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Top Rookie So Far This Season
by PuckStopsHere on 11/14/08 at 01:37 PM ET
Comments (6)
In the earlier portions of the season, I picked Kris Versteeg of the Chicago Blackhawks as the best rookie in the NHL. I not longer believe that to be true. Versteeg has fallen to second in the rookie scoring race (tied with Mikhail Grabovski of the Toronto Maple Leafs - who has three more games played). The rookie scoring leader is Derick Brassard of the Columbus Blue Jackets. I think he has been the top rookie in the NHL so far this year.
Brassard has 15 points in 15 games. He leads his Columbus team in points and in */- with a +5 rating, He is scoring at a high rate given that he has only averaged a little over 14 minutes of ice time per game.
Brassard played 17 NHL games last year scoring only two points. He spent most of the season in the AHL, where he was scoring at better than point per game rate. This year he has clearly shown he is ready to be an NHL regular and looks to be on the verge of stardom.
Columbus needs players like Brassard to mature. They have a weak team and have never qualified for the playoffs ever. If Brassard (possibly along with fellow rookies Jakub Voracek and Nikita Filatov) helps give Columbus a good core of young forwards, then the Blue Jackets may compete for the first time in their history.
At this still early point in the season, Derick Brassard is the top player on the Blue Jackets and the top rookie in the NHL. That is far exceeding his expectations.
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Tags: Columbus+Blue+Jackets, Derick+Brassard,
Comments
Doughty is playing well. If he keeps things up he will likely be a Calder nominee, but I don’t see him as the leader at this point.
Brassard has been the MVP of his team at this point. Were his numbers transplanted to the Kings he would be their scoring leader and MVP.
Doughty would not be named the Kings MVP at this point. I would think Anze Kopitar would probably be their MVP right now.
Posted by PuckStopsHere on 11/14/08 at 02:02 PM ET
Drew Doughty of the Kings has to be the Calder leader at this point. His game is incredible and for 18 years old it is amazing to behold. He is the top defenseman on the team which speaks to his ability as much as the Kings’ lack of depth there. Shame on you for not even thinking him to be deserving of mention.
Posted by samantha on 11/14/08 at 02:03 PM ET
As someone who watches the Kings regularly, I can say that Doughty would in fact be the Kings’ MVP right now. Kopitar can score but his overall game is suffering. He still makes 2-3 bonehead plays per game which lead to top scoring chances and has been called out by his coach for not contributing enough defensively. Doughty is calm and steady and in a much more difficult position for a youngster to master.
Posted by Daniel Wells on 11/14/08 at 02:07 PM ET
I would wait to see what happens with deslauriers in edmonton. He could be the one to take it.
Posted by DrW from Detroit on 11/14/08 at 02:41 PM ET
Very, very hard to compare a forward like Brassard to a defenseman like Doughty. Like I alluded to in my first reply, I think both should be finalists. However, I think Doughty has to be in the top 3. And… not to brag or anything (wink)… but Sports Illustrated’s Allan Muir has the Doughty crowd’s back on this one:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/allan_muir/11/14/doughty.moller.notes/?eref=sircrc
Posted by Jeremy on 11/14/08 at 03:50 PM ET
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Major props to Brassard, who will be among the Calder finalists this year, but I think you need to give some consideration to Drew Doughty. Defensemen don’t often receive mention for this award — and playing on the West Coast certainly doesn’t help the kid’s exposure. But he’s logging more minutes than any other rookie (22:31 per game), has 6 points, +7… all on a rebuilding Kings squad.
This is the year of the teenaged defenseman, after all. Might as well give some digital ink to the leader of the pack.
Posted by Jeremy on 11/14/08 at 01:56 PM ET