Calder Finalists: Johnson, Palat, MacKinnon

[sureLoss]

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=7...id=DL|NHL|home

Forwards Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche are the three finalists for the 2013-14 Calder Memorial Trophy, which is awarded "to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition," the National Hockey League announced today. The Lightning is the first club to boast multiple Calder finalists since Chicago's Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews finished first and third, respectively, in 2008.

[Trailer Fire]

No surprises here. MacKinnon wins.

[codynw]

In other news, MacKinnon has won the 2014 Calder Trophy.

[Anduril]

You mean in other words, the runner ups to the Calder have been announced.

[Senator Clay Davis]

MacKinnon is gunning for the Conn Smythe too at this point. Pretty amazing there was even a debate between him and Jones. Jones might end up a great player but MacKinnon is clearly a generational talent.

That said Palat is a pretty amazing story to go from 4th last player drafted to Calder nomination.

[Resolute 14]

Not sure I would argue a player is "gunning for the Conn Smythe" after two games. Especially when he was far from stellar in the third game.

[Erick Estrada]

Suspense on this one is killing me.

[devo22]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

That said Palat is a pretty amazing story to go from 4th last player drafted to Calder nomination.

Johnson even more so - he went undrafted

[bubbsy]

all good candidates, and there were a plethora of guys that had a shot at being nominated also.

would have been nice for monahan to be nominated after the year he had.

[Lanny'sDaMan]

Originally Posted by bubbsy

all good candidates, and there were a plethora of guys that had a shot at being nominated also.

would have been nice for monahan to be nominated after the year he had.

Agreed. Never expected him to win but a nomination or even a mention would have been nice.

[$ven27]

Another example of that you don't necessarily need top end picks to find talent

[Dogbert]

Easily one of the best years for rookies I've seen. Future impact players up and down the list.

[bubbsy]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

That said Palat is a pretty amazing story to go from 4th last player drafted to Calder nomination.

Yup, that is truly amazing.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by bubbsy

all good candidates, and there were a plethora of guys that had a shot at being nominated also.

would have been nice for monahan to be nominated after the year he had.

Well, the NHL doesn't nominate finalists, per se. These are simply the top three players by votes. Monahan could potentially have finished fourth. Hopefully the full vote gets released at some point.

[Imported_Aussie]

Monahan had a great year, but he is behind those 3.
The next group of guys is also a great list

Krug
Trouba
Monahan
DeKeyser

Jones might get a look below those guys.

What I take heart from as a Flames fan is that Monahan is looking so good at such a young age. Sure, MacKinnon is playing better, but Monahan had arguably the second best season of the 2013 draft class

[dustygoon]

Monohan is so mediocre.

[DOOM]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

That said Palat is a pretty amazing story to go from 4th last player drafted to Calder nomination.

He was also draft eligible in 2009 and 2010.

[codynw]

Originally Posted by dustygoon

Monohan is so mediocre.

Who is Monohan? Is he related to McKinnen, Brakov, Joans and Nishuken?

[Stanathan]

Originally Posted by $ven27

Another example of that you don't necessarily need top end picks to find talent

Not in the Atlantic division anyway.

[SuperMatt18]

I probably would have had Krug in there over one of the two Tampa kids. 40 points from the back end and really changed the Bruins power play making them a much more dangerous team this year.