Updated Calder Trophy Rankings for the 2026 NHL Rookie of the Year

The NHL's rookie class this season has been something special. We're seeing young, elite players making their way into the best league in the world and not playing like newcomers at all.

It's the kind of thing team executives hope will happen when they have young players in their lineup, and many teams have a lot to be excited about for years to come.

Breaking down which rookies will carve out the top spots in voting for the Calder Trophy as the NHL's rookie of the year (as voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association) gets a lot more interesting beyond the No. 1 spot. Even if you wanted to do something a little different, the arguments to be made in doing so might not be hot takes at all.

We're ranking the league's top rookies as the season winds down. While this isn't exactly a look at what the voting will look like, there's a good chance that some ballots might break down this way. We're also going to rank out more than five players (votes are cast for the writers' top five selections).

7. Jimmy Snuggerud, St. Louis Blues

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Although the Blues have been down in the dumps most of the season, they're rallying hard now and threatening to get into the wild-card race in the West.

Their climb is bringing attention to the team, and rookie Jimmy Snuggerud deserves a lot of that love.

The 21-year-old has 39 points in 60 games, including 17 goals. That puts him fourth among rookies in points and tied for third on the Blues with Jordan Kyrou.

Making the jump from college hockey to the NHL sometimes means spending some time in the AHL. Not for Snuggerud, though.

Since the Blues dealt Brayden Schenn, Snuggerud has had to step up in his role with the team even as a younger guy, but it's helped the Blues get back in the playoff picture.

6. Ben Kindel, Pittsburgh Penguins

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Three players taken from the 2025 draft have been regulars in the league this season, and perhaps the most surprising is Pittsburgh's Ben Kindel.

At 18 years old, he won a spot with the Penguins out of training camp and just kept improving.

Kindel has 17 goals and 17 assists this season, and even though he was playing a third- or fourth-line role early in the year, injuries and/or suspensions to Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin helped him make himself invaluable by helping the Penguins' push for the playoffs.

He was the No. 11 overall pick and is producing like he was in the top five on a team that no one really expected to be in the playoff race, never mind the actual playoffs.

Call it East Coast bias for having him this high on the list, but if you watch the Penguins and keep noticing him doing all the right things, you'll see why Pittsburgh is excited about him.

5. Jakub Dobeš, Montréal Canadiens

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Being a goalie in your first full year in the NHL can be terrifying. Being a goalie for the Montréal Canadiens in your first full year in the NHL can make that a million times more nerve-wracking.

Goaltending for the Canadiens this season has been a bit shaky at times, but of the trio they've used between Samuel Montembeault and rookies Jacob Fowler and Jakub Dobeš, it's Dobeš who has carried the majority of games for them this season and held it down well.

Dobeš is 25-8-4 this season with a .900 save percentage and 2.78 goals-against average. Among qualified rookie goalies, he trails only Minnesota's Jesper Wallstedt in save percentage and leads all rookie goalies in wins.

The Canadiens have been hoping for someone to take the reins in net, and that player might now be Dobeš. He has been locked in lately and earned a 3-1 win over Carolina in his most recent start, making 34 saves.

4. Jesper Wallstedt, Minnesota Wild

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For how patient the Minnesota Wild have been in developing goalie Jesper Wallstedt, all he's done this season is prove to them it was the right plan.

The "Wall of St. Paul" has been the 1B to Filip Gustavsson and when he's played, he's been incredible. Wallstedt's .912 save percentage is best among rookies and tied for fourth among qualified goalies in the NHL. He's tied for third in the league with four shutouts and one of the three others he's tied with is his teammate.

One thing that may hurt his candidacy is he's played 31 games this year with 29 starts. He's 15-8-6 and considering how good his stats are, it's remarkable that he's just above .500. Having a 2.73 goals-against average means he's been victimized by a lack of offense often (the Wild average 2.66 goals-for in his games).

Having two excellent goalies is a problem a lot of teams would like to have and if Gustavsson being the No. 1 hurts Wallstedt's case for voters, that's too bad because he's been outstanding.

3. Beckett Sennecke, Anaheim Ducks

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When last we saw Beckett Sennecke in the mainstream, it was at the NHL Draft in 2024 when Anaheim stunned everyone by taking him with the No. 3 pick in the draft and we got to read his lips at how stunned he was.

This season, however, we're the ones being stunned by his electrifying play in helping lead the Ducks back to the playoffs.

The skilled winger has 22 goals, which ties him for most among rookies with Montréal's Oliver Kapanen and New York Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer. His 56 points ties him with Schaefer for second among rookies behind Canadiens forward Ivan Demidov.

The Ducks are teeming with young offensive talent, and Sennecke is the latest to explode on the scene. If this was a more normal rookie class, the arguments about who should win the award would have been incredible.

2. Ivan Demidov, Montréal Canadiens

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When Demidov arrived to Montréal last season, it was one of the moves that rapidly sped up the process in which the high-end prospects they've taken in recent years would affect them on the ice.

Getting that brief taste of what he could do in the postseason was more than enough to excite Canadiens fans and make their rivals uneasy.

This season, Demidov has been rock solid. His 57 points are most in the rookie class and that's buoyed by his rookie class-best 41 assists. He's been a weapon for the Canadiens at 5-on-5 and on the power play.

His elite level of skill with the puck and his skating speed and elusiveness make opponents look foolish. He's a fun and electrifying player, and we're just getting to see what he can do in the NHL.

When Montréal selected him fifth overall in 2024, everyone seemed to know they were getting an outstanding player, but the biggest question was when they'd eventually get to see him in North America. He's here and he's living up to the hype.

1. Matthew Schaefer, New York Islanders

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All NHL rookies this year have been unfortunate to be in the same class as New York Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer.

The 18-year-old has lived up to the hype as the 2025 No. 1 pick. He's helped solidify the Islanders in the playoff picture this season, and his 56 points are among the rookie leaders in scoring. He's just outside the top 10 among defensemen in scoring in the league.

Schaefer is tied for most goals among rookies with Canadiens forward Oliver Kapanen and Ducks forward Beckett Sennecke with 22. That many goals among NHL defensemen puts him second in the league behind Washington's Jakob Chychrun.

Players such as Ivan Demidov and Beckett Sennecke are having great seasons of their own, but Schaefer is playing 24:29 per game in one of the toughest positions for young players to get a grasp on.

Playing defense is very difficult and he's been exceptional. If he doesn't win the Calder Trophy, it will be a shock.