All things considered, best rookie campaigns in NHL history

[daver]

We all know that age, era, development, cultural adjustments can factor in on the strength of a rookie season.

What are some of the best rookie seasons all things considered.

Wayne would seem to be the standard bearer with his shared scoring title in his first season.

What about Crosby vs. OV?

What about Orr?

Click to read more...

 

[JackSlater]

Gretzky's 1980 is the best, followed probably by Ovechkin's 2006. On defence Bourque probably had the best rookie season, though Orr's is up there too. Actually after considering it for a bit, Orr might be top among defencemen. Now, is this a trap to end up discussing some trivia regarding when a certain player's birthday is? We shall see.

 

[Michael Farkas]

Lemieux, Crosby, Hawerchuk, Orr, Selanne, Bossy, Ovechkin, Dryden all came immediately to mind...

 

[DeysArena]

1. Temmu Selanne
2. Everyone Else

 

[frisco]

Barrasso.

--18 years old
--No minor pro, college, or major junior experience.
--Makes a good NHL team out of camp.
--Becomes the starter.
--Wins the Calder and the Vezina.
--Youngest Vezina winner by three years.
--It was jaw dropping when it happened and really hard to see something like this happening in the future.

My Best-Carey

 

[jigglysquishy]

Gretzky winning the Hart and tieing for lead in points in his first NHL season is the clear favourite.

Ovechkin, Barrasso, Crosby, Lemieux, Selanne stand out as well.

If we are going strictly by age, Crosby has a run. Over 100 points and 6th in scoring as an 18 year old. Gretzky was a full five months older in his rookie season. Ovechkin was 23 months older.

 

[Hockey Outsider]

Going back almost a century, how about Nels Stewart? He led the league in goals and points as a rookie, and won the Hart trophy (disclaimer - this was before all North American talent was in the NHL).

Then in the Stanley Cup finals (the last time a non-NHL team would play for the Cup), he scored 6 of his team's 10 goals while also playing part of the time as a defenseman.

 

[hacksaw7]

For an 18 year old to post a sub 3.00 gaa in that era was very impressive

Also didn't expect to see.

fwiw Pat Riggin and Al Jensen also put up sub 3.00 gaa's in 83-84. Caps really tightened up defensively around that time

 

[MadLuke]

1. Temmu Selanne
2. Everyone Else

Without considering anything (like age and so on) in is rookie Selanne was 5th in points, incredibly excellent considering the high level brought by a large group that year, but that was Pierre Turgeon level, 76 goal being a big plus obviously.

Gretzky had 5 more points and was above a prime Lafleur, was tie for number 1 and hart winner is rookie season and won the Hart, what make Selanne rookie season above that, even before considering anything else ?

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

Going back almost a century, how about Nels Stewart? He led the league in goals and points as a rookie, and won the Hart trophy (disclaimer - this was before all North American talent was in the NHL).

Then in the Stanley Cup finals (the last time a non-NHL team would play for the Cup), he scored 6 of his team's 10 goals while also playing part of the time as a defenseman.

He was what we would now consider an overage rookie (age 23), but yeah.

Another 23 year old rookie who excelled in the early years - Frank Brimsek. Vezina, 1st Team All-Star, Calder Cup, Stanley Cup, 1.35 GAA in the playoffs (1st among goalies who played more than 1 game).

 

[sr edler]

Nels Stewart, during the majority of the 1925–26 NHL season, was 26 years old, not 23.

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

Nels Stewart, during the majority of the 1925–26 NHL season, was 26 years old, not 23.

Is HR wrong? Nels Stewart Stats | Hockey-Reference.com

 

[sr edler]

Is HR wrong? Nels Stewart Stats | Hockey-Reference.com

Interesting. SIHR & the English Wikipedia have him born in 1899. I can't say I've done my own research on him though.

But I know he did already have 6 senior seasons under his belt. First one in the OHA with Parkdale. Then 5 with Cleveland in the USAHA.

