Way-Too-Early Ranking of the Top Candidates for the 2016-17 Calder Trophy

November 12th, 2016 by Carol Schram Leave a reply »
The National Hockey League is shifting towards a playing style where speed and skill are rewarded.

That favors young players. They may not yet have all of the tools to play a physical game, but they have developed under today's intense minor-hockey programs, where they've developed the tools they need to have an immediate impact. They're also pretty easy to squeeze into a team's salary-cap structure, with their bargain-basement entry level contracts.

Those trends are making for a fascinating Calder Trophy race in 2016-17. The top rookies in this year's class range from raw 18-year-olds all the way to college graduates, with everything in between. Some have come out of nowhere; Perhaps even more impressively, the most highly touted have lived up to their advance billing.

As the NHL season reaches the 15-game mark, here's an early ranking of the top 10 players vying for rookie of the year honors.

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