Mile High Hockey Looks At The Calder Trophy Race
by Derek B on Mar 13, 2010 4:30 PM MST
33 comments
The Calder Memorial Trophy is an annual award given "to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the National Hockey League. The award has been awarded 72 times since its beginnings in 1937. The voting is conducted by members of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association at the conclusion of each regular season to determine the winner.
There is no doubt the effect that Matt Duchene is having on the sudden revival of the Colorado Avalanche. Is his effort going to go largely unrewarded in not winning the Calder Trophy as the League's top rookie?
More than likely if I was able to ask him how he felt, this is probably what he would say:
Obviously it would be a tremendous honor. At this point though, I am just going to continue to work hard every night and hopefully help this team win some games. The ultimate goal for the team is to make the playoffs. If I were to get a tremendous honor like that, it would just be icing on the cake.
There are a lot of things about Matt Duchene that remind me a lot of Sidney Crosby. His ability to just find open space on the ice. The way he always has his head up looking to make a play with or without the puck. Most of all, how humble he seems to be.
As of Saturday afternoon, Dutchy is leading all rookies in goals, assists, points, power play goals, and is only one of five rookies to have a shorthanded goal. Amazingly, T.J. Galiardi has 4 shorthanded points this year (1G, 3A).
Follow the jump for more on the rest of the potential nominees for the Calder Trophy.
Another player that has been getting a lot of consideration for the Calder Trophy is Buffalo Sabres defenseman Tyler Myers. Right now, Myers is tied with John Tavares for second in rookie scoring. As a defenseman, this is almost unheard of.
The last defenseman to win the Calder was Barrett Jackman back in 2002-03. He has had a solid career, but hasn't been as good as a Calder win would suggest, see Andrew Raycroft for another example of what I'm talking about. If Myers is able to bring home the hardware, he would join some pretty elite company, Bobby Orr, Raymond Bourque and Brian Leetch just to name a few of the defenseman that won the Calder Trophy.
A lot of people feel that what he has been able to do at the age 20 is simply amazing. Being a defenseman in the NHL is probably the second hardest job in the NHL behind being a goaltender. He is leading all rookie defenseman in goals, assists, points and ice time. He is also an impressive +8. He averages almost 24 minutes of ice time a night.
In my opinion, one of the dark horses for the Calder is Detroit goaltender Jimmy Howard. Just about any goalie could be playing in Detroit and post the kind of numbers he is this year. There is no doubting the skill of this young goalie, and he will be very good for many years to come.
I think that Detroit would have to make another run to the Stanley Cup Finals for him to get some serious consideration from me. Last time I checked though, I will not be getting a vote. Right now Howard is tied for fourth in the NHL with a .924 save percentage and is seventh in goals against average with a 2.35 GAA.
I have no doubt that these three players are going to be the ones who are at the Awards Ceremony in June, but why should I get to have all of the fun. What do you think?
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All biases aside…I judge the Calder by the rookie who has the most to do with his team’s situation.
Tyler Myers is a damn good rookie, but can you honestly say the Sabres would be that much worse off without him?
Obviously, John Tavares has to be eliminated, because the Islanders are in complete free fall
Evander Kane is out, because he doesn’t have much to do with Atlanta’s fight for the 8 seed in the east.
Now, to the two other “finalists”
You can make an argument that Jimmy Howard has had a good hand in why the Wings are fighting for the 8 seed, that’s conceded. However, the Wings were still struggling hard when their IR looked like the starting lineup of an All-Star team. So, I think you have to look at the guy who wins…
Matt Duchene…his 23 goals is 2nd on the team, his 24 assists puts him in the 3rd slot. Yes, the +2 is a spot of bother, however, he did start the season on a line with Darcy Tucker and Marek Svatos. Would the Avs be anywhere close to where they are now without Duchene? No, they wouldn’t have a prayer for the division title, and would be struggling just to survive as an 8 seed.
"It comes from motivation within" - Matt Hendricks
Mile High Mayhem just another ho-hum Avs blog.
BURGUNDY ARMY...BLEEDING BURGUNDY UNTIL I DIE!!!
I will say this though…if he was eligible for the Calder, my vote would go to Chris Stewart.
"It comes from motivation within" - Matt Hendricks
Mile High Mayhem just another ho-hum Avs blog.
