The Calder Memorial Trophy is awarded to the NHL’s best rookie for the regular season. The last few winners were Elias Pettersson (2019), Matthew Barzal (2018), and Auston Matthews (2017). Pretty good company. Looking ahead to 2020, there are several players who have a fairly decent chance of winning it. This is a list of POTENTIAL Calder candidates.

Kaapo Kakko – New York Rangers

Let’s just give it to him now. This kid has everything. Size, speed, skill… He was drafted #2 overall in the 2019 NHL entry draft by the New York Rangers and has all the tools to get it done. Fortunately for him, the Rangers have held onto stud centerman Mika Zibanejad who will likely be on the power play alongside Kakko this season. Watching Kakko play this preseason through the prospect tournament and in preseason games, one thing is very clear: this kid is NHL ready now and his passing is off the charts. Find an open spot and he will put the puck on your tape. He’s already my early favorite for the Calder this season (for obvious reasons).

Jack Hughes – New Jersey Devils

Jack Hughes was taken first overall by the New Jersey Devils in this past NHL entry draft. He’s fast, skilled, and his hockey sense is incredible. He is going to be a stud in the NHL for a very long time and it starts right now. Hughes has something that Kakko doesn’t: a better team around his for his rookie season. It kills me to say it, but on paper, the Devils should be the better team this upcoming season and that gives Hughes the support that Kakko probably won’t have in the Calder race.

Quinn Hughes – Vancouver Canucks

Older brother of Jack Hughes, Quinn was taken by the Vancouver Canucks in the 2018 NHL entry draft. The Canucks took Quinn 7th overall and he is the perfect example of a new-age defenseman. He’s only 5’10” but that doesn’t take anything away from his talents. He is fast, shifty and moves the puck extremely well. He is still considered a rookie, even though he played in a few games for the Canucks last season. Quinn Hughes is going to be a rookie sensation for Vancouver, but will he be good enough to win the Calder? Maybe.

Cale Makar – Colorado Avalanche

Makar was drafted by the Colorado Avalanche 4th overall in the 2017 NHL entry draft. Makar won the Hobey Baker Award for the 2019 season. He joined the Avalanche for their second-round Stanley Cup Playoff run last spring. His transition to the NHL was not only seamless, but he stood out at all times he was on the ice for the Avs in the playoffs. Although he took on a 3rd defensive pair role for the games he did play, Makar was able to accumulate 1 G, 5 A, and 6 P in 10 games. Pretty solid numbers for someone who had never played a regular season NHL game before. He already looks like the early favorite by many to win the Calder in 2020.

Vitaly Kravtsov – New York Rangers

Unless you’re a Rangers fan, you’ve probably never heard of Vitaly Kravtsov. Let me fill you in. He was drafted 9th overall by the New York Rangers in the 2018 NHL entry draft. He is a Russian-born player who played in the KHL even before he was 18 years old. He’s a 6’4” goal scorer. In his post-draft KHL season, he posted pretty solid numbers: 6 G, 11 A, and 17 P in 32 games. Not impressed? Let’s compare that to some other notable Russian players in their post-draft seasons: Evgeny Kuznetsov, 9 G, & A, 16 P; Vladmir Tarasenko, 7 G, 7 A, 14 P; Artemi Panarin, 4 G, 11 A, 15 P. When you see that Kravtsov was able to accumulate more points than these well-known NHL players, you know he must have some value to his game. The only question is IF his game will translate to the NHL, because there is no guarantee of that happening. Also, a few of the listed players took time in the NHL to develop their game, so Kravtsov lighting ii up as a rookie is unlikely, but very possible. He should be very fun to watch in his rookie season.

Filip Zadina – Detroit Red Wings

Red Wings prospect Filip Zadina is expected to come up to the big club this season after spending a majority of the 2018-19 campaign with the Wings’ AHL affiliate Grand Rapids Griffins. Zadina was honest about being sent down after training camp last year and said he was not happy about it. So, he has a lot to prove this year and has hopefully taken it as a lesson and can grow from it. The Czech forward was expected to get drafted in the top 3 in 2018 but fell all the way to 6th. Even though he fell about 3+ spots in the draft, Zadina is still an elite prospect and if he breaks out on a very below-average Red Wings team, he could be finding himself in the conversation for a Calder trophy next spring.

Victor Olofsson – Buffalo Sabres

A lot of people wrote off Olofsson as a prospect, but the Sabres took a very low risk shot with him by taking him 181st overall in the 2014 NHL entry draft. He took time to develop but he has proven himself in the AHL ranks and led the Rochester Americans last season with 33 goals. He’s a little older than the rest of the players on this list, so maturity and professional hockey experience is on his side. At the tail end of last season, when the Sabres were well out of the playoff picture, Olofsson joined the team to get some quick experience in before the season was over. He caught a lot of people’s attention, very quickly. Most noticeable with his shot. He scored 2 G, 2 A, in 6 GP. Credit to Joe Hollub for the info.

Eeli Tolvanen – Nashville Predators

A Finnish born player who played for the Milwaukee Admirals last season, Tolvanen is expected to make the jump to the NHL this upcoming fall. He was taken 30th overall in the 2017 NHL entry draft. Although his defensive game is a major cause for concern for the Predators, Tolvanen was drafted for his offensive talent. Tolvanen had incredible numbers in the KHL, setting the record for points for players under the age of 20 (the year after his post-draft year). He had 19 G, 17, A, and 36 P. He has the tools to become a star in the NHL, if his game can adjust from being a defensive liability.

Written by Andrew Silvers - Instagram/Twitter @asilvers55

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