Minnesota Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov has been named winner of the 2020-21 Calder Memorial Trophy, awarded to the NHL’s top rookie.
Kaprizov beat out fellow finalists in Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic and Dallas Stars forward Jason Robertson.
The 24-year-old Kaprizov led all first-year NHL players this past season with 27 goals and 51 points in 55 regular-season games. He also ranked first among rookies in shots on goal (157) and his 51 points led the Wild, making Kaprizov just the fourth rookie in the past two decades to lead his team in scoring.
“I’ve enjoyed everything about the game,” Kaprizov said via a translator on Tuesday night’s NHL Awards show when asked by Patrick Kane what he enjoyed about his first NHL season. “I enjoyed the atmosphere in the locker room. I enjoyed playing on the ice with my teammates. I enjoyed the playoff atmosphere and the different rinks we played in. The organization was amazing.
“I really enjoyed everything – from my play on ice to the team game. Everything this season kind of came together, and it was truly special.”
Kaprizov is the first Wild player in franchise history to win the Calder.
[relatedlinks]
COMMENTS
When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.