Regular-season hockey is just a stone's throw away, and what better way to celebrate than to make some predictions?
And it's only fitting we start with rookie of the year.
Though most of them have yet to take to the big-league ice, the Calder Trophy race is bound to be a tight one given the strength of this NHL freshman class. Highlighted by a few top-end 2026 draftees and prospects ready to leap to the NHL, expect to see some first-years come up big for their clubs this year.
With that in mind, let's take a way-too-early look at five players that could be frontrunners to win the 2027 Calder Trophy.
Gavin McKenna, Toronto Maple Leafs
Call it divine intervention or just a timely stroke of luck, but the Toronto Maple Leafs won the draft lottery with just 8.5 per cent odds and having missed the playoffs for the first time in nearly a decade. But either way, on June 26, the Buds welcomed Gavin McKenna into the fold, and the 18-year-old joins the club of first-overall picks to make the immediate jump to the NHL.
McKenna will undoubtedly face more scrutiny than any other rookie, battling the weight of his draft capital while balancing the expectations of a market known for its dedication to hockey. But he’s got the skillset to back it up and comes into the big leagues having proven himself a prolific scorer at every step.
In his final year with the Medicine Hat Tigers, McKenna had 41 goals and 129 points in 56 regular-season games, before adding 38 points in 16 playoff games as his Tigers came just shy of a Memorial Cup. In 133 WHL games, McKenna had 244 points. After moving to the NCAA, he had 51 points (15 goals, 36 assists) in 35 games, ending the year strong after starting slow with Penn State.
New Maple Leafs head coach Jim Hiller will give McKenna every opportunity to succeed with power-play reps and top-six minutes, and he'll be under the tutelage of some of the league's top talents in Auston Matthews and William Nylander.
Just three first-overall picks in the past decade have won the Calder Trophy: Matthew Schaefer (2026), Connor Bedard (2024) and Matthews (2017).
Cole Hutson, Washington Capitals
It would be quite the feat for the Hutson family if Cole followed up his brother Lane’s 2025 Calder Trophy with a victory of his own. In fact, it would be a benchmark for the entire league, as no set of brothers have ever won the rookie-of-the-year title in the NHL’s history.
It’s entirely possible, too, as the younger Hutson has proven in a limited sample size that he’s able to hang with some of the best in the world.
The 20-year-old American got his first taste of big-league action at the end of last season after his Boston University Terriers failed to qualify for the Frozen Four. He suited up for 14 games with the Washington Capitals and immediately made an impact, scoring his first NHL goal in his debut. He tallied two more goals and 10 more points before the season closed, producing at a 0.71 point-per-game clip as a then-19-year-old defenceman.
He already has some hardware to his name, too, as the St. Louis native won the Tim Taylor Award for the NCAA’s most outstanding freshman in 2025 and closed out his college hockey career with 80 points in 74 games.
Apropos of nothing, the past two Calder Trophy winners have been defencemen.
Ivar Stenberg, San Jose Sharks
No incoming rookie had a more productive pre-season than Ivar Stenberg. In three exhibition games, the 18-year-old Swede proved exactly why he was still a contender to be the No. 1 pick right up until draft day in June.
Now he enters his debut season with all the wind in his sails, having tallied five points in three pre-season games with the San Jose Sharks, including a hat-trick performance in a 10-0 thumping of the Anaheim Ducks.
Of course, the pre-season is in no way indicative of how Stenberg will fare when the competition hits a new level, but he's shown he's got all the tools to make an immediate impact. In fact, he's already used to playing alongside those much older than he is, as he spent all of last season playing in the top-tier Swedish Hockey League, potting 11 goals and 33 points in 43 games.
He'll now join a Sharks team that figures to make some noise in the Pacific Division, with Macklin Celebrini at the helm and a whole host of young talent on the verge of breaking out.
The last time a Shark won the Calder Trophy was in 2001. Can Stenberg break that drought?
Porter Martone, Philadelphia Flyers
In just a brief stint last season, Porter Martone made an impression.
The 2025 sixth-overall pick made his NHL debut for the Philadelphia Flyers on April 18 and produced at over a point-per-game clip through nine regular-season games, tallying four goals and six assists, before adding five points in 10 playoff games.
He's also got the clutch gene, as his first NHL goal was an overtime winner in his league debut.
Martone, like McKenna, was one of many who took advantage of the new agreement between the CHL and NCAA, and after three years and 178 games in the CHL — during which time he amassed 89 goals and 204 points — joined Michigan State University for his post-draft year. There, he tallied 25 goals and 50 points in 35 games.
Though Martone tallied just one assist in three pre-season games, the winger has already earned the trust of head coach Rick Tocchet and, barring any tweak before Wednesday's season opener, Martone will open the season on the Flyers' top line.
No Flyers rookie has ever taken home the Calder Trophy.
Anton Frondell, Chicago Blackhawks
After years of basement-dwelling in the NHL, the Chicago Blackhawks are poised to take a step forward in their rebuild, and Anton Frondell figures to be a big factor in their success this season.
Frondell, taken third overall at the 2025 draft, made the jump to North America from Sweden late last season and, as a result, was able to suit up for 12 regular-season games. During that time, he tallied three goals and nine points and averaged 17:42 per game.
In his post-draft year, Frondell developed into a prolific goal-scorer, managing to tally 20 markers playing in the SHL, Sweden's top league, as an 18-year-old.
Only time will tell if that scoring prowess will translate into the best league in the world, but with an injury sidelining Bedard to begin the season, Frondell will have an early opportunity to step up for the Blackhawks and fill that gap in production.
With the return of Patrick Kane to the franchise, Frondell will have a three-time Stanley Cup champ — who has a Calder of his own — to learn from.
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