The Calder Memorial Trophy has been awarded to the NHL’s top rookie since the 1936-1937 season. That’s 87 years. Yes, I know it wasn’t awarded every year, the league did lose the 2004-2005 lockout, but still, that’s a very long time.
In all those years, it was won by a blueliner only 13 times. Granted, it has been a more frequent occurrence of late, but it still takes a spectacular season to grab it as a defenseman.
A few days ago, ESPN journalist Ryan S. Clark titled Calder Trophy Watch for 2024-2025: Top rookies to know now and amongst the 12 players listed, there is one Montreal Canadiens prospect: Lane Hutson. The last time a Canadiens’ player won the rookie of the year trophy was Ken Dryden all the way back in 1972.
While Hutson is as talented as they come, it’s worth remembering he wasn’t a first-round pick. Not to say you have to be picked in the first-round to claim the Calder Trophy, but listing him as a candidate is premature for the same reason teams thought picking him in the first-round was premature: his size.
Hutson might have grown a bit since the Canadiens’ picked him with the 62nd overall-pick at the 2022 draft, he’s still only listed at five-foot-ten and 162 pounds and that’s part of the reason why it’s far from being a guarantee that he will spend the whole season in Montreal. Yes, he looked good in the two games he played last season, but that was at the end of the regular calendar and the games meant nothing. Will he be as comfortable on the ice when the stakes are high and both teams really want the two points?
If a survey had been conducted prior to the 2022 draft and fans were asked if they thought Shane Wright would make the NHL come October, most of them probably would have said “of course!” Lo and behold though, not only did Wright drop at the draft, being the Seattle Kraken’s pick at fourth-overall, but he didn’t make the NHL right away. In fact, the Kraken gave him an eight-game audition in the NHL, followed by an eight-game audition in the AHL before finally coming to terms with the fact that he wasn’t ready and sending him back down to the OHL for a third and final season of junior hockey. Even in the 2023-2024 campaign, he only saw eight games of NHL action.
It’s a long Summer and we’re all doing our best to try and find something to write so it’s not that surprising to see articles trying to predict who could potentially win which trophy, but it should come with a warning, just to manage fans expectation.
In Montreal, it doesn’t take much time for fans to fall in love with their rookies and build up very high expectations and pressure on the players in the process. As things stand, it’s not a definite that Hutson will make the NHL and even if he does, that he will spend the whole season in the big league.
To be in contention for the rookie of the year trophy, one has to be in the NHL and to be there long enough to overcome all competition. I’m not saying Hutson doesn’t stand a chance, but I don’t see him as the front-runner to be crowned.
Related: Canadiens: What are the Odds?
In other words, take things slow Habs fans (well, fans of every fanbase really. The same warning applies to all players). Start by enjoying the rookie camp, then the battle for spots the main camp promises to be. If Hutson beats the competition to secure a roster spot and manages to perform well in the big league for an extended period, then it will be time to talk Calder nomination.
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