Silver Nuggets: R.O.Y Candidates?
Tuesday we talked about an old guy, today we talk about a couple of young kids who may be forcing their way into the fringes of the Rookie of the Year conversation, and that is very cool.
Jason Spezza? Sure he's an all-star, bona-fide top line centre in the league, but no.
Erik Karlsson? Sure he might be the most dynamic player in the game, and is certainly the most entertaining d-man in the league, but no.
Kyle Turris? Was a third overall pick with offensive skills, but no.
Chris Phillips? Man, he was the first overall pick in a year with a weak draft class, but no.
Daniel Alfredsson? Came over at age 23, had an immediate impact on the Ottawa Senators, and yes, yes he won.
The Senators have seen a lot of young players come through their system over the years, but only one winner of the Calder trophy as best rookie. Today, I make the case that the Senators have two young players who, based on recent play, have to at least get some mention when talking about great rookies this year.
Jakob Silfverberg: Primed with our Silfverböners, we were talking Calder before he ever came to North America. But did any of us actually believe it? Its a long shot at this point, due to the play of Brendan Gallagher, Cory Connacher and most certainly Jonathan Huberdeau, but behind only those three players sits Jacke with 7 goals. He only has 4 assists, but he leads all rookies in shots on goal, and is behind only Huberdeau in TOI for rookie forwards. He's also hot right now, with 3 goals in his past 2 games. He had a bit of a slow start, but now that he has adjusted and is heating up, it will be interesting to see how he fairs down the stretch.
Patrick Wiercioch: While some of us may have seen Jacke playing a big part, I'm not sure anyone even forcasted Wiercioch on this team before Jared Cowen and Mike Lundin went down before the season started. He is currently tied for 7th in rookie points and trails only Justin Schultz in points by a rookie d-man by 1 single point. He is also on fire, 6 points in his last 4 games, and seems to have it going on with Sergei Gonchar. With Marc Methot down, I expect Patty's 15 mins/game to go up, and that can only mean great things for his shot at some Calder talk.
What do you think?
Sens Links:
- Booby has the scoop (that is fun to write) on our latest college signing, this time a goaltender from Bowling Green! Love that the Murrays have gotten serious about stocking the team with netminders. [SSS]
- Amelia asks "Who replaces Marc Methot?". You'll see the practical answer in the next link, but realistically no one will really replace what we were getting from Marc, he just needs to get healthy soon. Then again we can say that about a lot of guys this year. [SSS]
- If Methot cannot go tonight (he skated gingerly today and left practice early), it'll be the Mike Lundin show tonight. [SE]
- Great article on Patty W and the great season he is having. He raves about Gonchar as well, and one has to think having him around these last couple years has been great for our young d-men. [Warren]
- Scoring chances from the Islanders game help illustrate what a good game Gonch had. [6thSens]
- 3 questions from WorstEverything about Corey Perry, Guillaume Latendresse and Peter Regin. [WTYKY]
- Prediction Panel has very little optimism. Gotta love Mendes who keeps going against the grain. [SE]
Lastly, shout out to Sergei Gonchar for giving some great support for my article Tuesday with his play against Long Island.
Go Sens!