It’s only October, but the race for the Calder Trophy is already heating up between these seven rookies
The competition for the Calder Trophy for the NHL’s rookie of the year seems as if it’s going to be a close one, with multiple pretenders to the throne. Here’s a look at the early candidates as October comes to a close:
1. Auston Matthews, Toronto: He has performed at or above expectations, at times leading the NHL in scoring. His four-goal debut will go a long way to having voters remember him. He’s also American, which might hold water with voters south of the border. But Wendel Clark, the Leafs’ only other No. 1 overall pick, was hurt in his campaign by an anti-Leaf sentiment.
2. Patrik Laine, Winnipeg: The second pick overall has done everything he could to show folks why he believed he should have gone No. 1 overall, including showing up Matthews in a head-to-head visit. His goals are all of the highlight reel variety. At 18, he’s the youngest in the Calder front-runner pool. 3. Jimmy Vesey, New York Rangers: The 23-year-old from Reading, Mass., was the most sought-after unrestricted college free agent in some time. The captain of Harvard’s hockey team and the Hobey Baker winner as the top player in the NCAA is off to a good start with his chosen
team, the Rangers, with six goals, keeping pace with Matthews.
4. Travis Konecny, Philadelphia: The 19-year-old 2015 first-rounder has bloomed in the early going, with seven points. He had 252 points in 190 games in the OHL (Ottawa, Sarnia) and was a big part of Canada’s world junior and under-18 teams.
5. William Nylander, Toronto: Votesplitting will be an issue with a big crop of Maple Leafs rookies, and that could be an issue for Nylander, who plays on Matthews’ wing. Nylander, 20, has looked the strongest Leafs freshman in recent games and has taken the rookie scoring lead from
Matthews with 11 points.
6. Zach Werenski, Columbus: The eighth overall pick in 2015 out of the University of Michigan is a big part of the Blue Jackets future, and is having an impressive start to the season on the blue line, a tough position for teenagers, but a task this 19-year-old seems up to. 7. Mitch Marner, Toronto: Marner plays on a different line than Matthews, who is on an all-rookie line. The thought was playing with veterans would help the undersized Marner. It looks like playing with Marner is helping veterans Tyler Bozak and James van Riemsdyk.