Defenseman Lane Hutson has won the Calder Trophy. Goaltender Dustin Wolf finished second in the voting, while Sharks Macklin Celebrini finished a close third behind Wolf. The voting was as follows.
After a terrific season, Hutson winning the Calder was never in doubt down the stretch, so his beating out Celebrini is far from a surprise. Wolf, however, is surprising to me. He no doubt had a terrific season and definitely deserves recognition for his efforts down the stretch on what was a sneaky-good Flames team, a tiebreaker away from making the playoffs. However, what Celebrini did as an 18-year-old rookie center was more impressive in my eyes. The voters obviously put more value into a player's impact on their team's success this year in the Calder race. This would have hurt Celebrini, who, through no fault of his own, was not turning around the Sharks from being anything more than a bottom feeder This past season.
Still, Celebrini’s place in the Calder rating is far from a slight on his season. This was one of the strongest rookie classes in a while, with a player like Michkov, who had 63 points, and fellow Shark Will Smith, with 45 points, not finishing in the top 3.
Speaking of Will Smith, he finished 6th in the voting and received 56 votes for 5th. Given how his season started, Smith was never a threat to win the Calder this season, but a strong end to the season catapulted him into some top-5 finishes. It will be interesting to see if he can carry his production into next season; if he starts next season the way his rookie season ended, it could be a major breakout for the young star.
This wraps up what has been a fun Calder race throughout the year. Expect some Sharks to be in the race next year as well, with tons of young prospects looking to make the push into the NHL. A top draft pick joining the system at the draft could also be in play for the Sharks next season. Regardless of what happens, Sharks hockey is getting more exciting by the day.