NHL Calder Class Suddenly Changes Amid McDavid Injury

NHL Calder class took an interesting turn on Tuesday night when Edmonton’s Connor McDavid slammed hard into the board. Largely thought to be heavy-favorite to take home the hardware, McDavid is now sidelined for months and may struggle to garner votes at the end of the year with significantly fewer games played.

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All of a sudden, we’ve got a brand new NHL Calder class without a clear favorite. Some rookies have gotten off to quick-starts, but which has the sustainability to produce over the course of an 82-game season.

* stats obtained from NHL.com (stats are prior to the start of Wednesday evening’s games)

F Max Domi, Arizona Coyotes – 11 games played/11 points
F Artemi Panarin, Chicago Blackhawks – 12 games played/11 points

F Oscar Lindberg, New York Rangers – 12 games played/9 points
F Dylan Larkin, Detroit Red Wings – 12 games played/9 points
F Nikolaj Ehlers, Winnipeg Jets – 12 games played/9 points

F Anthony Duclair, Arizona Coyotes – 11 games played/7 points
D Colton Parayko, St.Louis Blues – 12 games played/7 points
F Sam Bennett, Calgary Flames – 12 games played/7 points

F Mattias Janmark, Dallas Stars – 13 games played/6 points

F Jared McCann, Vancouver Canucks – 10 games played/5 points
F Sam Reinhart, Buffalo Sabres – 12 games played/5 points
D Colin Miller, Boston Bruins – 10 games played/5 points
D Ben Hutton, Vancouver Canucks – 12 games played/5 points

F Jack Eichel, Buffalo Sabres – 12 games played/4 points

F Brock McGinn, Carolina Hurricanes – 9 games played/3 points
F Jake Virtanen, Vancouver Canucks – 9 games played/3 points
F Connor Brickley, Florida Panthers – 10 games played/3 points
D Klas Dahlbeck, Arizona Coyotes – 11 games played/3 points
F Shane Prince, Ottawa Senators – 8 games played/3 points

D Trevor van Riemsdyk, Chicago Blackhawks – 12 games played/2 points
D Viktor Svedberg, Chicago Blackhawks – 11 games played/2 points
D Darnell Nurse, Edmonton Oilers – 4 games played/2 points
F Austin Watson, Nashville Predators – 8 games played/2 points
F Joonas Donskoi, San Jose Sharks – 7 games played/2 points
D Noah Hanifin, Carolina Hurricanes – 11 games played/2 points
F Ty Rattie, St.Louis Blues – 4 games played/2 points

F Nicolas Petan, Winnipeg Jets – 9 games played/1 point
F Daniel Sprong, Pittsburgh Penguins – 8 games played/1 point
F Robby Fabbri, St.Louis Blues – 6 games played/1 point
F Nikolay Goldobin, San Jose Sharks – 3 games played/1 point
D Joel Edmundson, St.Louis Blues – 11 games played/1 point
F Sergey Kalinin, New Jersey Devils – 11 games played/1 point
F Anton Slepyshev, Edmonton Oilers – 10 games played/1 point
F Stanislav Galiev, Washington Capitals – 2 games played/1 point

F William Karlsson, Columbus Blue Jackets – 12 games played/0 points
F Radek Faksa, Dallas Stars – 9 games played/0 points
F Mikko Rantanen, Colorado Avalanche – 6 games played/0 points
F Alexander Khokhlachev, Boston Bruins – 1 game played/0 points

The above list features some names that are currently in the AHL or are bound for some additional time in the minors. The list is simply those considered rookies that would have an opportunity at the Calder Trophy.

NHL Calder Class: The New Top 10 Rankings

1. Max Domi, Arizona
2. Artemi Panarin, Chicago
3. Jack Eichel, Buffalo
4. Colton Parayko, St.Louis
5. Sam Bennett, Calgary
6. Dylan Larkin, Detroit
7. Oscar Lindberg, NY Rangers
8. Nikolaj Ehlers, Winnipeg
9. Anthony Duclair, Arizona
10. Noah Hanifin, Carolina

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Who’s the early favorite to take home the hardware in 2015-16? Can Jack Eichel start to find the back of the net more frequently? Will Max Domi hit a wall from his point per game pace? Does Connor McDavid have any chance at winning the Calder Trophy after missing what is expected to be “months”? Let us know what you think below!

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