If Ekblad is getting consideration for Rookie of the year, so should Klingberg

[TOML]

Both will get consideration, but Ek will easily win.

 

[Flair Hay]

Yeah. That Dallas defense sure is stifling.

This notion is laughable.

 

[Dr Pepper]

I don't expect either to win.

It's Forsberg's to lose. If the voters fall for the age argument and give it to Ekblad, I would be shocked.

 

[dechire]

Out of curiosity I checked Ekblad and Klingberg's matchups in the 2 Stars-Panthers games this season. Ekblad was matched against the 2nd line in both games (Spezza line in the first and Eakin line in the second) but not against the top lines aside from a few shifts (Seguin and Spezza for those two games). Klingberg was mostly matched against the Bjugstad line (which I believe is Florida's 1st line) in both games.

Small sample size of course but it's interesting to see how they're being used. I know that Klingberg is used against top lines and the matchups that I've checked in the past back that up. I'd be interested to hear from Panthers fans how often Ekblad is used against top lines

 

[Heningway]

If age should be a factor when voting for Calder so should it be when voting for Vezina, Hart or any other trophy.

"Yeah sure GOALIE#1 is having a great season but look at GOALIE#2 he's just 20 years old!"

It's not a factor in any other trophy and shouldn't be in the Calder vote either.

 

[spacemanatee]

Out of curiosity I checked Ekblad and Klingberg's matchups in the 2 Stars-Panthers games this season. Ekblad was matched against the 2nd line in both games (Spezza line in the first and Eakin line in the second) but not against the top lines aside from a few shifts (Seguin and Spezza for those two games). Klingberg was mostly matched against the Bjugstad line (which I believe is Florida's 1st line) in both games.

Small sample size of course but it's interesting to see how they're being used. I know that Klingberg is used against top lines and the matchups that I've checked in the past back that up. I'd be interested to hear from Panthers fans how often Ekblad is used against top lines

nope it's not. that's the barkov line

 

[dechire]

nope it's not. that's the barkov line

Oops I just assumed Bjugstad was your 1c from looking at your team stats. Is it a situation where a lower line is outperforming the "top" line ? I'm obviously not really familiar with your team

edit: So I checked out the matchups against the Barkov line now too and it was split between all 3 defense pairing in both games. Klingberg played a fair amount against that line but there wasn't one pairing in particular that was matched against Barkov. It was more like a 40-30-30 split.

 

[Chaos]

All due respect to the OP but there is more than points that matter. It's Eckblad's to lose.

What has Ekblad done this season that has shown that he is having a better rookie season, regardless of age, than Klingberg?

 

[ShootIt]

nope it's not. that's the barkov line

Well he was, for a stretch of the season.

Currently it's the Barkov line, IIRC after Huberdeau was moved to Barkovs wing.

 

[spacemanatee]

Well he was, for a stretch of the season.

Currently it's the Barkov line, IIRC after Huberdeau was moved to Barkovs wing.

yeah it's all quite sketchy but i think that that was the first line in both dallas games.

lol the only thing one know for sure is that MacK is our 4th line C. the rest are just.. other lines lol

 

[Juggernaut27]

If age should be a factor when voting for Calder so should it be when voting for Vezina, Hart or any other trophy.

"Yeah sure GOALIE#1 is having a great season but look at GOALIE#2 he's just 20 years old!"

It's not a factor in any other trophy and shouldn't be in the Calder vote either.

If you think the voters go by much more than how they feel about the players and whatever hype and talking points are out there I'd disagree.

Ekblad's age, hype, nationality, low-scoring team and name recognition all make him much more likely to garner votes at this point.

 

[sportsdynasty]

Anders Lee should win it. He's been the best.

 

[ShootIt]

yeah it's all quite sketchy but i think that that was the first line in both dallas games.

lol the only thing one know for sure is that MacK is our 4th line C. the rest are just.. other lines lol

3rd line is the character line when The Dave Bolland feels like playing.

 

[FrailSwan]

Klingberg's stats are good but he's older and plays on a much better team. It has to be taken into consideration.

That can be argued.

 

[Paul4587]

Ekblad is better in his own end and plays on a much worse offensive team than Dallas who has three forwards on a level that nobody in Florida comes close to yet.

 

[WhatWhat]

Ekblad is better in his own end and plays on a much worse offensive team than Dallas who has three forwards on a level that nobody in Florida comes close to yet.

How can you back up that Ekblad is better in his own end. Just curious

 

[spacemanatee]

3rd line is the character line when The Dave Bolland feels like playing.

no character there even when bolland is playing tho

 

[The Kingslayer]

Anders Lee aint getting enough love round here

 

[Primetimey*]

Ekblad is better in his own end and plays on a much worse offensive team than Dallas who has three forwards on a level that nobody in Florida comes close to yet.

Based on what? Klingberg gets harder match ups, Klingberg gets less offensive zone starts, all the stats point to Klingberg being better.

 

[JayTam]

Its not just points, its the Overall Play. In my mind, Ekblad is the Better player that Ud having a better Season, nebermind the age question. If a casual fan is watching and you would have them guess how Old Ekblad is, based in his Play, no One would say 18...

 

[chunkylover53]

I still surprised how disproportionate amount of hype when you compare Ekblad to Klingberg. People are saying Ekblad's going to win out of all rookies when Klingberg barely gets a mention.

People say "give an argument other than "watch them play"" or it's not about the points, but then looking the underlying numbers say that Klingberg has superior performance even though he's in tougher situations.

Age and hype shouldn't be a determining factor in voting but it just might.
Ekblad's allure must be really really that high.

 

[ElGuapo]

Not much to add other than saying the following because it hasn't been said enough.

Klingberg isn't just some offensive specialist. If I'd mainly just seen stats I'd probably assume this as many seem to be doing if I hadn't seen him play much. He's actually very good defensively and the Stars best defenseman at both ends. He has IMO one of the higher hockey IQ's in the league and is a legit top pairing defenseman as a 22 year old rookie.

As for this season, the numbers shows he's better defensively than Ekblad. Just watching both play, well I can't say which passes the eyeball test more because I haven't seen Ekblad play enough. But I'm utterly blown away at how good Klingberg is.

 

[AKL]

Whether you guys like it or not, age is a factor in the Calder trophy. Look at past winners, they're all 18 or 19 year olds. Occasional 20 year old thrown in there, and a 21 year old goalie or two. The last time a skater older than 20 won it was 12 years ago, and the last time a forward over 20 won it was 16 years ago.

When it comes down to it, and two guys have similar stats, it's always going to go to the younger one. That's why Klingberg and Stone won't win. Gaudreau is pushing it too. Ekblad has cooled off in terms of production in the second half, so it's easily Forsbergs to lose at this point.

Oh, and for those of you saying Anders Lee needs more love, what are you thinking? He's 20 points behind three other rookies. I'll be surprised if he finishes top 5 overall.

 

[umwoz]

Its a moot point, neither are in the top 3.

 

[sparxx87]

Calder trophy is awarded to the best rookie of the season, not the best youngest player.

John Klingberg 52GP 10G 26A 36TP +4
Aaron Ekblad 65GP 11G 23A 34TP +7

Both are outstanding rookies, but Klingberg definitely had the better season so far by missing 13 games and yet managed to leapfrog Ekblad statsvise.

Not selling anyone short, but there's two sides of the puck. While they may be close to equal on one side, there's a gap on the other.

Ekblad is also 18. Whether it should or shouldn't be a factor, it is.