With NHL Awards set for June 22 in Las Vegas, the three finalists for the Calder Trophy — awarded “to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition”— were announced Monday.
Of all the categories this year, the Calder might just be the most compelling and divisive. Starting with the most deserving, we break down the finalists and make the case for one who just missed the cut.
Connor McDavid
Despite missing nearly half the season with a broken clavicle, Edmonton Oilers franchise centre Connor McDavid made a serious impact on the league and showed flashes of the superstar he’s likely to become. He finished fourth in rookie scoring with 48 points in 45 games, but had the NHL’s third-best points per game rate – only Patrick Kane and Jamie Benn had more points per game among players that played more than one game.
The first-overall pick from the 2015 NHL Draft became the ninth-youngest player in NHL history to have a five-point game when he lit up the Maple Leafs in February. McDavid could become the first player in Oilers history to win the award.
The Chicago Blackhawks winger is the favourite to win the award after leading all rookies with 30 goals, 47 assists and 77 points. Yes, it was his first year in the NHL, but Panarin isn’t your typical NHL rookie. The undrafted 24-year-old agreed to terms with the Blackhawks last April after playing professionally in the KHL for years. Despite the fact he’s older than most rookies, you can’t deny what he accomplished in his first NHL season. If Panarin takes home the trophy he’ll be the first Blackhawks player to do so since his linemate Patrick Kane did it back in 2008.
One rookie who took the hockey world by surprise was the Philadelphia Flyers defenceman known as “Ghost Bear” aka 👻 🐻. The 78th overall pick from 2012 led all rookie defencemen in goals (17), assists (29), points (46) even though he only played 64 games. He set an NHL record by becoming the first rookie blueliner to score four overtime goals and his 15-game point streak in January and February is a league record for a rookie defenceman. Like McDavid, Gostisbehere could become the first player in his franchise’s history to win the Calder.
“He’s just so smart and he’s years above his age,” Hall of Famer Scott Stevens said during a segment on the NHL Network back in February. “He’s changed the dynamics of this team the way he moves the puck, the way he runs the power play, the way he delivers the puck from the point at the right time, the right height…He might put the puck at the net at the right time better than anybody in the league and this is his first year in the league so this guy’s outstanding.”
ODD MAN OUT: Jack Eichel
In addition to the three players mentioned above, players like Dylan Larkin, Max Domi, Sam Reinhart, Robby Fabbri and Colton Parayko also had quality rookie campaigns. However, Buffalo Sabres youngster Jack Eichel is the would-be fourth nominee in the Calder race. A player with franchise centre potential, Eichel was overshadowed in last summer’s draft by all the McDavid talk and this season he flew slightly under the radar for the same reason. He finished second in goals and points among first-year players but it wasn’t quite enough to earn a Calder nod.
