A class of their own – NHL rookies of 2018
Until Brock Boeser suffered a scary back injury at the beginning of March, the race for NHL rookie of the year was an exciting one. While still not completely settled, it appears increasingly likely New York Islanders’ phenomenon Mathew Barzal will run away with the Calder Trophy. You know, he of the triple five-point games this season?
It is unlikely you’ve missed out on hearing about him. Furthermore, it is certainly not like the 20-year old British Columbia native would be undeserving of such an honor – he is on pace for the 4th best rookie season in the last 25 years, trailing only Alex Ovechkin (106), Sidney Crosby (102) and Yevgeni Malkin (85) – but a player like Boeser could likely have given Barzal an even stronger run for his money if not for the injury.
“[Boeser]’s a kid that wants to play, he’s hungry to play,” Vancouver Canucks head coach Travis Green told Vancouver Courier before the injury. “He never once complained about who he plays with and I don’t expect him to ever complain about that. He’s a guy that makes other players better.”
It wasn’t all about Barzal and Boeser at the start of the season though. The name on everyone’s lips in October and November was young Arizona Coyotes sniper Clayton Keller. Once his star started to fade ever so slightly, Boeser and his goal-scoring took over. Then, for a brief moment, Boston Bruins’ defender Charlie McAvoy held center stage.
Finally, Mathew Barzal’s stretch run left no survivors. A struggling Islanders club will miss playoffs this year, but it won’t be for a lack of trying on Barzals part:
“I remember being his age and the biggest thing was confidence,” Jordan Eberle told The Hockey News earlier this season. “He certainly doesn’t lack that. He’s playing with it right now. And with the way he can skate, create speed and create time using his speed, he’s been a dynamic player.”
“I knew what I was capable of on the offensive side and I’ve also been put in pretty good opportunities, playing on the first power play and playing 15 to 17 minutes a night,” Barzal told the same publication.
McAvoy was mentioned above, and for good reason. Just like Boeser, the 20 year-old American defenseman has regrettably missed significant time with injury, but when he’s been on the ice, he’s been dynamic. He still leads all rookie defenders in average time on ice with 22:06 and has also put up the best points per game average in that group (minimum 25 games played) at 0.54.
Just trailing McAvoy in the points per game-category for defenders, but with more games played and more points overall, 19 year-old Mikhail Sergachyov and 23-year old Will Butcher have been revelations for their respective clubs. The playmaking Butcher has put up 39 points (3+36) in 75 games for New Jersey while the hard-shooting Sergachev has supplied 38 points (9+29) for an already potent Tampa Bay offense. If you continue down the list of rookie defenders you find an additional four that have already passed the 20-point mark: Ryan Pulock, Vince Dunn, Thomas Chabot and Samuel Girard.
So if Barzal is the clear-cut favorite to win the Calder Tropby and we assume one defender (McAvoy, Buther or Sergachyov) will be nominated in the top 3 to balance out the sheet, who will be the third finalist?
Well, we’ve got quite the group to choose from. First off, it won’t be a goalie. Only two rookie goalies have suited up in the NHL this year, Tristan Jarry and Anton Forsberg, and neither players numbers warrant a nomination. Looking past Barzal, the injured Boeser and the defenders, you are still left with a plethora of strong candidates. Clayton Keller was mentioned at the top, he remains one of the most obvious options with his 61 points (23+38) in 76 games for the lowly Coyotes squad. Yanni Gourde and Kyle Connor have both put up strong numbers in terms of goals and points but playing on strong offensive teams like the Lightning and the Winnipeg Jets will likely have helped their numbers. 2017 1st overall draft pick Nico Hischier is likely to breach 50 points which puts him in the conversation, just as it does hat trick machine Alex DeBrincat.
In the end I believe it will be Keller who ends up being the third candidate but with seven players likely hitting 50+ points, there really are options to choose from – something that has to be immensely gratifying to see for a league that is always in need of additional star power. The 2018 NHL rookies really are a class of their own. At least until next season.
Make sure to check back in a few days as my next feature will be about just that: next season. To be precise; a projection of which NHL rookies will be at the top of this very pile a year from now.
Until then.
