafted, Nyquist played with the University of Maine, totaling more than 140 points over his three-season stay. From Maine, Nyquist was called up to the Wings’ minor league affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins. Nyquist stayed in Grand Rapids for three seasons, helping lead the franchise to it’s first Calder Cup championship.

Nyquist has scored at least one point in his past nine games, scoring 11 goals over that stretch. Nyquist led the team with twelve goals in March, the third most by any Red Wing. It is important to note that this is Nyquist’s first full season with the Red Wings, and he is currently on track to be the team’s leading scorer.

With the return of Datsyuk on the horizon, Nyquist’s future is only looking more promising. According to the website STATS.com, Nyquist’s tally of 23 goals in 28 games has only been matched by two other players since 1989; Pavel Bure and Alexander Ovechkin. Not to put any pressure on Nyquist, but Bure was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2012, and Ovechkin is currently leading the league in goals, one shy of the fifth 50-goal season in his career.

With a promising career ahead of him, Nyquist will most likely be re-signed by the Red Wings sometime before the 2014-2015 season. Other young players have also seen contract extensions. Most recently, Luke Glendening was signed for an additional three years.

Nyquist has not been the only young gun to step up for the Wings during this injury-riddled season. Tomas Tatar, Tomas Jurco, Luke Glendening, Riley Sheahan and Brendan Smith have all shown dramatic improvement since the start of the regular season, and have all become important parts of the Red Wings’ system.