BURGUNDY ARMY...BLEEDING BURGUNDY UNTIL I DIE!!!
I’d argue the Avs played their best hockey in the first quarter, which was when Duchene wasn’t scoring.
Without Myers, the Sabres would have Craig Rivet as their top D man. They’d be worse. 23 minutes of time a game and a 55 point projection for a rookie D is pretty incredible.
(I voted for Myers)
by '96 Avs Bandwagon on Mar 13, 2010 10:57 PM MST up reply actions
I’d agree that the Avs, as a whole, were playing their best hockey in the first quarter. However, most of the team has not been playing their best the past 20 or so games and yet the NW division title is still theoretically within reach. Duchene has been instrumental in that. Without him, the Avs would be fighting for a playoff spot with the rest of the 8-9-10 pack at best.
I agree with your sentiment on Myers though and that is a big reason why I believe he will win unless Duchene tears it up with multiple point and specifically multiple goal games between now and the end of the season.
The 2009-2010 Colorado Avalanche: People can stop waiting for these kids to hit the wall. They won’t.
by NurseBeachie on Mar 13, 2010 11:14 PM MST up reply actions
I did because the NHL is 100% biased in voting for the East
The 2009-2010 Colorado Avalanche: People can stop waiting for these kids to hit the wall. They won’t.
by NurseBeachie on Mar 13, 2010 6:15 PM MST up reply actions
The correct target for those lightning bolts
should be the ones who voted for HOWARD!
Seriously
Who voted for Howard?
2009-2010 Avs: Totally not about to win the Stanley Cup!
Stationed in Canada for the Burgundy Army
probably his grand kids
Steve Moore’s last act as a hockey player was beating Matt Cooke’s ass, which makes him a great great person.
by An Unmitigated Disaster on Mar 13, 2010 9:24 PM MST up reply actions
Haha I posted that before anybody had voted for Howard.
by xskatebakerrx on Mar 13, 2010 9:28 PM MST up reply actions
i went with myers, it’s tough for a D-man to be scoring like that and not be like 20. I know he has miller playing in behind him but look at Potter from NYR, he has Lundqvist (Sp?) and is right up there with a horribly +/.
Steve Moore’s last act as a hockey player was beating Matt Cooke’s ass, which makes him a great great person.
by An Unmitigated Disaster on Mar 13, 2010 9:27 PM MST up reply actions
Wow, horrible plus / minus failure.
Steve Moore’s last act as a hockey player was beating Matt Cooke’s ass, which makes him a great great person.
by An Unmitigated Disaster on Mar 13, 2010 9:27 PM MST up reply actions
Duchene, O’Rielly, Stewart, Gilairdi, Mueller, Wilson and Yip. (David Jones)
Prospects in the system having moster years like Elliott, Barrie (both blowing up the WHL), Shatty, Colby Cohen, and Gaunce.
I’ve died and gone to heaven. The Avs have the best young talent in the NHL and it’s already producing on the highest level. No I did not see this coming in September. But I’m pretty darn happy it about.
A bunch of bad contracts coming off the books after the season. The future is so bright for this organization right now.
In my opinion.
Just about any goalie could be playing in Detroit and post the kind of numbers he is this year.
But not Chris “Future Hall of Famer” Osgood.
what you are failing to see is that Osgood is sooooooo good, it looks like he sucks when actually, it’s the refs blowing his brialant season…it’s true…JUST ASK ANY RED WINGS FAN!!!!
/passes the bong
"It comes from motivation within" - Matt Hendricks
Mile High Mayhem just another ho-hum Avs blog.
BURGUNDY ARMY...BLEEDING BURGUNDY UNTIL I DIE!!!
You know what I think is amazing and deserves an award? That in less than 7 hours, an MHH survey already has 118 votes! Wow, have we grown. Two years ago, we’d be stoked to get more than 25 votes after 3 days! WOOOOT!
The 2009-2010 Colorado Avalanche: People can stop waiting for these kids to hit the wall. They won’t.
Sadly, I think unless Duchene plays at a point-per-game rate here on in (possible, with 13 points in the last 15 games, and with a plus/minus of +14 (!) in the last 25 games) or Myers breaks out of his mini-funk (excluding the 4 points night against Dallas, he’s only had 2 other points in the last 16 games) – the award will go to Howard (although I refuse to vote this way).
