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The Race for the Calder Trophy

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Sergei Shirokov said:
This is a really good rookie year imo, in particular lots of impressive Dmen; Faber, Hughes, Mintyukov. And some great forwards too, Carlsson / Cooley have been great.

All that said Bedard is running away with it, and not just cause of the hype he's actually exceeded expectations imo.
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Somebody from the Ducks/Coyotes fanbase should pop in and talk about Mintyukov/Cooley. I would love to hear how they are doing. Everybody gets Bedard rammed down their throat. It would be nice to hear about the other rookies.
 
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Digitalbooya said:
Somebody from the Ducks/Coyotes fanbase should pop in and talk about Mintyukov/Cooley. I would love to hear how they are doing. Everybody gets Bedard rammed down their throat. It would be nice to hear about the other rookies.
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Carlsson, too. He's the one that really interests me.
 
State of Hockey said:
Is Faber really tilting the ice? Is he really instrumental in why they are hot? Those statements deserve a closer look.

1) Statistically Faber is not what he is being hyped as except for one number. Possession-wise he is average. His PK goals against is average. His PP goals for is below average. His 5 on 5 offense is below average. Jake Middleton is a close comparison in most of his stats, and nobody will claim he is in the same ballpark. The one stat that sticks out for Faber is 5 on 5 goals against. It's incredibly low, and it is the stat that ultimately counts on the defensive end. But it's clearly an outlier. Is it an accurate reflection of his play? Or is it simply an outlier that will regress over time as his luck changes? I'd say when you sum up the stats that lead to goals for and against, it says wait and see over a larger sample size before you crown him. The ingredients don't point to the cake.

2) This answer is much easier to answer. The Wild are playing much better because they are an emotionally immature team, got a coach fired, and now again play with that playoff-like intensity they are known for. Did Faber all of a sudden turn on god-mode 13 games ago and drive his team to wins? No. The entire team turned on their controllers. Faber was already getting hyped when they were playing like garbage and couldn't keep the puck out of their net. So what is it? Is he really this driving force that is being claimed? Or is he just another good player on a decent team? The evidence so far points far more to the latter than the former.




I disagree. I think besides Bedard this is another weak class. For example, the 2nd player in points (Rossi) plays with good linemates and yet you just don't hear his name called often. For as high a scoring this league is right now, there's only three guys not named Bedard that have played most of the season and are on a pace for over 50 points over an 82 game season. This is nothing like the mid-teens or earlier.
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Oddly enough, I don't really disagree with much in here, except that I think Rossi has been better than you're saying. Besides the points, a high majority of which are even strength and only 7 of 22 involving Kaprizov or Boldy, he does a lot of really good things every night which might not always "get his name called" but are reflective of his being a really good player.
 
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It's kind of hard to compare a forward to a defenseman. It's like saying a cornerback vs a running back going for rookie of the year and measuring based off of touchdowns.

Maybe they should split the Calder into defensive and offensive units?
 
thestonedkoala said:
It's kind of hard to compare a forward to a defenseman. It's like saying a cornerback vs a running back going for rookie of the year and measuring based off of touchdowns.

Maybe they should split the Calder into defensive and offensive units?
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The Kyle Calder Offensive Rookie of the year trophy and the Frank Calder Defensive rookie of the year trophy? ;)
 
I thought fantelli was gonna pull this one out, but Bedard is definitely running away with it now. And he is definitely coming as advertised and livingvuo to the hype so far
 
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Digitalbooya said:
Somebody from the Ducks/Coyotes fanbase should pop in and talk about Mintyukov/Cooley. I would love to hear how they are doing. Everybody gets Bedard rammed down their throat. It would be nice to hear about the other rookies.
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I can do that. The Ducks have three compelling rookies this year: Pavel Mintyukov, D; Leo Carlsson, F; Lukas Dostal, G.

Carlsson was having quite a strong rookie season despite being held out of about every third game for conditioning purposes, until he went down with a knee injury last week. He was frequently the Ducks' best player (or 1B with McTavish) because his speed, his hands, his reach, and his hockey IQ are elite. He was scoring on par with Bedard for a while, but now he's down 4-6 weeks with the knee and is no longer a factor in the Calder race. Long term, assuming Pat Verbeek puts some bona fide scorers on his wings, I do believe he'll be the better player than Bedard because he does so much more than score.

