Don’t Cal-der It A Comeback

Adam Henrique finished third in the Calder Trophy rankings in last night's awards, but he can only improve as the Devils make another run for the cup next year. (Ed Mulholland-US PRESSWIRE)

The NHL Awards were announced last night in Las Vegas, and to the dismay of Devils fans rooting for Adam Henrique, the award was granted to Colorado’s Gabriel Landeskog.

Landeskog’s award was well deserved, and well favored amongst those choosing the winner. Landeskog received 78% of first place votes; an astounding 61 percentage points ahead of the second place, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Henrique finished well below either in the selections with only 3 of 149 first place votes distributed.

Henrique’s 3^rd placing may be quite a shock to Devils fans who witnessed his thorough output throughout the 2011-2012 season. The shock may be a bit of biased favoritism on behalf of Devils fans, but his contribution to the entire Devils past season can’t be doubted by any outsider looking in.

Regardless of the award’s outcome, outsiders and insiders could’ve hardly guessed Adam would have even been considered a nominee halfway through the regular season. Landeskog and Nugent-Hopkins lived up to their expectations very well as both were picks 1 and 2 in last year’s first-round, draft selections.

Lest we forget, Adam was a third round pick in 2008. No other player from any portion of 2011’s draft was selected for third place in this year’s Calder Memorial selection.

All is quite okay, nonetheless. So long as Henrique remains healthy in years to come, there should only be room to improve. Adam Larsson, who received a single, fifth-place vote in last night’s draft, should also grow on the defensive end for the Devils.

As of tomorrow, the Devils will have another young face they hope to improve the future of the team. It is uncertain whether or not the young talent selected will make an appearance in the 2012-2013 season, but if he does, Henrique, Larsson, and the rest of the New Jersey squad will welcome him in an attempt to return to Stanley Cup Championship stature next season.

For those who would like to begin counting the days until the start of next season, the schedule is now available. The Devils will start their next season in Washington, DC against the Capitals on October 12^th.