Two highly touted rookies picked very high in their draft years are featured at the top of this early rookie ranking, but some long shots are making their presence felt. One freshman in particular has a wide lead in Calder consideration – can any of these nine other players overtake him in the next four months?
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Filip Forsberg: Acquired from Washington in the infamous Martin Erat trade that will haunt George McPhee forever, Forsberg is the top scorer on the Nashville Predators with 29 points in 28 games. Only once in Predators franchise history has a player finished a season on a better than point per game pace and that was Paul Kariya coming off the lost lockout season in 2005-06.
Forsberg leads all NHL rookies in goals (12) and assists (17) which displays not only how good a rookie he’s been, but also how different Nashville’s style of play has been under coach Peter Laviolette.
Aaron Ekblad: Defensemen usually take the longest to develop and at the beginning of the season, some questioned whether it’d be smarter for the Panthers to send Ekblad back down to junior for one more year. Since that franchise has rushed, and stalled, the development of more than a few youngsters in the past, it was a legitimate query.
But two-and-a-half months into the season, Ekblad looks like an experienced professional blueliner. Averaging 21:46 of ice time per game, the former Barrie Colt is pulling in the second-most minutes among rookies. With 18 points in 26 games, Ekblad is tied for Florida’s scoring lead with centre Nick Bjugstad and he may be getting better – in his past five games, Ekblad has seven points.
Johnny Gaudreau: The one they call “Johnny Hockey” isn’t going to get away from the Calgary Flames the way Martin St-Louis did. Gaudreau started the season by going pointless in his first five games, but he’s been a scoring machine ever since. With 21 points in 29 games, Gaudreau is fourth in scoring on Calgary’s roster (and second among Flames forwards). He’s second behind Forsberg for the league rookie scoring lead. He’s the gift former Flames GM Jay Feaster left the rebuilding Flames when he picked him in the fourth round of the 2011 draft out of the USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints.
Michael Hutchinson: Goaltending has been a major hurdle between the Winnipeg Jets and a playoff spot in the past, but this season that position has been a boon to the franchise. Starter Ondrej Pavelec has been better than his usual self, but backup rookie Hutchinson has been a revelation. With a 6-1-2 record, the Barrie, Ont., native might not play enough games to get a ton of Calder votes, but his 1.67 GAA and .941 save percentage are eye-popping. Can he steal the No. 1 job from Pavelec, who still has two years left on his contract with a $3.9 million cap hit?
John Klingberg: Here’s a bit of a surprise. The 131st pick of the 2010 NHL draft, defenseman Klingberg has been a big help to Dallas’ blue line since being called up in early November. With three goals and nine points in only 14 games, Klingberg has rapidly been climbing up the rookie scoring race and is worth keeping an eye on. Surgeries on both of his hips have held him back from playing full seasons in the past, but when he played close to a full slate of 50 games for Frolunda of the Swedish League last season, he led the team in scoring from the back end with 28 points.
Tanner Pearson: This rookie of the year candidate already has a Stanley Cup ring. Pearson, another former Barrie Colt, has 11 goals which puts him one behind Forsberg for the freshman goal scoring lead. However, most of his scoring came at the very beginning of the season. In his past 21 games, Pearson has four goals and five points.
Damon Severson: The rookie leader in ice time per game with 22:59, Severson is already a pillar on New Jersey’s defense. He may be a minus-2, but when the team you play for has allowed 18 more goals than its scored, that’s not such a bad number. Severson is part of a young group of defensemen the Devils hope will make up their blue line of the future, along with Eric Gelinas, Adam Larsson and Jon Merrill. With 12 points in 30 games, Severson is in a three-way tie for eighth in the rookie scoring race.
Mike Hoffman: The Ottawa Senators rookie is tied for third in rookie goal scoring with eight goals in 25 games and is a strong plus-10 on a team that has allowed six more goals than it has scored. A fifth round pick (130th overall) in 2009, Hoffman had half as many points in 25 games with the Senators last season, but led AHL Binghamton with 67 points in 51 games.
Josh Jooris: The Burlington, Ont, native is the second Flames rookie to appear on this list and he actually leads his team in freshman goal scoring. Jooris has eight tallies and 13 points in 23 games and most recently made waves with a hat trick against the Arizona Coyotes on Dec. 2. Gaudreau may have overcome the odds as a small player drafted in the fourth round, but Jooris’ name was never called on the draft floor.
Scott Darling: Thanks to a freak injury to Corey Crawford, Darling has been given a look and he’s been more than up to the task in the Blackhawks crease. With only six games played, Darling will face an uphill battle to get enough playing time to be considered for this award in April, but so far he’s 5-1-0 with a .939 save percentage and 1.80 goals-against average. He may not make this list in four months, but there’s no denying him a place today.