 

[Filatov2Kovalev2Bonk]

1. Temmu Selanne
2. Everyone Else

There were two absolutely terrible expansion teams that year that inflated scoring. Remember Alex Mogilny also had a 76-goal season.
Selanne's rookie season has an asterisk forever because of that.
The Jets scored 19 goals against us in 3 games, Selanne scored 2 goals.
The Jets scored 29 goals against the San Jose Sharks in 7 games against them, scoring 6 goals.(72-6 = 66)
So discounting those, it's a 64 goal opening season, which is still impressive, but...there were 14 (!) players with 50 or more goals, two with 76 goals, three besides them with 60+ goals and 25 with 40+ goals.

This season was a complete aberration. I'd certainly look at 99's opener, as well as Ovechkin/Crosby, unless we want to veer into Ken Dryden winning the Cup before being a rookie, I guess. But bleh.

 

[DeysArena]

Without considering anything (like age and so on) in is rookie Selanne was 5th in points, incredibly excellent considering the high level brought by a large group that year, but that was Pierre Turgeon level, 76 goal being a big plus obviously.

Gretzky had 5 more points and was above a prime Lafleur, was tie for number 1 and hart winner is rookie season and won the Hart, what make Selanne rookie season above that, even before considering anything else ?

The NHL didn't count Gretzky as a rookie, so neither do I.

 

[DeysArena]

There were two absolutely terrible expansion teams that year that inflated scoring. Remember Alex Mogilny also had a 76-goal season.
Selanne's rookie season has an asterisk forever because of that.
The Jets scored 19 goals against us in 3 games, Selanne scored 2 goals.
The Jets scored 29 goals against the San Jose Sharks in 7 games against them, scoring 6 goals.(72-6 = 66)
So discounting those, it's a 64 goal opening season, which is still impressive, but...there were 14 (!) players with 50 or more goals, two with 76 goals, three besides them with 60+ goals and 25 with 40+ goals.

This season was a complete aberration. I'd certainly look at 99's opener, as well as Ovechkin/Crosby, unless we want to veer into Ken Dryden winning the Cup before being a rookie, I guess. But bleh.

The league average for goals in 1992-93 was 3.63. The equivalent in Ovechkin's rookie year would have been 65 goals (Ovechkin scored 52). The equivalent in Mike Bossy's rookie year would have been 69 goals (Bossy score 53). 76 goals is an absurd number for any rookie in any season.

 

[decma]

There were two absolutely terrible expansion teams that year that inflated scoring. Remember Alex Mogilny also had a 76-goal season.
Selanne's rookie season has an asterisk forever because of that.
The Jets scored 19 goals against us in 3 games, Selanne scored 2 goals.
The Jets scored 29 goals against the San Jose Sharks in 7 games against them, scoring 6 goals.(72-6 = 66)
So discounting those, it's a 64 goal opening season, which is still impressive, but...there were 14 (!) players with 50 or more goals, two with 76 goals, three besides them with 60+ goals and 25 with 40+ goals.

This season was a complete aberration. I'd certainly look at 99's opener, as well as Ovechkin/Crosby, unless we want to veer into Ken Dryden winning the Cup before being a rookie, I guess. But bleh.

Selanne scored 76 goals in 84 games. So if he scored 8 goals in 10 games vs. Ott and SJ, it means he scored 68 in 74 games against the rest of the league. That means he actually scored at a lower clip against Ott and SJ (0.8 goals per game) than he did against the rest of the league (0.92 goals per game).

