In a way, most individual NHL awards are more evidence of prevailing opinion than objective excellence.
Are Pavel Datsyuk, Ryan Kesler, and Jordan Staal all outstanding defensive forwards?
Yes.
What makes one more deserving of the award than the other? Well, that's a matter of opinion.
Are Drew Doughty, Mike Green, and Duncan Keith all first-class players on the blue line?
Of course they are.
But even though the award is given to the defender with the "greatest all-around ability in the position," the notion of what constitutes "all-around ability" varies from person to person.
When it comes to the Calder Trophy, the NHL's Rookie of the Year award, we find similar problems of subjectivity.
Well, we usually do, but not this year.
This year, the three finalists for the Calder represent all three positions in hockey: goalie, defenseman, and forward.
While I suppose almost anything could be debated, the fact that playing goal is more difficult than playing defense and playing defense is more difficult than playing forward is, well, a fact.
So, given that f ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Matt Hutter
Why Red Wings Goalie Jimmy Howard Should Win NHL’s Calder Trophy
June 22nd, 2010 by Matt Hutter Leave a reply »
Advertisement