New Jersey Devils: 5 Players Competing with Jack Hughes for Calder Trophy
Jack Hughes is now playing on the first line of the New Jersey Devils bringing exposure to Taylor Hall. He may no longer be the favorite for the Calder Trophy as Rookie of the Year, but he’s will absolutely be in competition.
We are about 10 percent into the season and almost into the second month of the Jack Hughes era. Rookies have been a massive storyline throughout these first few weeks as some have disappointed on the stat sheet such as our own Hughesy and our enemies’ Kaapo Kakko and others have taken off as expected. I wrote up an article right before the season began of players who will challenge Jack Hughes for the spot of the top rookie in 2019-2020. Here, we take a look at my predictions to see how they are doing so far and add a new name to the list as well.
Cale Makar
Original: The Colorado Avalanche may have the best lineup in the NHL from top to bottom. Joe Sakic has done a great job retooling this team for a deep playoff run while also preparing it for the future.
Cale Makar made a 10-game cameo in last years playoff and dominated. Not only did he have 6 points in 10 games, but he was a driver of play. He is noticeably responsible compared to most rookie defensemen, possibly due to his time playing in the NCAA at UMass Amherst. He pinches in at the right times as well as plays the quarterback position, bringing the puck into the offensive zone due to his speed and handling.
It is hard to predict exactly where he will play for the Avalanche because they may want to shelter him a bit until he is fully prepared for the NHL, but he will be their first-line right-side defenseman by early December, barring injury. This comes with exposure to the best bargain in the NHL, Nathan Mackinnon, as well as elite forwards Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen.
He will also be the quarterback of what is expected to be a top Powerplay unit with the aforementioned forwards along with someone such as Nazem Kadri or Andre Burakovsky. The Avalanche have an exciting future and Makar will be the driver of that beginning this upcoming season.
Update: Cale Makar is showing out to be the superstar everyone believed he would be. He opened the season with 6 points in his first 5 games and is now sitting at 8 points (all assists) in 9 games. The Avalanche have come out to a blistering 7-1-1 start and are looking like a Stanley Cup favorite. Goals are coming aplenty due to the exceptional play of the top guys, Mackinnon, Landeskog, Rantanen and Makar. Makar is fast, electric and living up to all the hype on his way to being the favorite for the Calder Trophy.
Victor Olofsson
Victor Olofsson came into the season without too many expectations but did impress in the preseason. Playing on the first line with an elite Jack Eichel and a dangerous playmaker in Sam Reinhart, Olofsson is feasting on the powerplay due to his absolutely wicked shot next to Jeff Skinner‘s.
The Sabres are 8-1-1 and I would not expect this to continue, therefore hurting his chances to continue his torrid pace throughout the entire season and hurting his chances as other rookies adjust and begin to dominate (we’re looking at you, Jack).
At 24 years old, he is on the older side of this rookie class but is currently playing as a man possessed and his 28.6% shooting percentage is proof of that. He has raised his profile in the early goings, but I believe he will drop off and make way for a couple of the younger guys to overtake him in this race including our own Jack “Lil Jizzy” Hughes.