 

[steve141]

No love for Denis Potvin? A rookie defenseman leading his team in scoring is absurd.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

if we are including playoffs, i would have 100 point seasons by ovechkin and crosby and hawerchuk and selanne ahead of conn smythe years by hextall and ward. but i think i'd have rookie roy ahead, and if we count '71 playoffs and '72 regular season dryden as one "season," i don't know that dryden isn't right there with "rookie" gretzky

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

at the age selanne was when he played his first NHL game (22 years, 95 days)

ovechkin had played two seasons and almost certainly would have had a third if not for the lockout

crosby had played four seasons, won a hart, art ross, and captained his team to the finals

hawerchuk had played four seasons, scored 426 points, and had finished runner up to gretzky for the hart

mcdavid had played four seasons, won two art rosses and finished runner up a third time

toews had won a cup, conn smythe, won best forward at the olympics, and was a member of the triple gold club

 

[tabness]

Always overlooked Larry Murphy had one of the best rookie years by a defenseman!

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

otoh, to follow up on "rookie" dryden, who admittedly was even older than selanne,

1971 playoffs: stanley cup, conn smythe, upset the greatest single season scoring machine the league has ever seen

1972 regular season: calder, 2nd team all-star, runner up to peak bobby orr for the hart trophy

 

[WarriorofTime]

Gretzky's rookie year that didn't count as a rookie year and Teemu Selanne jump out the most to me.

 

[kaiser matias]

Interesting. SIHR & the English Wikipedia have him born in 1899. I can't say I've done my own research on him though.

But I know he did already have 6 senior seasons under his belt. First one in the OHA with Parkdale. Then 5 with Cleveland in the USAHA.

That change was just made a week ago, oddly enough, and while I don't doubt the SIHR, the HHOF and NHL site have him as 1902, as do several contemporary reports from when he was inducted into the HHOF (they mentioned he was 50 when he was inducted into the International Hockey Hall of Fame in 1952).

In short, I've restored the 1902 birthdate on Wikipedia.

 

[MadLuke]

The league average for goals in 1992-93 was 3.63. The equivalent in Ovechkin's rookie year would have been 65 goals (Ovechkin scored 52). The equivalent in Mike Bossy's rookie year would have been 69 goals (Bossy score 53). 76 goals is an absurd number for any rookie in any season.

It was a bit more top heavy too.
92-93:

1.	Teemu Selänne* • WIN	76
	Alexander Mogilny • BUF	76
3.	Mario Lemieux* • PIT	69
4.	Luc Robitaille* • LAK	63
5.	Pavel Bure* • VAN	60
6.	Pierre Turgeon • NYI	58
	Steve Yzerman* • DET	58
8.	Kevin Stevens • PIT	55
9.	Dave Andreychuk* • 2TM	54
	Brett Hull* • STL	54
11.	Pat LaFontaine* • BUF	53
	Mark Recchi* • PHI	53
13.	Brendan Shanahan* • STL	51
14.	Jeremy Roenick • CHI	50

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Vs

1	Jonathan Cheechoo • SJS	56
2.	Jaromír Jágr • NYR	54
3.	Ilya Kovalchuk • ATL	52
	Alex Ovechkin • WSH	52
5.	Dany Heatley • OTT	50

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

The argument that first group above was more talented and that explain why you have almost 3 time has much 50 goal scorer would explain just a part of it, tv break, 84 games, 3 expansion team, etc... I do not think Turgeon was a better goal scorer than Kovalchuck-Ovechkin

If we take Selanne for example 15 games against OTT, TBL, SJS, he had 15 goals and 24 points in 14 games, +7

In is 70 games other games 61 goal, 47 assist, 108 points, +1

108 points in 70 games is not that far from the 109 in 78 and 107 in 75 he will do in is peak a few year's later.

Selanne scored 76 goals in 84 games. So if he scored 8 goals in 10 games vs. Ott and SJ, it means he scored 68 in 74 games against the rest of the league. That means he actually scored at a lower clip against Ott and SJ (0.8 goals per game) than he did against the rest of the league (0.92 goals per game).

Lighting is missing here, against expansion team that year (if we consider the Sharks to still be one which is fair considering they won 11 games and gave 5 goals by game) Selanne scored at a rate that over 84 games would have ended up with 87-88 goals, 53 points and 140 points, not that different from is actual total, but not lower.