At the start of the 2014/15 season I was pondering what rookie(s) are worth taking a chance on and drafting for Fantasy in the final rounds. A few different players really stood out to me and I was able to scoop up two of them; one through the draft and another off free agency just a week into the season. My top two Calder candidates this season were Jonathan Drouin and John Gibson; one being a forward for the high octane Tampa Bay Lightning, and the other a future number one goalie for the Anaheim Ducks.
Gibson I was able to pick up off the free agency after the draft…it seemed nobody was willing to risk picking either Andersen or Gibson with worry that someone would draft the other goalie just to screw over the other person. At that point, and still to this day; nobody knows who the true number one is in Anaheim. Luckily for me, they were both available at the end of the draft and I dropped two of my lesser valued players and scooped them both up. A beautiful move if I do say so…
Aaron Ekblad was drafted by another person in my fantasy pool, but was dropped during a dry spell he hit in the middle part of the season. As soon as he was available to be picked up off the waiver wire, I grabbed him; and just a week later he was back on pace. This is one of the many reasons as to why it’s so important to pay attention to what players are being scooped up and which are being dropped. People make mistakes throughout the season and it’s in your best interest to pay attention and improve your roster when possible...My fantasy hockey experience and results have improved vastly this season, following my friend and fellow Hockeybuzz blogger Lucas Neilson. Ekblad has 35 points in 75 games as a D, which is a very good start to his career; he's in my opinion the best rookie from the back end.
So far I have mentioned Ekblad, Drouin and Gibson. Only one of these players has a shot at this year’s Calder Trophy; and that player is Aaron Ekblad.
Tanner Pearson started the season red hot for the Los Angeles Kings, he and Toffoli were absolutely stellar at the start of this season. A few cold streaks and a few injuries and Pearson’s point total came to a grinding halt. He suffered a broken leg and has been on the IR; quite a bummer for the Kings and Pearson.
The Capitals changed their coach and got off to somewhat of a slow start; but have since improved and are on track for a playoff appearance. Evgeny Kuznetsov has been decent this season for Washington, scoring 32 points to date. Perhaps he’s not worthy of taking the trophy home, but a good start to his NHL career thus far.
I’ve saved my two favorites until the very end here and I think at this point it’s possible either could take the cake:
Filip Forsberg: Traded away from Washington a few years back; Forsberg has been absolutely dominant all season long (sorry Caps fans but that’s got to sting). The young Swedish born Nashville Predator has been excellent at all ends of the ice; putting up an incredible 59 points in 77 games with a +15 rating. Could this be a superstar in the making? Or am I eating my own words here and he is already considered so? Either way you look at it, Forsberg has an excellent chance at winning the Calder and I would imagine many people have him pegged as their favorite.
What is it that impresses you the most about John Gaudreau? The fact he’s like 150 pounds and just barely over 5 feet tall? Or maybe that he’s on a rebuilding Calgary Flames team that has a shot at making the playoffs…Maybe it’s that he leads the NHL in rookie scoring with 60 points? This kid is incredible. His first NHL game of his career last year he scored a goal; that’s a nice confidence booster heading into the season. He has 22 goals on the season and 38 assists with a +8 rating and a measly 14 penalty minutes in 76 games. This kid has done nothing but impress me all season long and if it was up to me, I would give the Calder to Gaudreau. Now we all know why he is referred to as ‘Johnny Hockey’…he’s a magician on the ice.
Best of luck to all these players in their last few games in the regular season, they have all been excellent and all have bright futures ahead of themselves.
Thanks for reading.
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • 
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