March NHL Calder Trophy Update: Stuart Skinner, Matias Maccelli, Wyatt Johnston making race interesting

Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

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Last month, I pointed out that winning the NHL’s rookie of the month award has been a curse.

Shane Pinto won it in October before falling off the face of the earth. Logan Thompson snagged it in November, but struggled to remain consistent and is currently on the sidelines. Pyotr Kochetkov won it in December, and, by no fault of his own, found himself back in the AHL. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was great in January, but has gone 2-5-2 ever since.

So, sorry Mads Sogaard. Since winning the award for February, Sogaard has allowed at least four goals in each of his starts and holds a 1-3-0 record in that span. Truly, you don’t want to win this honor.

We’ve got a month left in the regular season, so we’ve got a solid look at how the Calder Trophy race is shaping up. Here’s a look at 10 freshmen you need to know:

Matty Beniers, C (Seattle Kraken)

Talk about Mr. Consistency. Beniers has never been the best rookie in any given month, and he isn’t blowing the doors off the rest of the rookie class, either. But he’s been among the best each month, statistically, and hasn’t relinquished the scoring lead since the start of the season. He’ll break the 20-goal, 50-point barrier very shortly, but still has some work to do to catch Michael Bunting’s rookie-leading 63-point run from last year with Toronto. At this point, it’s entirely possible.

Mason McTavish, C (Anaheim Ducks)

McTavish could be the only other rookie to break the 50-point barrier, and he’d do so on one of the worst teams in the NHL. He’s up to 16 goals and 40 points in 67 games, which is good for fourth on the lowly Ducks team that has set its sights on the future. And McTavish will be a big part of that. McTavish likely won’t win the Calder, but he deserves to be a finalist.

Matias Maccelli, LW (Arizona Coyotes)

Clearly, missing 18 games hasn’t hampered Maccelli one bit. Despite the missed time, he leads all rookies with 31 assists and sits third with 37 points. The playmaking winger brings energy, offensive awareness and smart decision-making to Arizona’s top six, and that’s why he sits tied with Lawson Crouse for third in team scoring. Had it not been for his injury, he’d likely have full control of second in the rookie scoring race. Calder Trophy voters, Maccelli deserves your love.

Owen Power, D (Buffalo Sabres)

Since he lacks a shiny stat line, it’s easy to overlook Power without looking deep. He’s leading all rookies with 23:44 average time on ice, and is fourth among all rookies in 5-on-5 assists with 16. According to Evolving-Hockey, Power’s 10.2 goals above replacement and 1.7 wins above replacement are good for third among all rookies. So, while the offensive numbers are low, Power is still playing suitable hockey on a poor defensive team. Wait until he, and the rest of the Sabres, get more comfortable.

Stuart Skinner, G (Edmonton Oilers)

Skinner continues to put in some good work, winning five of his past six starts and seven of his past 10. With Jack Campbell’s bipolar play all season, Skinner’s emergence has been exactly what the team needs. Logan Thompson still leads most notable goaltending categories, but Skinner isn’t far behind – and Thompson’s long-term injury has allowed Skinner to make some more noise. And he’s looked good well beyond the rookie class, too – his 2.7 WAR and 16.1 GAR are good for 12th among NHL goaltenders, as are his .926 save percentage and 11.00 goals-saved above average at 5-on-5. It’s hard to earn Calder Trophy consideration as a goalie, but Skinner deserves some.

Kent Johnson, C (Columbus Blue Jackets)

Johnson has quietly remained effective as a first-year pro, and he’s on a good stretch with four points in five games this month. His lack of high-end production isn’t an issue, given the team he’s on. Given that, it’s good to see him third among CBJ forwards with a 47.83 expected goals-for percentage and the eighth-best rookie in GAR and WAR, too. There are high hopes for the 2022 World Junior Championship golden-goal scorer, and as the Blue Jackets look to finally start progressing, Johnson will occupy one of the team’s top two center roles before long.

Wyatt Johnston, C (Dallas Stars)

Wyatt Johnston has been on a heater recently, recording 11 points in 17 games since Feb. 1 and a rookie-leading seven points in eight games in March. He’s even seeing some power-play time while continuously pushing himself up the lineup. He was playing in the bottom six early on, but he’s comfortable with Jamie Benn and Evgenii Dadonov on the team’s second line. Big things are ahead.

Jack Quinn, RW (Buffalo Sabres)

Quinn has had some streaky stretches this year, but 13 goals and 31 points in 60 games is nothing to sneeze at. The energetic, goal-scoring middle-six forward is still adjusting to the NHL after embarrassing the AHL last year with Rochester. So while he hasn’t blown up offensively yet, Quinn still has all the makings of a 60-point producer in the near future. The Sabres are going to be contenders in short order, and Quinn’s ascension should coincide with it.

Jake Sanderson, D (Ottawa Senators)

The future of Ottawa’s blueline needed some time to adjust, but he’s looking like the top-pairing blueliner he was always projected to be. He’s fifth on the Sens in GAR and WAR, and he and Travis Hamonic have played at a 49.9 percent expected-goals percentage – that’s 14th among 16 pairs with at least 700 minutes together, but it’s decent considering one of the players is a 20-year-old rookie. He’s mobile, has good size, and can carry the puck – there’s a lot to love here.

Nick Perbix, D (Tampa Bay Lightning)

Sure, Perbix plays on a stacked team. He’ll have a quality defensive partner no matter who he’s lined up with. But with an 8.5 GAR and 1.4 WAR, Perbix has been one of Tampa’s most underrated players, putting him sixth in both categories. He has a respectable 1.39 points per 60, averaging 14:25 in 5-on-5 ice time. According to Money Puck, the pairing of Perbix and Mikhail Sergachev has a 53.5 percent expected goals-for percentage and a 48.5 percent rating with Victor Hedman. Perbix has proved he can play with quality linemates, which is all you can ask for from a seventh-round pick in 2017.

Other notables: Noah Cates, LW (Philadelphia Flyers), Cole Perfetti, C (Winnipeg Jets), Logan Thompson, G (Vegas Golden Knights), Shane Pinto, C (Ottawa Senators), Jonathan Kovacevic, D (Montreal Canadiens), Pyotr Kochetkov, G (Carolina Hurricanes)