Carey Price: Valid Calder Trophy Candidate?

When I checked to see who the Calder Trophy nominees were, I was shocked to see that Carey Price was not one of them.

Don't get me wrong, the three rookies that are up for the award are great players. 

Patrick Kane is a well rounded player who did well for him and his team.

You don't have to look far to see what Jonathan Towes has done—Team Canada and the World Juniors come to mind and so does the season he had with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Nicklas Backstrom has done very well this year and it didn't look like it was his first season in the NHL, especially playing with Alexander Ovechkin.

But Carey Price is all of that and maybe a little more.

Price was drafted in the first round, fifth overall, in the 2005 NHL draft. He was playing for the Tri-City Americans in the WHL at the time.

Price made his NHL debut on October 10, 2007 against the Pittsburgh Penguins.  He made 26 saves en route to a 3-2 win. This was the start Price was looking for.

On trade deadline day, Bob Gainey made a bold move and traded away their starting goaltender, Cristobal Huet, to the Washington Capitals for a 2nd round draft pick.

This meant that Price would be the new starting goalie.

A lot had been placed on Carey's shoulders, and at just 19 he would face a lot of skepticism.

But, Price handled the pressure almost easily. He led his team to the top seed in the Eastern Conference and finished the season with a .920 save percentage (7th overall in the league,) and a 2.56 goals against average in 41 games.

Price played well in the playoffs, save for a couple games, and brought them to the second round. He carried his team on his shoulders at times during the regular season and in the playoffs.

Carey Price was very well a Calder Trophy candidate and has a lot of potential for the coming season and further into his career.