The NCAA, NHL and AHL seasons have barely started, but plenty of hockey has already been played around the world. Interesting storylines are already emerging when it comes to the top drafted prospects and prospects for the 2015 draft and beyond. Furthermore, there have been some emerging player development trends.

There have been some remarkable performances in leagues all over thus far, but we're not focusing on that right now, since small bursts of production can be anomalous.

Instead, we'll focus on some players who have shown a marked improvement in one or more skills based on where they were at the end of last season, or during events of the summer:

[Note: Stats are current heading into the games of Oct. 15.]

Axel Holmstrom | C | Detroit Red Wings

Holmstrom, the 196th overall pick in the 2014 draft, has eight points already in his 18-year-old Swedish Hockey League season. That is a giant scoring spike for a player his age in that league.