December Calder Trophy Watch: Who’s keeping up with Connor Bedard?

Credit: Jamie Sabau-USA TODAY Sports

Last month, two of the most impressive rookies were Ridly Greig and Lukas Dostal.

An injury limited Greig to just two minutes of action in November, while Dostal went 1-3-0 – with his lone win coming in overtime against Arizona. You can call it the Rookie Curse, something that seemed to plague the NHL’s top freshmen all season long last year. One month, you’re hot. The next, you’re lost.

One player was consistent throughout last year: Matty Beniers, the preseason favorite to win the Calder. He ultimately did, and now Chicago Blackhawks star Connor Bedard is hoping to do the same thing.

Bedard has been the best rookie this season, statistically and in terms of overall value. The Blackhawks are a bad, bad hockey team, but you can always count on Bedard putting his best foot forward. The Calder Trophy was always Bedard’s to lose, and it’s looking like he’ll need a severe setback to change that.

How is the Calder Trophy race looking three months into the season? Here’s a look at 10 of the most impressive prospects right now.

Connor Bedard, C (Chicago Blackhawks)

Yeah, this isn’t a surprise. Bedard became the first rookie to hit the 20-point mark this year, putting him on pace for more than 70 points. Offensively, he’s doing everything you’d expect, especially now without the likes of Taylor Hall and Corey Perry. It doesn’t seem to matter who Bedard plays with, and he manages to find success while making everyone around him better. It’s status quo for the best young player in the NHL today, and I don’t expect him to slow down any time soon.

Luke Hughes, D (New Jersey Devils)

Hughes is having the season most expected him to have. The 20-year-old puck-moving defenseman is playing at a 50-point pace, contributing on the power play and at even strength. Hughes leads all rookies in GAR and WAR, with his high offensive IQ shining through. His defensive game can lack at points, but for a player his age getting thrown into the deep end, Hughes has done everything asked of him so far.

Logan Cooley, C (Arizona Coyotes)

With Barrett Hayton out with an injury, Cooley was able to step in and secure the top center spot. He had a respectable seven points in 14 games last month, giving him 14 points in 24 games. He’s still getting adjusted to playing close to 20 minutes a night, and consistency is still a work in progress. But his trademark two-way play has been evident, and he’s still a pain in the rear in 1-on-1 situations.

Marco Rossi, C (Minnesota Wild)

Anyone who has followed Rossi’s development to this point has to be thrilled. Between the COVID-19 health concerns that took him out for nearly the entire 2020-21 season to having to play catch up after joining the Wild, it’s nice to see him playing at a 50-point pace this year. He’s been one of Minnesota’s best players, which is great to see given the team’s early struggles. He’s currently on the team’s top line with Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello, which is a far cry from watching him struggle last year before getting sent back to Iowa.

Brock Faber, D (Minnesota Wild)

How good has Faber been? According to Evolving-Hockey, the blueliner has the second best goals above replacement of any rookie at 6.5, just behind New Jersey’s Luke Hughes at 7.2. Faber’s a tremendous two-way threat who is playing at a 40-point pace in a top-four role. He had a bit of a dry spell to end the month, but Faber kicked off December with a two-assist effort over Chicago. The 21-year-old leads all rookies with 23:10 in average ice time – nobody else has surpassed the 20-minute mark yet.

Connor Zary, C (Calgary Flames)

With 10 points in 13 games, only Connor Bedard (12 points) had a more productive November than Zary. The Flames called him up to give the team an extra scoring boost and he immediately found a home in the top six. Zary was a standout in the AHL last year and was one of the league’s top scorers before getting called up last month. He’s not going back anytime soon.

Pavel Mintyukov, D (Anaheim Ducks)

Mintyukov has continued to putt along at a nice pace, leaving November with six points in 14 games. The Ducks as a whole have started to quiet down, but Mintyukov has still shown solid puck-moving traits while averaging more than 19 minutes a night. I wanted to see him dominate with San Diego for a year before getting the call-up for full-time NHL duty, but Mintyukov has impressed in a big way, showing that he isn’t intimidated by the speed and the skill of the NHL.

Joseph Woll, G (Toronto Maple Leafs)

It was only a matter of time until Woll took the starter’s gig away from Ilya Samsonov. But less than two months into the season? According to MoneyPuck, Woll has a 7.3 goals saved above average, good for ninth among goaltenders with at least 10 games played. He boasts an 8-5-1 record and is getting the harder starts over Samsonov, too. It really feels like coach Sheldon Keefe is most comfortable riding Woll, who went 6-1-0 during the regular season last year before getting thrust into savior mode in the second-round playoff series against Florida. We’ll see how far Woll can take the Leafs.

Leo Carlsson, C (Anaheim Ducks)

Carlsson’s development has been so fascinating. You never know if he’s going to play two games in a row, but when he’s in the lineup, you can almost always count on something happening. He’s up to seven goals and 12 points in 16 games and already has a hat-trick to his credit, too. Even with the team’s recent struggles, he’s been a bright spot for Anaheim in the top six. It’s too bad we’re not seeing him play every night, but that’ll change before too long.

Dmitri Voronkov, C (Columbus Blue Jackets)

Rumors persisted around Voronkov potentially traveling back to Russia to finish out the season, but the Blue Jackets are happy he didn’t. He finished third in scoring last month with nine points in 15 games, all while at even strength. And he’s doing that while averaging just 12:45 a night, lower than the seven players in front of him in the rookie scoring race by quite a bit. Adam Fantilli might be the big-name prospect in Columbus, but Voronkov – a 23-year-old with six years of pro experience before coming over to Columbus – is shining the brightest.

Other notables: Luke Evangelista, RW (Nashville Predators), Adam Fantilli, C (Columbus Blue Jackets), Matthew Knies, LW (Toronto Maple Leafs), Tyson Foerster, RW (Philadelphia Flyers), Kevin Korchinski, D (Chicago Blackhawks)

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