STRAIGHT SHOOTERS
What a great season for some of the rookies of the NFHL this year, especially in the city of Edmonton. Pre-season we had Martin Rucinsky as the early favorite with Peter Forsberg and Mike Alatalo pushing. Well, we hit on one for sure.
Peter Forsberg had a great season in Edmonton and should be the heavy favorite to win the Calder. His 85 points on the season put him in a tie for 3rd place all time with another Oiler, Steve Larmer back in 1982. His 36 goals place him 4th overall for rookies, one more then Brent Sutter from COL back in 1985 and 49 assists ties him in 5th with Mats Naslund from 1983. His +/- was 0, on a team where many were negatives. He also contributed with 16 PP goals, which helped the Oilers have the 2nd best PP unit in the league. Throw in 155 hits and 200 shots with a 18% shooting and Forsberg had one of the best Calder seasons of all time. Although a rookie, he was very helpful to the Oilers and their climb to 6th place in the Campbell with 93 points.
While he spent most of the season with the Edmonton Oilers, Sergei Berezan went from Quebec to Florida to Edmonton. In Edmonton, he had a solid season scoring 30 goals, 42 assists and 72 points. He was also just a -2 on the season, which is very solid for a rookie. He, also like Forsberg, connected on the PP, scoring 13 goals this season with the extra man. Although he doesn’t throw his weight around, he did dish out 99 hits, and, more importantly, only took 2 PIM’s all season long. He spent most of the season on Forsberg’s wing, and with these 2 signed for years to come, thing are looking pretty bright for the Oilers for sure.
Glenn Murray for Montreal had a very solid season. While not putting up the offense like the previous two Oilers, he did connect on 26 goals and 57 points. While Forsberg had over 20 minutes a game, Glenn was just over 17. He was also a +2 on the season and only took 12 PIM’s. He was known for his clutch performance though with 7 GW goals, leading his team by more then double.
Lastly, another Calder candidate that should get some votes is Alexei Zhitnik on the New York Islanders. He was the best rookie defenseman, putting up 5 goals, 38 assists and 43 points. He was also solid on both ends delivering 171 hits while also firing 173 shots. Both pretty solid marks for a rookie defenseman. Unfortunately for him, the New York Islanders are in a complete rebuild and the talent around him isn’t that good yet and he ended the season with a -47 on the season. He didn’t win the green jacket, but he only missed it by 1.
Sorry, we had no goalies push hard enough for us to stand on a limb for them this season. Manny Fernandez in Anaheim gave it a valiant effort, but his team in front of him just didn’t help his cause.
Our prediction for the Calder will be that Peter Forsberg will win the Calder going away.
Forsberg – 24 first place votes
Berezan – 2 first place votes
STRAIGHT SHOOTERS