Now that Macklin Celebrini of the San Jose Sharks has returned from a hip injury, he will again be favoured to win the Calder Trophy. That’s what happens to the hockey player who is drafted first overall prior to his rookie season, especially when averaging two points a game, as Celebrini did (okay, for his first game).
However, the first-overall-Calder thing is not a slam dunk. In fact, in the 59 years since the draft replaced the system where teenagers were “owned” by National Hockey League teams, it has only happened 11 times.
The list of first-overall picks who weren’t Rookie-of-the-Year is overshadowed only by super stars who also weren’t the best first-year players. This popped into my idle mind while reading how the Montreal Canadiens may have a Calder contender named Lane Hutson, of the Holland, Michigan Hutsons. In the unlikely event he wins — Hutson is, after all, a defenceman — he’d be the first Canadiens player to do so since…Ken Dryden.
Really?
This organization was once known for a genius general manager, Sam Pollock, who cleverly and intelligently manipulated the draft. Despite that, Dryden was Montreal’s only Calder Trophy winner during Pollock’s 15-year reign. And Dryden was actually drafted by Boston, then traded to Montreal for Paul Reid and Guy Allen, who both saw the NHL by watching television.
The story gets better.
Dryden was the best rookie a year AFTER he was the most valuable player in the Stanley Cup playoffs. It’s a reasonable guarantee that will never happen again. Yet none of his teammates from Montreal’s four-time Cup champions of the ’70s was Rookie-of-the-Year. Not Guy Lafleur. Not Larry Robinson. Not Bob Gainey.
They join a list of hockey greats who also didn’t win the Calder.
Like Connor McDavid. And Bobby Hull. And Rocket Richard. And the kings of Pittsburgh, Sidney Crosby and Mario Lemieux. And yes, Wayne Gretzky. Admittedly, there were selective extenuating circumstances. Crosby finished second to Alex Ovechkin, whose rookie season was delayed by a cancelled season. Gretzky didn’t qualify because he was a rookie pro in the World Hockey Association with the Indianapolis Racers.
Montreal’s 52-year drought has company. Remember how the Edmonton Oilers had the first-overall pick four times in six years: Taylor Hall (2010), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (2011), Nail Yakupov (2012) Connor McDavid (2015)? Not a Calder Trophy winner in the bunch. McDavid, incidentally, finished second to Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon. That’s 45 years of Oilers with no Calder Trophy winner.
Philadelphia has also never had one — 57 years and counting. Also shut out: Vegas, Nashville, Tampa and Anaheim. Collectively (including Edmonton), those teams have won a dozen Stanley Cups and zero Calders. Even the deceased Quebec Nordiques had more (2). Technically, the Winnipeg Jets have also been blanked…Dale Hawerchuk and Teemu Selanne won it with the “Jets” who moved to Arizona, and Dany Heatley was Rookie-of-the-Year with the Atlanta Thrashers who moved to Winnipeg. The only Dallas Stars winner came when they were North Stars, in Minnesota.
So Macklin Celebrini may not win the Calder, even if he averages two points a game, something only two players have done in one season — Wayne Gretzky (nine times) and Mario Lemieux (four times).
Neither was the Rookie-of-the-Year.
