![]() He appeared in 20 games a year ago and now that he has some North American hockey experience under his belt should be poised to take a step forward.ġ1. Kravtsov is one of the many young prospects that gives the Rangers such a promising future. 4 overall pick they received from Ottawa as a result of the Matt Duchene trade, and he is ready to join an already stacked defense that features Cale Makar, Sam Girard, and Devon Toews.ġ0. We just mentioned the embarrassment of riches the Avs have at forward with Newhook arriving, and the same thing is true on defense with the arrival of Byram. The fact the Wild have major weaknesses at center and will be counting on young players to step forward the next few years should give him plenty of opportunity this season.ĩ. Marco Rossi, Minnesota Wild. Rossi’s entire 2020-21 season was wiped out due to some serious COVID-19 complications but he seems to be healthy now and should have a chance to make an impact for the Wild. The Avalanche roster is an embarrassment of riches, and it is almost unfair to have a prospect like Newhook ready to crack the lineup when they already have so many stars.Ĩ. He was great in the AHL last season and showed some really positive signs in his brief NHL action. Zegras and Jamie Drysdale (more on him in a minute) are the two best chances for that. The Ducks need something positive and a young cornerstone building block. They have patiently waited a couple of years for him to make his debut and he has the potential to be another core building block.Ħ. Vasili Podkolzin, Vancouver Canucks. The Canucks always seem to have a Calder candidate on their roster, from Brock Boeser, to Elias Pettersson, to Quinn Hughes, to Thatcher Demko, and now Podkolzin. With Anze Kopitar and Phillip Danault leading the way, Byfield won’t have to take on a top role, so hopefully the Kings can get him into positions to succeed early on.ĥ. Quinton Byfield, Los Angeles Kings. The Kings have the best farm system in hockey and Byfield is the best prospect in it. But in just two years he has quickly developed into one of the top defense prospects in the league and is coming off an incredible 2020-21 season in Sweden.Ĥ. ![]() ![]() 6 overall pick in 2019 it was not a popular choice. It is amazing how quickly the perception of this pick has changed for the Red Wings. Playing behind what should be a playoff team and maybe a sneaky contender could really boost him in the race, especially if he builds on what he showed at the end of this past season.ģ. The NHL’s top goalie prospect, Knight figures to get significant playing time this season and will soon be the main guy in Florida’s crease. The development of him and Nick Suzuki will go a long way toward determining what the Canadiens’ long-term future looks like.Ģ. An electrifying talent with natural finishing ability, Caufield’s initial cup of coffee in the NHL as well as his talent level has to make him the leading 2022 Calder favorite. We were able to get our first look at Caufield at the end of last season and throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs and he looks like he has a chance to be special. Who all makes the initial list? To this week’s NHL Power Rankings!ġ. Even without him in the mix this has the look of an extremely strong rookie class. Normally the top pick in the draft (in this case Sabres defenseman Owen Power) would very much be in the discussion, but Power has decided to return to the University of Michigan for one more season. We are looking at anybody that still has Calder eligibility.Ī reminder, to be eligible for the Calder “a player cannot have played more than 25 games in any single preceding season, nor in six or more games in each of any two preceding seasons, in any major professional league.” When we talk rookies here, we are not just necessarily talking first year players. In this week’s edition of the NHL Power Rankings we are going to take a look at some of the top contenders for the NHL’s 2021-22 Calder Trophy as rookie of the year.
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