pittengineer
Registered User
- Jan 1, 2004
- 1,275
- 0
My quick list:
1)Lehtonen -- ATL should be ok this season. Defense is still lacking. Maybe a draft day trade to get another dman to help out Lehtonen next. Lehtonen is going to struggle at points through this season.
2)Malkin -- Point one, Mario most likely will be a linemate if malkin signs and comes to the US. Malkin will also prob see some PP time (Malkin, Mario, Tarnstrom, Jackman, Morozov/FA/Malone). His # of goals wont be mind-boggling, but his assists for a first year player could be.
3)Ovechkin -- Thought about having him number one on my calder list, but drops due to who he will be playing with(player-wise). Will prob put up more goals than malkin(most of AO's goals will have to come strictly by his own work), but will not have the assists malkin will. I will say that I think AO will lead the rookies in goals this season. I would say the previous two mentioned have a slightly better chance than AO, but all three are real close when it comes to the calder winner.
4)Fleury -- Struggled as an 18 year goaltender on a pretty bad team last year, but also shown why he was a #1 overall pick at times(look how many times he was a 1/2/3 star in a game the pens lost). His biggest problem was not him last year, but more the 45-50 or so shots he faced a game. I dont think he has as good of a chance as the first three, mostly because Lehtonen is older and more experienced than fluery, Malkin having Mario on a line wont hurt, and AO because of his scoring ability. Will have a much better season this year.
Honorable Mentions:
a)Phaneuf -- Dont like picking dmen because it takes longer for dmen to adjust to the nhl level. No knock on Phaneuf, but I dont see a dman winning this year.
b)Vanek -- If signed, he could be mentioned here. I dont think he will put up the numbers needed to win the calder this year. I see more like a year Semin had with the caps out of him this year.
Darhorse/Homer Pick:
Ryan Whitney -- watching this guy in the AHL playoffs showed me one thing...he is going to be good one. He may be NHL-ready this year. Good overall dman with a flare for offense, watch out for him if he makes the jump to the nhl in his first year. A tarnstrom or jackman injury could push him to the nhl and on to a potent pens pp. The least likely of winners for the calder this year, but its a decent homer/darkhorse pick.
1)Lehtonen -- ATL should be ok this season. Defense is still lacking. Maybe a draft day trade to get another dman to help out Lehtonen next. Lehtonen is going to struggle at points through this season.
2)Malkin -- Point one, Mario most likely will be a linemate if malkin signs and comes to the US. Malkin will also prob see some PP time (Malkin, Mario, Tarnstrom, Jackman, Morozov/FA/Malone). His # of goals wont be mind-boggling, but his assists for a first year player could be.
3)Ovechkin -- Thought about having him number one on my calder list, but drops due to who he will be playing with(player-wise). Will prob put up more goals than malkin(most of AO's goals will have to come strictly by his own work), but will not have the assists malkin will. I will say that I think AO will lead the rookies in goals this season. I would say the previous two mentioned have a slightly better chance than AO, but all three are real close when it comes to the calder winner.
4)Fleury -- Struggled as an 18 year goaltender on a pretty bad team last year, but also shown why he was a #1 overall pick at times(look how many times he was a 1/2/3 star in a game the pens lost). His biggest problem was not him last year, but more the 45-50 or so shots he faced a game. I dont think he has as good of a chance as the first three, mostly because Lehtonen is older and more experienced than fluery, Malkin having Mario on a line wont hurt, and AO because of his scoring ability. Will have a much better season this year.
Honorable Mentions:
a)Phaneuf -- Dont like picking dmen because it takes longer for dmen to adjust to the nhl level. No knock on Phaneuf, but I dont see a dman winning this year.
b)Vanek -- If signed, he could be mentioned here. I dont think he will put up the numbers needed to win the calder this year. I see more like a year Semin had with the caps out of him this year.
Darhorse/Homer Pick:
Ryan Whitney -- watching this guy in the AHL playoffs showed me one thing...he is going to be good one. He may be NHL-ready this year. Good overall dman with a flare for offense, watch out for him if he makes the jump to the nhl in his first year. A tarnstrom or jackman injury could push him to the nhl and on to a potent pens pp. The least likely of winners for the calder this year, but its a decent homer/darkhorse pick.
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