NHL: Top 5 Calder Trophy candidates for the 2019-20 season

The Calder Trophy goes to the NHL’s top rookie each season. Who are the top contenders the coveted award as the 2019-20 season draws near?

Every season, the NHL awards the Calder Trophy to the league’s top rookie. It’s one of the hardest awards to predict because it’s very hard to predict which rookies are going to get significant playing time, aside from the huge names. The 2019-20 season has a pretty strong group of young players who could win the Calder Trophy.

Of course, someone could always come from out of nowhere and be a serious contender. Just look at last season, when Jordan Binnington took the league by surprise, finishing second in the voting. Virtually no one knew who he was a year ago. But cases like Binnington are the exception, not the rule.

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Here’s a look at the top five Calder Trophy candidates.

Quinn Hughes

The case for Hughes: Few rookies are set to get more prime playing time than Quinn Hughes. Last season, Rasmus Dahlin and Miro Heiskanen wowed fans by standing out as defensemen. Neither are as dynamic as Hughes.

Much like Dahlin and Heiskanen, he should get either top-pairing or second-pairing minutes with the Vancouver Canucks. There’s not a lot of competition there and, during his brief cup of coffee in the NHL last season, head coach Travis Green showed he trusted him quite a bit. In five games, Hughes averaged over 18 minutes per game. Expect that to go up this season.

Quinn also has an extra year over Jack (yes, they are brothers). That extra year of experience and maturity could prove to be very beneficial. Hughes has minimal experience against professional players, but he has stood out whenever he’s played against them.

The case against Hughes: It’s hard for a defenseman to win the Calder Trophy. Only two blueliners have won it in the salary cap era – Tyler Myers (2009-10) and Aaron Ekblad (2014-15). That’s likely because it takes a while for defensemen to fully develop, even after they reach the NHL. But to be fair, neither of the two had the outstanding skating that Hughes possesses.

Verdict: Quinn Hughes should compete for one of the three finalist spots. The odds are against him, but he’s got enough skill to turn some heads.

Alexandre Texier

The case for Texier: Alexandre Texier was a surprising contributor for the Columbus Blue Jackets in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He picked up three points in eight playoff games after scoring a goal in two regular-season games.

Texier’s got a very good shot, as he displayed in Game 4 of the first round of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Tampa Bay Lightning. His shot is certainly something the Blue Jackets could use on their power-play.

If Texier can earn a permanent spot on their top power-play unit and their top power-play unit can produce like it has the potential to, he could quietly tally an impressive point total. Overseas in Liiga with KalPa Kuopio, Texier was one of their best players, posting 41 points in 55 games. He led the team in points despite being one of their youngest players.

There will be spots available in the Blue Jackets top-nine forward group. Texier seems to have the inside track on grabbing one of them.

The case against Texier: The Blue Jackets lost quite a bit of talent this summer, which weakens their top-nine forward group a bit. Also, head coach John Tortorella has been reluctant to trust rookies in the past, though it’s encouraging he trusts Pierre-Luc Dubois as much as he does.

Verdict: Texier’s a dark horse candidate. A lot of his candidacy highlights why it’s so hard to predict the Calder Trophy. If Texier has things go his way, he has a chance of winning the Calder. But it’s so hard to predict how things will go for rookies, especially ones as young as him at 20 years old.

Cale Makar

What does the other team say when they want to know where Cale is on the ice? “Dude, where’s Makar?”

The case for Makar: Cale Makar is extremely talented. Fans saw this during the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Makar didn’t even get into any regular-season games. All he did was sign his deal after taking his college team to the national championship, show up, and dominate. In 10 postseason games, Makar put up six points while playing over 17 minutes per game.

The Colorado Avalanche lost Tyson Barrie, which is a sizeable loss. His defensive concerns aside, few defensemen can do what he does with the puck. Makar might be one of them. He’s in a great position to get a lot of playing time. Makar was already trusted quite a bit on the Avalanche’s power-play in the postseason.

Barrie’s departure means Makar is likely getting time with Colorado’s first power-play unit. He showed in college he can be a one-man show. Makar also showed in the postseason he can step up his play in big games.

The case against Makar: As I stated earlier, it’s really hard for defensemen to win the Calder. Voters like gaudy point totals and defensemen typically don’t have those. When defensemen win, it’s usually because there weren’t any excellent forwards. This year isn’t shaping to be one of those years (more on that later).

Verdict: Makar will be a Calder Trophy contender. Again, it’s hard for defensemen to win, but it’s plausible for him to pull it off.

Kaapo Kakko

The case for Kakko: There might not be a more NHL-ready rookie forward this season than Kaapo Kakko. He’s already proven he can dominate against professional players, as he had a record-setting season in Liiga with 22 goals, the most of any under-18 player in league history. The only under-18 players with more points? Mikael Granlund and Aleksander Barkov. That’s nice company to be in.

Kakko is playing for a huge hockey market. The New York Rangers are an Original Six team and are one of the league’s most profitable and popular teams. They’ll be featured on NBC Sports 13 times during the 2019-20 season, so Kakko will get plenty of chances to show what he can do.

The case against Kakko: Kakko will likely play in a second-line role for the Rangers, but he could get first-line minutes. This is usually insignificant for me, but there’s a pretty big dropoff from playing with Mika Zibanejad and Artemi Panarin and playing with Chris Kreider and Filip Chytil.

Chytil should be a top-six center at some point, but the 2019-20 season is likely going to be full of growing pains for the young center. Also, there’s a good chance Kreider will be traded. If Kakko can steal that top-line right wing spot away from Pavel Buchnevich, he’ll be in a terrific position to produce. But I’m not sure he does that.

Verdict: I’d be surprised if Kakko isn’t a Calder Trophy finalist. Even if he doesn’t start the season with Zibanejad and Panarin, I have a feeling he’ll work his way up there.