Johnny Gaudreau Named NHL Rookie of the Month for March

The Calgary Flames have been one of the more surprising success stories in the NHL this season, and a large part of that has been thanks to rookie winger Johnny Gaudreau’s performance this season. The rookie scoring leader was named rookie of the month by the NHL for a stellar showing in March, according to NHL.com.  

At just 21 years old, the left winger has accumulated 60 points this year, earned the rookie of the month award twice and has been key in the Flames' push for the Stanley Cup playoffs in the Western Conference.

Embroiled in the battle in the Pacific Division, the Flames won nine of 15 games in March, with Gaudreau’s 16 points playing a big role.

It has been an unexpected turnaround for Calgary, who lost star player and captain Mark Giordano to an upper-body injury at the end of February, and it was expected to fall out of the race for a playoff spot.

The early development of Gaudreau has the Flames in a strong position in the standings, with the Los Angeles Kings starting to falter in the Pacific. Although Calgary is still likely to be eliminated in the early stages of the Stanley Cup playoffs, the future beyond this season looks bright.

As reported by Randy Miller of NJ.com, Gaudreau has the support for the rookie of the year award from those involved with the Flames organization.

"He has my vote," coach Bob Hartley said March 19.

"The first game that he played in Vancouver, you could see that he was a special player," center Sean Monahan said.

If Giordano returns next year at a similar level to what he did before the injury this season—the defenseman had 48 points including 37 assists before his injury—and Gaudreau continues to grow, the Flames could jump to the top of the West in the next few seasons.