What would the playoffs be if it wasn't for huge performances by rookies? Remember Antti Niemi's rookie goaltending en route to the Stanley Cup in 2010? Or Chris Kreider's emergence in 2012?

Despite only being a fraction of the way through the first round, we have already seen some rookies take center stage in the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Here are some of the names you should get to know.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau - Ottawa Senators

Jean-Gabriel Pageau is a fascinating story. He grew up near Ottawa, and most NHL fans didn't have any idea who he was a month ago. After Game 3, Pageau has become one of the top stories of the postseason thus far. In his first playoff game in Ottawa, Pageau lost a tooth, scored a hat trick, and had his name chanted by 20,000-plus in mocking fashion of Montreal's "Ole Ole" chant. Welcome to your dreams, kid.

Gustav Nyquist - Detroit Red Wings

Duck, Duck, Goose! Gustav Nyquist - also known as "Goose" around Hockeytown - has been a thorn in the Anaheim Ducks' side, scoring the overtime winner in Game 2 and getting an assist in Damien Brunner's overtime goal in Game 4. Nyquist, along with Brunner and Joakim Andersson are just some of the youngsters with incredible potential on a talented Detroit squad that is trying to pull off an upset against Anaheim.

Jason Zucker - Minnesota Wild

Zucker scored a huge goal in overtime of Game 3 to keep the Wild in their series against the Chicago Blackhawks. Zucker also has a plus-two rating, and is one of the only Minnesota players to have a positive plus/minus. While he played in less than half of Minnesota's regular season games, Jason Zucker is showing that he has a lot of upside and could develop into a clutch player under pressure situations.