Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnnySkittles
For a defenseman, it absolutely has baring. He's been playing like a top pairing Dman all season long all the while putting up very respectable numbers.
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The argument isn't that it's not impressive. What Ekblad is doing as that 18/19 year old has been extremely impressive.
The argument though, is the Calder is supposed to be awarded to the rookie who is most proficient, not most impressive. It should, by criteria, come down to simply on-ice performance of the players. Age, hype, draft ranking, personal stories, whatever else shouldn't matter (outside of the Makarov rule age limit).
So was Ekblad the best rookie? I don't think so and the argument is pretty easy for me, Klingberg has been a better defenseman. Ekblad is amazing as an 18/19 year old, but he gets about the most sheltered minutes in the league for a top 4 player and his offense isn't ahead of Klingberg who does play harder minutes.
However, what the criteria is and how the voters interpret the award could be different and age will certainly play a factor in a lot of those voters opinions.