This year’s Calder Trophy race was close enough that there’s no one right answer to the question of who was this year’s Rookie of the Year. We now know that Florida’s Aaron Ekblad, Calgary’s Johnny Gaudreau, and Ottawa’s Mark Stone are the finalists, but an argument could be made that Filip Forsberg with the Nashville Predators or John Klingberg of the Dallas Stars were also worthy of being on that list.
Then there’s St. Louis Blues goaltender Jake Allen and Winnipeg Jets netminder Michael Hutchinson. They both played important roles for their respective clubs this season in a critical position. Should either of them have been given more consideration?
You can vote for your pick for the Calder Trophy below:
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Of course, there’s one major first year player that’s gone unmentioned. Ottawa Senators goaltender Andrew Hammond wasn’t eligible for Calder Trophy consideration because the 27-year-old was too old. Even if he was eligible, it’s hard to say if he would have been a finalist. On the one hand he had a dominant 1.79 GAA and .941 save percentage, but he only played in 24 contest.
So as a bonus, would you have considered Hammond as worthy of winning the Calder Trophy if he was eligible?
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For a more detailed rundown of what each rookie did:Tight Calder Trophy race down to Ekblad, Gaudreau, Stone
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