18-Year-Old Avalanche Player a Finalist for Calder Trophy

The three finalists for the NHL’s Calder Trophy have been announced and one of them is an 18-year-old player with the Colorado Avalanche. Each year the Calder Trophy is awarded to the NHL’s top rookie and this year it could come to Denver.

Tyler Johnson

Tampa Bay Lightning center Tyler Johnson had a good rookie season with 24 goals and 26 assist for 50 points. He was a plus 23 and played in all 82 games for the Lightning. He will be a big part of Tampa Bay’s future but I think he will finish third in the voting.

Ondrej Palat

Johnson is joined by teammate Left Wing Ondrej Palat who also had a good rookie season with 23 goals and 36 assist for 59 points, which was second among rookies this year. He was a plus 32 and played in 81 games for the Lightning. These two young men put over 100 points and were a huge part of the lightning making the playoffs this year but I think Palat will finish second in the Calder voting.

Nathan MacKinnon

The third finalist for the Calder Trophy is Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon who had a great season. He led all rookies in scoring with 63 points and was a plus 20 on the year. MacKinnon was the first over all pick in last years draft and broke into the NHL as an 18-year-old.

Any one of these young men could win the award but my bet is with MacKinnon. He had a great season and at 18 has shown the maturity of a 10-year veteran. The winner will be announced on June 24th at the NHL awards dinner in Las Vegas.