The Calder Memorial Trophy

Number 93: The Calder Candidate

The Calder Memorial Trophy is awarded "to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the National Hockey League.” The award was first presented in the 1936-37 season and there have been 79 recipients….none of whom have donned the Oiler silks.

Is this the year that changes? Without a doubt, Edmonton has a strong candidate in Ryan Nugent Hopkins, affectionately dubbed “The Nuge” by the Oiler faithful.

Nugent-Hopkins quickly amassed 35 points in his first 35 NHL games collecting 2 Rookie of the Month awards in the process. NHL engravers began to fret about the length of his hyphenated name and the limited size of the Calder trophy name plate.

But a self-inflicted shoulder injury derailed the Calder cakewalk.

­Advance ~ 20 games later

Two shoulder injuries and a careful rehabilitation period later…the Calder landscape has changed. New contenders have emerged with a rugged 2^nd overall selection shouldering his way forward, a former Taylor Hall teammate riding his Parise-ian teammate to the lead and a 25 year old Flyer lofting to the top rookie tiers.

Despite his unassuming style, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is showing he is a fierce competitor. While many lament an opportunity loss due an uncharacteristic stumble into the boards, the #1 draft pick has resumed his impressive point a game pace. Steadily clawing back to the top of the scoring leaders, Nugent-Hopkins has posted 3 points in 3 games and rekindled the Oilers Calder hopes.

The Calder Watch

For the remainder of the season, I intend to post the daily progress of Nugent-Hopkins and rookie competitors. A short commentary on game preview or review of the night before will also be included.

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The RNH Review: Friday 2/3/12

The Edmonton Media are reporting that for the tilt against Dallas on Friday, RNH is to play with Eberle and JF Jacques….no, apologies, Petrell. Mixed emotions here as RNH has shown undeniable chemistry with our 61 pt. man and yet is paired with a 9 point Finn on the other wing.

I am also interested to see if Renney moves RNH back into the 1^st PP unit. You can see the logic in not changing the NHL’s #1 ranked power play, however RNH’s 19 PP points (half of his point total) surely suggest he is power play specialist. The Oilers simply do not have a player that can match his patience and vision on the half wall. Maybe today will be the day the promotion is made.

Daily Update: Friday, 2/3/12

Name	Versus	Goals	Assists	Points	+/-	ESP	SHP	PP	Time on Ice
Adam Henrique	Washington
Gabriel Landeskog	-		Not playing
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins	Dallas
Matt Read	-			Not playing
Cody Hodgson	-			Not playing

Cumulative Total for 2011/2012

Name	Position	GP	Goals	Assists	Points	+/-	ESP	SHP	PP	P/G
Adam Henrique	C	55	15	26	41	+7	28	7	6	0.75
Gabriel Landeskog	L	65	18	22	40	+21	29	2	9	0.62
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins	C	43	15	23	38	-5	19	0	19	0.88
Matt Read	R	60	18	20	38	+11	27	2	9	0.63
Cody Hodgson	C	65	16	17	33	+10	23	0	10	0.51

Calder Poll: