The Calder Memorial Trophy is named after Frank Calder, the first president of the NHL. The Trophy is awarded to a hockey player who is most accomplished in his first year of rivalry in the NHL. This year's finalists are Connor Bedard from the Chicago Blackhawks, Brock Faber from the Minnesota Wild and Luke Hughes from the New Jersey Devils.
The Candidates are voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers Association and while Faber and Hughes attended all the games this season. Bedard missed 14 games due to an injury. There are some people, that might say that Bedard does not deserve the trophy because he missed those games. Who is to say that the other two players wouldn't have been able to make more assists and shots on goals had they had the same time away from the game that Bedard had?
While that is true, is important to note that despite missing those games, Bedard still got a lot more goals than Faber and Hughes. Bedard is also younger than Faber and Hughes and would be the 10th Blackhawk player to receive the trophy while Faber and Hughes would be the second and third players to receive the trophy for their respective teams. Based on these facts, who should the Calder trophy go to? My vote is for Bedard. He has lived up to all the puffery during the 2023-24 season and he is the most obvious choice. Who is to say that he wouldn't have gotten more goals and assists had he not been injured?
The decision won't come as an easy one but hopefully the PHWA will agree and elect Bedard as he has proven to be a worthy opponent this season. It is no wonder why he was a popular choice for selection by other teams during the draft as well. The Blackhawks have a great future with Bedard on their team.
