Panarin! Panarin! Panarin! If you say his name three times, will he score a goal? At this rate he just might. In Wednesday night’s opening night, we saw a lot of Panarin and all signs point to an amazing player that we need to keep an eye on this season. With a spectacular regular season debut, Panarin is quickly on the rise and here is why:

He’s a Magician with the Puck

In his regular season debut with the Blackhawks, Panarin had more than just the fans speaking high praises about him. With the Blackhawks trailing the Rangers 1-0 in the first period, Patrick Kane chased down a puck in the offensive zone and found a striding Panarin who was wide open in the slot. With a pass from Kane, Panarin buried home his first career NHL goal against one of the league’s best goaltenders, Henrik Lundqvist.

When asked about Panarin, Kane said, “He’s a special player. He’s electric. It was nice to see him get his first goal. I think once he gets accustomed to the NHL game, smaller ice surface, playing with different linemates and some different players, he’s going to be a force to be reckoned with.”

And even Lundqvist was talking about Panarin, although he didn’t know his name. He said, “That line with Anisimov, Kane and that young guy. I can’t pronounce his name, but they looked really good.” You bet Lundqvist now knows Panarin’s name after that game.

He’s Got the Numbers to Show

During 20 postseason games with SKA St. Petersburg (KHL), Panarin recorded 20 points (5 goals, 15 assists) en route to winning the Gagarin Cup—he shared the league lead in playoff assists and shared third in playoff points. With his talent, you can see why he is such a strong player, but don’t take my word for it, take a look at some of his career highlights so far:

Earned a silver medal with Team Russia at the 2015 World Championship in Prague/Ostrava

Recorded a team high of 26 goals and 62 points in 54 regular season games during the 2014-15 season

Selected to the KHL First All-Star Team

Named KHL Forward of the Month in October 9, 2015

Earned a gold medal with Team Russia at the 2011 IIHF World Junior Championship

He’s the Bread Man

All the Blackhawks players seem to have nicknames, but the Bread Man? Why? Well, the name appears to have two meanings. First, Panarin’s name reminds members of the Blackhawks of the restaurant chain Panera Bread. And, as Coach Q explained, “It looked like he had the puck all night.” But still, why the Bread Man—maybe because he’s always delivering? He butters your bread? Maybe we better not ask questions. Either way, Quenneville meant it as a compliment and I don’t hate it.

He’s a Highly Skilled Forward

Panarin might be slightly undersized, but he is a highly skilled forward who is creative and can consistently create scoring opportunities. Panarin was one of the top young forwards in the KHL the past two seasons, and his combination of skating explosiveness and stick-handling skill makes things tough on opposing defenders. Do we have a new Patrick Kane on our hands? Or maybe he has potential to be better? I guess we will find that out as he plays more.

He’s a Top Rookie

Predicting who will win the Calder Trophy this season might be difficult at this point, and we might be biased, but Artemi Panarin seems like a top contender. According to Duncan Keith, without even hesitating, Artemi Panarin was who he thought would be the league’s top rookie this season. While Keith might be a little biased, I’d like to think he is right. With the hockey season underway, Panarin’s hype continues to grow.

He’s Got Hockey IQ

While we didn’t really see him get challenged defensively in the preseason game against Dallas, but we definitely saw him light up in Wednesday’s opening night. The intensity will continue to kick up as the season moves on, but he will continue to learn and get better with help from his teammates while his hockey IQ will create enough chemistry with his teammates to really get the momentum going. Once Panarin fully sets into his place on the Blackhawks, other teams will have to watch out. Don’t underestimate Artemi Panarin—he will only get better.

As a highly skilled winger, Artemi Panarin essentially fills the void created by the departures of Patrick Sharp and Brandon Saad. While big skates to fill, playing on a line with Patrick Kane and Artem Anisimov will help him out tremendously.