The Calder and Vezina

Rocket Richard Award:  Leon Draisaitl

Lady Bing Award:  Nate Schmidt

Selke Award:  Seau Couturier

  It's time to move onto our next two catagories.  Put on your thinking caps and get ready to vote for the Calder and Vezina trophy winners.  This week we honour our finest youth and our hottest goalie.  Here are the nominees.

Calder Trophy - Awarded to the rookie of the year.

Criteria to qualify:

-Be a good rookie

Nominees:

Kirill Kaprizov – Vegas Golden Knights.  Leading the team in scoring with 87 points in 78 games you can say that Kaprizov had an amazing rookie season. He played 21.48 minutes per game and netted 44 goals propelling the Knights into the playoffs. 

Trevor Zegras – Arizona Coyotes.  Although not as impressive statistically as Kaprizov, Zegras had a big season on a team that wasn’t destined for the playoffs. Arizona has a bright future and Zegras will be a big part of it.  55 points in 80 games and just under 19 minutes per game on the ice is just the beggining for this kid.

K’Andre Miller - Minnesota Wild.  This defenseman netted 15 goals in his first tufhl season.  On top of his 52 points (as a defense) he blocked 126 shots.  126 is a lot of shots.  Does he hit you ask?  Only 114 times this season.  He finished the year a -14 so you could hold that against him but I wouldn’t.

Vezina Trophy - Awarded to the goalie judged best in his position.

Criteria to qualify:

-Carry a team on your shoulders/Drive a zamboni for a living

Nominees:

Marc-Andre Fleury – Colorado Avalanche.  Also nominated for the Hart, Fleury was just better than all other goalies this year.  51 wins, 2.52 GAA and that fabulous 90.99 save percentage.

Andrei Vasilevsky – Tampa Bay Lightning.  A strong goalie on a strong team.  Which came first?  It’s the chicken/egg scenario. What we do know is that Andrei won 47 games with a 2.80 GAA and 90.46% save percentage.  He also picked up seven assists over his 63 starts.

Philipp Grubauer - Washington Capitals.  Grubauer didn’t have the luxury of playing on an all-star team.  His numbers were solid.  42 wins, 2.74 GAA and a 90.19% save percentage.  He picked up 5 assists as well.  Things didn’t work out for Grubauer and the Caps this off season but expect them to be perennial contenders if he keeps up this level of play.