Now I’m more than a little biased in believing that the NHL media has wanted to name Trevor Zegras or Cole Caufield this season’s Calder Trophy winner as the rookie of the year long before the 2021-2022 season began, and The Score’s Todd Cordell’s balanced commentary accompanying Calder Trophy odds for this week does little to change my opinion regarding the situation:
Favorites
Lucas Raymond was one of my dark horses prior to the season. He has lived up to the hype and then some, piling up 10 goals and 14 assists through 28 games while skating on the top line for the surprisingly competent Detroit Red Wings. One of the most impressive things about Raymond has been his efficiency at five-on-five. He’s averaging more points per minute in that game state than the likes of Evgeny Kuznetsov, Andrei Svechnikov, Patrice Bergeron, and David Pastrnak, among many others.
It hasn’t taken long for Trevor Zegras to develop into a human highlight reel at the NHL level. The flashy Anaheim Ducks pivot has picked up 22 points over 28 games and has served as the primary play-driver and facilitator on one of the league’s more underrated lines with Rickard Rakell and Sonny Milano. He’ll be in the mix until the end.
Moritz Seider is going to be a franchise defenseman. You can argue he already is for the Red Wings. He’s on pace for 55 points this season and yet his play without the puck might be more impressive than his offensive ability. He has logged more than 22 minutes per night – often against top competition – and has shown the ability to slow down elite players with his fantastic positioning, stickwork, and anticipation. Seider is certainly carrying the heaviest workload in this rookie class, and it sure looks like he can handle it.
Continued; I just have this gut feeling that the NHL media types would rather see Zegras or Caufield, who played so very well in limited regular season and then playoff action to kick-start their hype trains, win the trophy.
Yeah… This is right up there with Crosby being “the GREATEST player in the world!” Excuse me while I laugh. Greatest ever players on Stanley Cup teams go better than plus 26 in a season.
Still, Zegras may deserve the honor. Raymond has to ramp the scoring back up to make his case. I know it’s basically a points race so D need not apply, but I think Seider is the best of his class, and we have him.