Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had a nice two month run as the league’s top rookie, but after a huge December, there’s a new big man on campus.
New Jersey’s Adam Henrique took home honors as the NHL’s top rookie in December thanks to scoring five goals and eight assists in 14 games. Henrique beat out Ottawa’s Jared Cowen, Vancouver’s Cody Hodgson, and Nugent-Hopkins for the month’s top honors.
Thanks to Henrique’s big month, the Devils were able to weather the absence of Travis Zajac a lot easier. With Zajac back, the Devils are that much stronger up the middle. New Jersey has won 9 of their last 12 games and have jumped up to sixth in the Eastern Conference thanks in part to Henrique.