Dostal has been solid and for a while appeared to be taking the reins in net away from John Gibson. But Gibby has rallied and played better than Dostal lately. I think its feasible that Gibby gets traded by the deadline because there are so many competitive Eastern Conference teams in need of goaltending, and that will open the door for Dostal to play more. The prospect of moving on from Gibby is far less scary than it was last year.

Mintykov has been a revelation. He's second among rookies in assists (one behind Bedard) and fifth in points. It's a drag that the Calder is so connected to scoring because what Mintyukov does on defense and as a PPQB is what has surprised me most. When he was drafted 10th OA a couple seasons ago, I did not expect the level of physicality he brings, the quality of his defensive play, and the relative ease with which he has adapted to the league. The return of Drysdale to the lineup has given Cronin a little more flexibility with d pairings and I think pulling Minty away from Cam Fowler will helps his maturation. He's on the ice about 18:30 per game, among the highest-ranked rookies in that stat, and he has earned Cronin's trust to play during OTs and high-pressure situations.
 
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Digitalbooya said:
Somebody from the Ducks/Coyotes fanbase should pop in and talk about Mintyukov/Cooley. I would love to hear how they are doing. Everybody gets Bedard rammed down their throat. It would be nice to hear about the other rookies.
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Minty has been great. Hes not running the PP now with Drysdale back but his pairing has been solid defensively and he sill manages to get on the score sheet time to time.
 
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Cooley had some great offence at the start of the year but according to Bill Armstrong they are trying to get him focusing on the Defensive side of the game.. they want him to be a 200 ft player. Which is all good , but I think that will come , you don’t want to stifle him

that said he is on the PP unit 2
 
Llewzaher said:
Cooley had some great offence at the start of the year but according to Bill Armstrong they are trying to get him focusing on the Defensive side of the game.. they want him to be a 200 ft player. Which is all good , but I think that will come , you don’t want to stifle him

that said he is on the PP unit 2
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It'll only happen if he practices it though. There are plenty of top offensive centers that I would not consider 200 foot players, it just never came. I think it's a great strategy and I think it'll serve Cooley and the Yotes well in the long run, even if the points aren't coming right now.
 
I wouldn't make new trophy, but I would like a honorable mentions under Calder. Smth like this:

- Best rookie forward
- Best rookie defensemen
- Best rookie goalie

That way player like Luke Hughes would have in his resume "NHL best rookie defensemen in 23-24 season"
 
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This conversation brings to light the difficulties of comparing forwards with defenders. Here is another question:

Who was better? Gretzky or Orr?

You run into the same problem because there is no way to compare players whose 'jobs' were different.

Because of human nature, offense and highlights are always going to catch more attention. Therefore, Bedard will win the award.

The truth is that Bedard, Faber and Rossi are all great players, and the future will be interesting for all of them.
 
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KingJoffrey said:
I wouldn't make new trophy, but I would like a honorable mentions under Calder. Smth like this:

- Best rookie forward
- Best rookie defensemen
- Best rookie goalie

That way player like Luke Hughes would have in his resume "NHL best rookie defensemen in 23-24 season"
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I kinda of like what the NFL does.

For each conference there's a offensive and defensive rookie of the year and then there's the overall offensive and defensive rookie of the year for the league as a whole. Gives the kids who stood out some recognition but then also making sure the best of the best get their recognition as the best in the league.

And then you have your league MVP, offensive player of the year and defensive player of the year.

Makes everyone happy without actually watering down the award too much.

Obviously the NHL isn't going to do that, but the league needs to recognize that the game is changing and it won't hurt to make some tweaks to how things are done.
 
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KingJoffrey said:
I wouldn't make new trophy, but I would like a honorable mentions under Calder. Smth like this:

- Best rookie forward
- Best rookie defensemen
- Best rookie goalie

That way player like Luke Hughes would have in his resume "NHL best rookie defensemen in 23-24 season"
Click to expand...
There is an All-Rookie Team
 
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