Calder Trophy Race: Rookie Candidates
By Ryan Ritchie
Calder Trophy Race: Top 10 2015-16 Rookies
It’s been an interesting Calder Trophy race thus far in 2015-16 with several surprising Candidates. What was expected to be a two-man battle between Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel, has quickly turned into one of the most exciting rookie classes in recent memory.
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Unlike the Hart or Vezina battles, the Calder Trophy race has more parity with plenty more horses in the running. Beyond our top five, we continue to see a carousel of new candidates with each release of rankings. There’s little movement up top, as it seems the top five are the most likely to garner the most attention from voters.
Honorable Mentions (last ranking):
Mattias Janmark DAL (hm), Joonas Donskoi SJ (hm), Colin Miller BOS (hm), Sergey Kalinin NJ (hm), Nikolaj Ehlers WPG (hm), Robby Fabbri STL (hm), Darnell Nurse EDM (hm), Shayne Gostisbehere PHI (9), Oscar Lindberg NYR (7), Connor McDavid EDM (8), Noah Hanifin CAR (10), Jonathan Marchessault TB (-), Phil Di Giuseppe CAR (-)
Calder Trophy Race: Top 10
Ranking (Last Ranking) Name, Team
1. (1) Artemi Panarin, Chicago Blackhawks
No other rookie is averaging more ice-time (18:46) than the 26-year-old Russian. The Calder doesn’t usually get handed to players in their mid 20s, but 2015-16 might be the exception.
Playing alongside the NHL’s leading scorer, Panarin continues to pad his lead on rookies with 45 points (13 points ahead of 2nd).
2. (2) Dylan Larkin, Detroit Red Wings
His point totals have slowed, but he continues to perform. 32 points in 46 games for 2nd in rookie scoring is fairly impressive – What’s even better is his +23 rating. That’s best among rookies, and ties him for 3rd with Patrick Kane for the NHL lead. The biggest knock on rookies is their susceptibility to making mistakes. Larkin already resembles a seasoned vet with his responsible play in all three zones.
3. (5) Jack Eichel, Buffalo Sabres
One of Buffalo’s best players in 2015-16 is beginning to be rewarded more for his efforts. Early in the year, he played arguably as well as the other top Calder candidates, but struggled to find the scoresheet.
Now sitting 4th in scoring, Eichel leads all rookies with 145 shots, and sits 2nd in total ice-time/game (18:43).
4. (3) Max Domi, Arizona Coyotes
His production is beginning to slow, as expected with first-year players. The grind, and wear-and-tear of a long 82-game NHL season is an adjustment for these kids. Domi is 3rd in rookie scoring with 31 points in 46 games, and continues to help the Coyotes win games. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been as effective on the powerplay of late, and has only shot the puck 83 times, while carrying a -1 rating.
5. (4) Colton Parayko, St.Louis Blues
Ranked second among rookies in plus-minus with +18, Parayko remains one of the feel-good stories of the 2015-16 NHL season. A young guy coming out of college from Alaska, the big physical defender is now a main-stay on the Blues back-end.
His playing so well has given St.Louis room to dangle the idea of Kevin Shattenkirk on the trade market in hopes of addressing other needs. Parayko has 19 points in 48 games.
6. (-) John Gibson, Anaheim Ducks
On the radar in our last rankings, Gibson continues to shine in Anaheim since being called-up. It’s still unclear whether Anaheim plans to move forward with both John Gibson and Frederik Andersen, but it’s safe to say Gibson should see the bulk of starts moving forward. He has a record of 10-7-2 with a 1.86 goals-against-average and .925 save percentage.
7. (6) Anthony Duclair, Arizona Coyotes
Much like Domi, Duclair’s production has slowed a bit recently. He’s 5th in rookie scoring with 24 points in 45 games. He’s a +6 with 51 shots, and six of his 24 points have come on the powerplay.
He didn’t have much chance at winning the Calder Trophy race from the get-go, but was on most experts top 10 radar heading into 2015-16.
8. (hm) Sam Bennett, Calgary Flames
This is a sore spot for those who don’t believe Sam Bennett should still be considered a rookie. By NHL standards, he’s still eligible in the Calder Trophy race. He only had five goals and five assists from October to December. He’s since exploded with eight goals in January, including a four goal performance against Florida (Jan.13), and two goals against Columbus (Jan.21). Continued production may see him continue to climb our rankings.
9. (-) Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets
All he needed was an opportunity to show the Winnipeg Jets he was an NHL quality goaltender. It took an injury to Ondrej Pavelec, and a few ugly performances by Michael Hutchinson, but Hellebuyck finally got his shot. Starting the last eight games for Winnipeg, Connor has cemented himself as the team’s starting goaltender.
The question is what to do with the other two goaltenders?
10. (hm) Sam Reinhart, Buffalo Sabres
Reinhart recently went down with injury, and is expected to miss roughly a week. He’s quietly been putting up points all season long with 15 through the first three months, and five points through January. His solid play is earning him extra ice-time, and upon return from injury, Reinhart should continue to find the back of the net. Let’s not forget this kid could have easily gone 1st overall in 2014.
It sounds as though Connor McDavid is expected to return soon, which should add confusion to the Calder Trophy race. McDavid may come back and out-score all other rookies down the stretch, although he’s likely missed too much time to garner enough consideration to win the award. The dark horses to keep an eye on down the stretch are Jack Eichel, John Gibson, and Sam Bennett. Consistency will be key the final few months for these young kids, who have never experienced the grind of an 82-game NHL season.