Howard is set to have similar stats (excepting shutouts) to Mason last year. Duchene currently has 10 points less than Ryan, last years’ runner up, and 25 less than Kane. Simply put, Duchene needs to have more points than Bobby Ryan did last year to have a chance.
Huge difference between mason and Howard is those shutouts. That pushed Columbus to the playoffs all most dingle handesly and got him the Calder.
Howards stats are not nearly as glamorous and he is not “the sole reason” the wings might make the playoffs.
Avalanche 2009-2010: Ostensibly, the worst team in the league. Realistically, more points than the Flames and Wings. But hey, your Corsi number is better.
by c6hor8 on Mar 14, 2010 11:52 AM MDT via mobile up reply actions
dingle handesly
snicker
The 2009-2010 Colorado Avalanche: People can stop waiting for these kids to hit the wall. They won’t.
by NurseBeachie on Mar 14, 2010 12:05 PM MDT up reply actions
Howards stats are not nearly as glamorous and he is not "the sole reason" the wings might make the playoffs.
Though we can hope that Howard will be the single reason that the Dead Things get swept out in 4 like the BJs did last year.
2009-2010 Colorado Avalanche - On the upside, there's only 15 more (regular season) games of Darcy Tucker left!
I should think that Howard is all but out of this conversation if he’s playing for any other team than the Dead Things. If there’s one thing I’ve noticed, it’s that Det-wah can plug in any halfway decent goalie into their system and have them coming out looking like a Vezina winner. Remember how good absolutely awful Hasek was in Buffalo? How about Osgood and Legace with their stints outside Motor City? Detroit’s system has been very kind to goalies. Howard doesn’t deserve the Calder, the system does. That said, Myers will likely win, east coast bias notwithstanding. The kid’s put up some monster numbers as a D-man and while Dutchie would be my sentimental favorite, he’s not putting up monster numbers. Sometimes good is just good.
"Take it away, Paul J!" - Jeff Caves, KBOI radio announcer, Fiesta Bowl 2007
by TCJohnnyHotPocket on Mar 14, 2010 6:45 AM MST reply actions
I should think that Howard is all but out of this conversation if he’s playing for any other team than the Dead Things. If there’s one thing I’ve noticed, it’s that Det-wah can plug in any halfway decent goalie into their system and have them coming out looking like a Vezina winner.
This statement is dead on the money. Lidstrom, Zetterberg…yeah, they could make me look good in net.
"It comes from motivation within" - Matt Hendricks
Mile High Mayhem just another ho-hum Avs blog.
BURGUNDY ARMY...BLEEDING BURGUNDY UNTIL I DIE!!!
For all the talk about Detroit suffering massive injuries, the Avs have been decimated by them too. First bit of the season notwithstanding, Duchene has been an absolute revelation for the Avs not only because he’s been an offensive dynamo, but because he’s also capable of adapting to many different linemates and making them better – anyone expect the likes of Galiardi, Jones, and Yip to perform anywhere near this well before they did?
Howard’s put up some fantastic numbers, but he’s still been doing it behind the likes of Zetterberg, Datsyuk, and Lidstrom. Duchene’s racking up his points with fellow rookies as linemates. Too bad the experts manage to ignore this in all of their Calder analysis.
Don't blame me!
I voted for Tucker.
A woman drove me to drink and I didn't even have the decency to thank her.
19 of them are probably from trolling from Excluding Zetterturd.
MHH: The Burgundy Army is on the March!
I'm The Canary - but I'm not cute nor cuddly, and I don't sing.
by Americanario on Mar 15, 2010 7:39 PM MDT up reply actions
and the 20th was Red screwing with everyone
The 2009-2010 Colorado Avalanche: People can stop waiting for these kids to hit the wall. They won’t.
by NurseBeachie on Mar 15, 2010 7:58 PM MDT up reply actions
Damn, 34 ban hammers now. I enjoyed Dater’s piece in the Post this morning, in that he didn’t even mention Howard. Which is as it should be.
Jibbles is an older man so you can trust what he says.
by Bob in Boulder on Mar 16, 2010 11:07 AM MDT up reply actions
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