The rookie class of 2015-16 is one of the deepest in years - headed by Artemi Panarin, Jack Eichel and Max Domi in the first-year scoring race, but two players who haven’t played full seasons have captured the imagination of fans and the attention of Sr. Managing Editor of Hockey Content Steve Dryden and Sr. Hockey Reporter Frank Seravalli. Dryden and Seravalli believe Edmonton centre Connor McDavid, absent from 37 games with a broken collarbone, and Philadelphia defenceman Shayne Gostisbehere, absent from 18 between starting the year in the AHL and a lower body injury, are the top Calder Trophy candidates. They face off below with Dryden making the case for McDavid and Seravalli for Gostisbehere.
The Case For Connor McDavid
Connor McDavid is defying more than the laws of physics with breathtaking speed, skill and imagination - he is defying the underlying mathematics.
Under ordinary circumstances no player on pace to appear in only 55 per cent of his team’s games (45/82) should be a legitimate candidate for a major year-end honour.
It has never happened before.
During the modern era of voting for trophies, only one player has won an award playing as little as 62 per cent of his team’s games - and that was in 1967-68 when pioneering defenceman Bobby Orr was in the midst of changing the very nature of the game.
Nearly half a century later, McDavid could and should eclipse Orr's esoteric honour …because the 19-year-old phenom doesn’t just deserve to be rookie of the half year, he deserves to be rookie of the year.
When colleague Frank Seravalli conducted a Twitter poll in January, three weeks before McDavid's return from a broken collarbone, asking followers whether the Oiler could still be a Calder candidate with a good finish, it seemed a silly proposition. It wasn't.
Since his February return, McDavid has amassed 33 points in 29 games and separated himself from an exemplary Calder class. He belongs not just in the conversation for best rookie but for best player. Only two players, Sidney Crosby and Joe Thornton, have more points during that period. (The closest rookie, Shayne Gostisbehere has 13 fewer points.) Only two other players, Hart Trophy candidates Patrick Kane and Jamie Benn, have higher points-per-game averages than McDavid on the season.
At 1.07 points per game, McDavid is on pace to become the first rookie since 2006-07 Calder Trophy winner Evgeni Malkin to average more than a point per game (minimum 40 games).
WHA refugee Wayne Gretzky was denied the Calder Trophy in 1979-80 because he was ruled to have professional experience and, thus, ineligible for the rookie honour. McDavid faces a similar fate for an entirely different reason – an injury suffered doing what he, in his first year, already does better than anybody in the NHL.
Nobody blasts down the ice faster or more dangerously than McDavid. That’s how he was injured Nov. 3 and that’s how he came back Feb. 2 in spectacular three-point fashion vs. Columbus – scoring one of the goals of the year.
Nine days later, McDavid had five points against his hometown team, the Maple Leafs.
But it was March 1 that McDavid put an early exclamation mark on his Calder candidacy.
Facing 2015 second overall draft choice Jack Eichel, No. 1 pick McDavid scored in the first and last (OT) minutes of play to give the Oilers a 2-1 win.
It was a statement game in a season full of them – and one more reason why Connor McDavid should be the No. 1 pick one more time when voting is conducted for the Calder Trophy.
The Case For Shayne Gostisbehere
Shayne Gostisbehere is the NHL’s most valuable rookie.
The dynamic defenceman’s November addition, after starting the year in the American Hockey League, changed the entire course of the Philadelphia Flyers’ season.
That’s why Gostisbehere is my choice for the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie this season.
With him, Philadelphia is on the brink of the playoffs (31-17-10). Without him, the Flyers (7-8-3) were a bottom feeder, biding time until their blueline turned over to Ivan Provorov and Co. next season.
Gostisbehere, 22, lifts you out of your seat. His staggering 16 goals are sixth among defencemen league-wide. The five guys ahead of him, all all-stars, have played 18 more games.
Gostisbehere has 16 goals and 26 assists for 42 points in 58 games. His points-per-game average (0.72) is third to Connor McDavid, compares favorably to Artemi Panarin (0.85) and tops two other rookie forwards in Jack Eichel (0.66) and Dylan Larkin (0.59). He is evenly balanced in point production between even-strength and power play.
No moment seems too big: 15 of Gostisbehere’s 16 tallies have either tied the game or given them the lead. He’s already established a new NHL record for overtime goals by a rookie with four.
Gostisbehere went more than a month without being held off the scoresheet (Jan. 19 - Feb. 20). His 15-game point streak set an NHL record for rookie defencemen and was the longest by any defenceman in the last 20 years (Brian Leetch, 14 games in 1996).
His longest lull without a point is four games. Not even likely Hart Trophy finalist Sidney Crosby can say that.
And how many other skaters (let alone defencemen) in the NHL are worth nearly a full goal-per-game to their team? The Flyers have 36 goals in 18 games without him (2.0 GPG) and 162 goals in 58 games with him (2.8 GPG).
He’s also owner of the best autograph/nickname combo in hockey. The Calder Trophy should simply be inscribed with his signature emojis:
Critics will argue Gostisbehere has been shielded from tough competition and that he starts 63 per cent of his shifts in the offensive zone. When the game is on the line for coach Dave Hakstol, though, Gostisbehere is on the ice. His skating and smarts get him out of trouble.
He has gone from Gostis-how-do-you-say-that?, to a household name who has suddenly turned the Flyers into the most dangerous potential playoff opponent: one playing with house money.
Contact Frank Seravalli on Twitter: @frank_seravalli