This year’s Calder Trophy race is going to be a total free-for-all

It didn’t take long for last season’s Calder Trophy race to come down to two players. Auston Matthews and Patrik Laine were the first two picks in the 2016 NHL Draft, and they were racking up goals like nobody’s business as teenagers. Unsurprisingly, the conversation around the NHL’s top rookie focused firmly on those two.

There were other rookies worthy of praise, namely Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski, but by the spring, everyone knew that the Calder would go to Matthews or Laine. There was just too much hype around those players, and too many goals scored by them, for anyone else to crack into that debate.

Now just a few weeks into this season, the Calder Trophy race is shaping up much differently than a year ago. Without marquee top draft picks like Matthews or Laine to eat up the oxygen in the room, it’s looking like a wide swath of candidates will be pushing for their rightful claim as rookie of the year.

“Hockey is a young man’s game” has become a common refrain around the sport in recent years, and it’s not difficult to see why. More and more young players are emerging in key roles. The days of 35-year-olds running this league look dead and buried.

Rarely is that easier to see than in the Calder race, where you can easily go 10 deep in rookies who are off to very good starts this season. Unlike a year ago, it’s hard to see how this becomes a two-man race. Instead, it’s going to be a total free-for-all, even if we have a favorite at this point. Let’s run through the candidates.

If there’s one player who can pull away from the Calder pack, it’s Keller. The Coyotes winger leads all rookies in goals (11), points (17), and shots on goal (58) through 17 games this season. He has a plus-6.4 percent Corsi Relative at even strength. He’s also receiving far more playing time per game (19:47) than any other rookie forward.

Keller may not keep up this production all season, but based on the first few weeks, he’s being asked to do more than any other rookie in the league. That’ll keep him in a strong position to put up big numbers, even if the Coyotes remain in the basement all season. It gives him a leg up on the competition, which is why he’s the favorite right now.

However, Keller will see some serious competition from some of his fellow first-year players.

The top two candidate most likely to beat out Keller in voting are Boeser and Barzal. A pair of 2015 draft picks — Barzal, No. 16 overall, and Boeser, No. 23 overall — they both look to be on their way to reaching their potential as rookies. If it weren’t for the amazing start by Keller, these two would be all the rage across the hockey world.

Boeser has emerged as arguably the Canucks’ best player with 14 points in 12 games. He’s been unleashed on the top line under new coach Travis Green with great success. Barzal won’t be the Islanders’ best player as long as John Tavares is around, but he’s proving to be an amazing No. 2 center, with 14 points in 15 games.

According to Corsica, Barzal is 10th among all skaters in 5-on-5 Game Score this season, which is even better than 24th-ranked Keller. Boeser is lower, ranking 102nd.

Hischier was a popular Calder prediction before the season as the reigning No. 1 overall draft pick, but he’s been outscored by a defenseman and a former sixth-round pick so far this season. Butcher and Bratt have been crucial to New Jersey’s surprising turnaround, combining for 24 points in 28 appearances this season.

If anything, one of the issues for these three will be split votes. It might be more difficult for one Devils rookie to emerge if two others are sapping votes away from him, which won’t necessarily be an issue for Keller, Boeser, Barzal, or some other candidates.

It wouldn’t be a true free-for-all if those were the only options, right? A bunch of other players across the league could make it tough for the names above to pull away. Let’s run through the big ones.

Mikhail Sergachev: The Lightning defenseman acquired in the Jonathan Drouin trade is living up to expectations so far with 12 points in 16 games. He’s playing a fairly small role, averaging just 13:41 per game, but that hasn’t stopped him from producing so far.

Adrian Kempe: The Kings winger won’t keep shooting 33 percent all season, and his minus-6 percent even strength Corsi Relative is another red flag. But he’s still impressed with seven goals in 15 games.

Yanni Gourde: An undersized center who joined the team as an undrafted free agent years ago, Gourde is off to a hot start with 11 points in 16 games. He didn’t even leave the hotel he stayed in during training camp out of fear that he wouldn’t make the team. Like Kempe, there are signs he won’t keep it up, however.

Charlie McAvoy: The NHL’s rookie leader in ATOI by over three minutes per game, McAvoy is already thriving in a big role for Boston at age 19. He may have a tough time keeping up with Keller if the Arizona winger is averaging a point per game, but arguably no 2017-18 rookie has a brighter future in this league.

Nolan Patrick: Patrick has missed time due to injury and didn’t play well before going down. Still, you can’t ignore the No. 2 overall pick from the 2017 draft in this discussion.

Kyle Connor: He’s played only nine games after opening the season with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose, but Connor has quickly stepped into a big role with the Jets since being promoted. The results have been mixed, including seven points and a 43.7 even strength Corsi.

OK, seriously, there are so many guys we can include here: Alex DeBrincat, Alexander Kerfoot, Alex Tuch, Charles Hudon, Alex Iafallo, Sonny Milano, Martin Frk, Christian Fischer, Anders Bjork, Jakub Vrana, Joel Eriksson Ek, Pierre-Luc Dubois...the list goes on and on.

Make no mistake: This is exactly what you should want as a hockey fan. There are so many good rookies in the league right now that Keller, an obvious Calder candidate in any given season, is going to be given a serious run for his money. This is a fantastic problem for the NHL to have, and it’ a reminder that hockey’s future remains bright because of the talent on the ice more than anything.