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The Five: NHL Rookies Who Can Win Calder Over Seider

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Moritz Seider is one of several prize rookies with a shot at winning the Calder Trophy as the NHL's Rookie of the Year

Detroit Red Wings fans would undoubtedly like to see defenseman Moritz Seider win the Calder Trophy this season as the NHL’s Rookie of the Year. The last Detroit player to win the Calder was goalkeeper Roger Crozier in 1965.

The last runner-up was goalie Jimmy Howard who finished second to Tyler Myers in 2010.

Seider is considered to be a franchise defenseman, a player with the potential to develop into the team’s No. 1 defenseman. He has skating ability, size, toughness, skill and drive. But he will be competing against a bumper crop of NHL rookies. You can’t say Seider is the favorite. Here are five who could win the Calder.

  1. Right wing Cole Caufield (Montreal Canadiens):  In a small sample size, but Caufield looked like a dangerous scorer last season when he got his chance late in the season.  He’s a five-foot-7 dynamo who has come up big everywhere he’s been.
  2. Center Trevor Zegras (Anaheim Ducks):  Given the team’s anemic offense, Zegras will be given the opportunity to be a go-to guy this season.
  3. Defenseman Jamie Drysdale (Anaheim Ducks): He has the potential to be a classic puck-moving defenseman. He’ll  eventually will develop into 50-plus point producer. This season, he could still be the highest-scoring rookie defenseman.
  4. Goalie Spencer Knight (Florida Panthers): He’s wildcard because he’s only 20. But the Panthers believe he has a shot to be the team’s No. 1 goalie. And he has the potential to be a difference-maker.
  5. Center Marco Rossi (Minnesota Wild) The Wild have a shot at having the Calder Trophy winner two years in a row. Austrian-born Rossi is a slick offensive wizard. One concern about him is that he contracted COVID-19 last season and only played one game. He lost a year of development.