Going into this season all eyes were on Sharks rookie forward Macklin Celebrini. Celebrini was the first overall pick in the 2024 draft and had the most hype of any player in the class. Hockey pundits and scouts have talked about him since he was 14 years old after he put up a 141-point season. The hype continued as he got older and his game developer. By the time of the draft, he was seen as a franchise player. A guy you could build a roster around.
With such high expectations, he seemed like a lock to win the Calder Trophy. However, just three games into his rookie campaign Celebrini would be placed on IR with a lower-body injury. This is a crushing blow to the Sharks and their fans, but how much time will the rookie miss, and what does it do to his chances of winning the Calder?
Celebrini Injury and Calder Chances
How severe is Celebrini’s injury and how much time will he miss? Head coach Ryan Warsofsky announced the other day that he would not join the team on its two-game road trip. He also stated he couldn’t put a timeline on the injury. He’ll see how he progresses and responds to treatment. However, the most concerning aspect is that he missed time during camp and the pre-season with the same injury. Making people believe this is something that will nag him all season.
The injury can do one of two things. First, if Celebrini plays through it, we don’t know how much the injury will affect him. Sure he looked great in his NHL debut, however, that’s a small sample size. The more he pushes himself, the worse the injury could get, thus making him not play at full strength. That would make his stat line look worse, and fall out of Calder contention. Or he could miss an extended period of time and have other rookies overshadowed.
Other Calder Trophy Contenders
Now some may argue that Connor Bedard won the Calder Trophy last year despite missing nearly six weeks with a broken jaw. However, Bedard didn’t have any player on the same level as him. Sure there were good players like Brock Faber and Luke Hughes, but neither of them had anywhere close to the hype Bedard had. Celebrini doesn’t have the same luxury. Several rookies have a realistic shot at the Calder regardless of Celebrini’s injury status.
Matvei Michkov: Philadelphia Flyers
Matvei Michkov is the current betting favorite to win the Calder at +250. This shouldn’t come as a surprise as Michkov was one of the most hyped players in last year’s draft class. The only reason he fell to the seventh pick was because nobody knew when he could leave Russia to come to North America. However, those fears looked to be silly, as he joined the Flyers a year after he was drafted. In his short sample size, he’s shown why he had so much hype. In four games Michkov has two goals and two assists for a total of four points. It’s a fast start to the season, and if he keeps it up he’ll rack up 80+ points. An impressive feat for any rookie.
Logan Stankoven: Dallas Stars
After a cup of coffee in the NHL last season, Logan Stankoven is ready to show what he can do in a full season. Stankoven has tallied five assets in the five games he played this season. An impressive start explains why he has the third-best odds to win the Calder this season. However, he has to start scoring goals to have a legitimate shot at it. Sure averaging an assist in every game is impressive but he needs goals to get the recognition he deserves. There are a few other rookies that have a chance, but they’re more of a long shot at this point. However, regardless of how much time Celebrini misses it’ll be a tightly contended race for the Calder Trophy.
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