CHN Weigh-In: Connor Bedard and the Wild Calder Craze

Whether it’s a Minnesota Wild fan or Chicago Blackhawks backer, there’s debate as to who should win the Calder Trophy for the league’s best rookie. But if you travel outside the league, it seems to favor Bedard.

In the next CHN Weigh-In, we look a bit at the trophy, the more recent history of the winners, and why at the end of it all, it’s likely Bedard walking away with it.

A Recent Look at the Calder Winners

The Calder Trophy is awarded to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition per the official league site. for the awards. Last year’s winner was Seattle’s Matty Beniers, and the season prior was Detroit’s Moritz Seider. It’s a perfect mockup for two players being named prominently for it.

While Faber is on the backend as a defenseman, Bedard is obviously up front as a forward. In the years proceeding:

• 2021 – Kirill Kaprizov
• 2020 – Cale Makar
• 2019 – Elias Pettersson

Connor Bedard Is Our Bet To Win The Calder

Vinnie:  The Calder Trophy race is all but locked up in favor of Connor Bedard. However, some discourse about the award opened up when the Minnesota Wild paid a visit to the United Center on Sunday. There are people out there fighting for Brock Faber to win the award. Faber has the ceiling of a number one defenseman in this league if he isn’t already one. Playing against the league’s top competition, he has defending well and racked up points. So far this season, he is third in rookie scoring with 7 goals and 36 assists for 43 points.

While all of that, he isn’t even the NHL’s leading scoring rookie defenseman. That title belongs to New Jersey Devils rookie Luke Hughes who just broke the franchise record for points by a first year defenseman in a season with 45. While Connor Bedard is a forward, the offensive load that he’s carried on a bad hockey team cannot be overstated. As the youngest player in the NHL, he has 22 goals and 37 assists for 59 points in 63 games played.

He will blow past the 60 point total and he won’t even reach 70 games. If injury didn’t keep him from playing the full season, he would have a chance at 80 points as a teenager which is remarkable. Although the season that Faber is incredibly impressive and Calder Trophy worthy in most years, Bedard’s impact is second to none.

Nate: It’s simply stated that with a full season, the argument is moot. It’s not to take away from Faber’s season, which has been a good one. But to look at Beniers’ numbers from a season prior, he had 57 points in 80 games. Bedard is beyond that already. Further, Beniers was on a playoff team, benefitting from others around him helping to shoulder the offensive load.

It’s simply more impressive with that Bedard has done. The Blackhawks are next to last in goals for, with Bedard leading the team. He’s also tops in assists and points, too. If those numbers are subtracted, along with opponents not having Bedard to focus on, the results are catastrophic for Chicago.

Again, Faber has enjoyed a terrific season, has logged big minutes (25:01), and has contributed offensively with 44 points (7-37). But let’s go to Seider following his win.

Seider isn’t going to score goals or rack up points like a Cale Makar–who is as slam dunk of a winner as any defenseman can be. But Seider’s marks during his rookie campaign, on an improved but sub .500 Red Wings team. He logged 23:01 on the ice, and added 50 points (7-43).

The runner up? Trevor Zegras–who had 61 points (23-38) in 75 games. Apt comparison? While it can be acknowledged, it’s again, an entirely different argument. Further, Bedard is just two points short of Zegras’ output with 11 less games. The Ducks also had Troy Terry leading the way scoring wise, and were a far more advanced team in terms of record with 76 points and 31 wins. The Blackhawks, if they win out, will have just 61 points.

Checkmate, Connor Bedard.

Oh, C’mon, Isn’t This Just a Chicago Bias

Perhaps. Or maybe it’s just stating the obvious. The Wild and their fanbase are aggravated they won’t be a playoff team–and we don’t blame them one bit. So if they’re propelled into the playoffs with even stronger numbers from Faber, there’s a much stronger argument.

If they make the playoffs, but the numbers are identical, their attention is drawn away from the Calder and more toward the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Bedard has been exactly has advertised, and has strapped a historically poor Blackhawks team onto his back this season. His numbers, with a healthy Taylor Hall, and a Corey Perry who isn’t exiled, likely are even higher. That Blackhawks team wouldn’t be looking at higher lottery odds, either.

But that wasn’t the hand that they held. Instead, things went from bad to worse once Hall was shelved for the year as injury took a chunk out of the team one-by-one. With Bedard out, the Blackhawks suffered mightily. But returning, their uptick has been well chronicled.

So the argument is compelling for sure–it’s just flawed. Connor Bedard will be the Calder Trophy winner and it’s because his importance to the team–along with his output–outweighs that of Faber’s.

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