Every professional athlete experiences the weight of high expectations. No matter how good a player is, in any sport, fans, coaches, and the media will always place lofty expectations on that player. That's not always fair, but it is the nature of the job.

Heading into the 2016-17 NHL season, these three players will be under a higher-powered microscope than most.

1. Matt Murray - Pittsburgh Penguins

Matt Murray was not supposed to play in the 2016 NHL playoffs for the Pittsburgh Penguins. No, that job belonged to Marc-Andre Fleury. But when Fleury went down with a concussion in the late stages of the season, the 22-year-old Murray got the call. All he did was backstop the team to a Stanley Cup victory.

Murray, with a total of 13 regular season games to his name, will likely begin the 2016-17 NHL season as the Penguins' starting goaltender. You can bet that fans will expect his play to at least be up to the standard he set in the playoffs.

2. Adam Larsson - Edmonton Oilers

The P.K. Subban for Shea Weber trade was the blockbuster of the summer, but the Edmonton Oilers sending Hall, the first overall pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for Larsson, the fourth overall pick in 2011, was a close second.

With 65 points (26G, 39A) last season, Hall led the Oilers in scoring, and the general consensus is that the Devils robbed the Oilers in the trade.  

Larsson, a defenseman, is obviously not going to be expected to score at Hall's pace, but he is going to be counted on to bring some stability to the blue line in Edmonton. Honestly, there are no guarantees that Larsson will be successful in that endeavor after 274 NHL games.

3. Dylan Larkin - Detroit Red Wings

The Red Wings usually bring their rookies along slowly. Dylan Larkin was an exception to that rule.

Last season, Larkin, who was born in 1996, became the first rookie to crack the starting night lineup for the Wings since Mike Sillinger did so in 1990-91.

In his first game, Larkin scored a goal and added an assist. By the time the season ended, Larkin had scored 45 points (23G, 22A), good enough for third in team scoring. The man who finished one spot above him, Pavel Datsyuk (49 points), is no longer with the team, as he returned to Russia at the end of the season. Larkin, now all of 20 years old, is going to be looked to at least fill a part of the void left by Datsyuk's departure.

By Trent Reinsmith