Predicting the Top Candidates for the 2016-17 Calder Trophy

The latest NHL draft class offers up an intriguing collection of candidates who will form the focal point of the discussion for the NHL's 2017 Calder Trophy for rookie of the year. 

Of course, rookies in hockey don't have to be 18-year-olds straight out of junior. As detailed by NHL.com, Calder Trophy candidates must be 26 or younger on September 15 of their season of eligibility. Those eligible players must have also played a maximum of 25 games in the NHL or any other major professional league and have not played six games or more in each of the two previous seasons.

Last season, the age rule got plenty of attention. The NHL's runaway rookie scoring leader was the 24-year-old Artemi Panarin. His years of play in Russia's KHL before he signed with the Chicago Blackhawks as a free agent in 2015 did not prevent him from being eligible for the Calder.

According to Hockey-Reference.com, 2015 first overall draft pick Connor McDavid, who finished third in voting, was the only player straight out of junior to rank in the top five in 2016 Calder voting.

Second place went to the Shayne Gostisbehere, a college player who was 22 during the 2015-16 regular season. The talented offensive defenseman got a taste of the pros in AHL before cracking the Philadelphia Flyers lineup partway through the year.

Fourth and fifth place also went to players who had developed in the NCAA before joining the NHL—Jack Eichel of the Buffalo Sabres and Dylan Larkin of the Detroit Red Wings respectively—though just for one season each.

Expect to see more of an international flavor to this season's top Calder candidates, as a couple of Finns, a Dane and an American who has been schooled abroad could be among the new faces who make big impressions at the NHL level. College players will also impress, as will graduates of Canada's major-junior system.

Which names do you expect to hear in the top three when the Calder finalists are announced next spring?

10. Dylan Strome, Arizona Coyotes

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Age to start 2015-16 Season: 19. He was drafted third overall in 2015.

2015-16 Stats

• OHL: Erie Otters: 47 GP, 37-74-111; playoffs 13 GP, 10-11-21.

Total NHL Games Played: 0

Rookie-Season Outlook 

The middle son from the Strome family of Mississauga, Ontario, proved he was more than the product of a successful partnership with McDavid when he followed up his 129-point regular season as McDavid's center in 2014-15 with an impressive 111-point campaign after being drafted third overall by the Arizona Coyotes.

With the 27-year-old John Chayka at the helm as the Coyotes' new general manager, the future is now in Arizona. Strome will benefit more from learning as he goes at the NHL level than he would from a fourth season in junior—he doesn't turn 20 until March, so the AHL is not an option in 2016-17.

Expect to see Strome take full advantage of his opportunity, earning deserved top-six and special teams minutes and acclaim for being part of the successful evolution of the youth movement in the desert.

9. Mitch Marner, Toronto Maple Leafs

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Age to start 2015-16 Season: 19. He was drafted fourth overall in 2015.

2015-16 Stats

• OHL: London Knights: 57 GP, 39-77-116; playoffs 18 GP, 16-28-44.

Total NHL Games Played: 0

Rookie-Season Outlook 

Mitch Marner is undersized for NHL play at 5'11" and 164 pounds, but like Dylan Strome, he has a late birthday and has absorbed everything there is to learn at the junior level.

Marner doesn't turn 20 until May, so he's not eligible to play in the American Hockey League. That means he could earn a spot with the Toronto Maple Leafs, who have every reason to inject fresh blood after finishing 30th overall last season.

Putting Marner on right wing alongside 2016 first overall pick Auston Matthews could form the nucleus of a "kid line" that would put fans back in the seats at the Air Canada Centre and encourage viewers to tune their TVs into hockey games north of the border.

As co-captain of the London Knights in 2015-16, Marner followed up a strong regular season with an offensive explosion in the playoffs. He tallied 44 points and was named playoff MVP as the Knights won the OHL championship. He was also the leading scorer as London captured the 2016 Memorial Cup and won the Ed Chynoweth Trophy as tournament MVP.

Over the last two seasons, the 5'9" Johnny Gaudreau has shown size is not a prerequisite for NHL success. Marner will get a chance to show whether he can follow in the footsteps of Johnny Hockey next season.

8. Zach Werenski, Columbus Blue Jackets

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Age to start 2015-16 Season: 19. He was drafted eighth overall in 2015.

2015-16 Stats

• NCAA: Michigan: 36 GP, 11-25-36.
• AHL: Lake Erie Monsters: 7 GP, 1-0-1; playoffs 17 GP, 5-9-14.

Total NHL Games Played: 0

Rookie-Season Outlook 

After two years of college hockey with the University of Michigan, defenseman Zach Werenski turned pro after his NCAA season ended in March, stepping straight into the lineup of the AHL's Lake Erie Monsters and helping the team capture the Calder Cup.

Coming up through the college ranks, Werenski would be eligible to play in the AHL next season, even though he only turned 19 in July. But with his 6'2", 209-pound frame and impressive hockey sense, why would the defensively challenged Columbus Blue Jackets leave him in the minors?

Werenski's talents lie on both sides of the puck, and he'll be an inexpensive roster addition for the cap-crunched Columbus. Expect to see him quickly become a key member of the Blue Jackets' blue-line corps.

7. Sebastian Aho, Carolina Hurricanes

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Age to start 2015-16 Season: 19. He was drafted 35th overall in 2015.

2015-16 Stats

• Finland: Oulun Karpat: 45 GP, 20-25-45; playoffs 14 GP, 4-11-15.

Total NHL Games Played: 0

Rookie-Season Outlook 

You might expect to see much-hyped World Junior Championship MVP Jesse Puljujarvi on this list, but instead, try directing your attention to a less heralded Finnish rookie, Sebastian Aho.

Born in July 1997, Aho was eligible for the 2015 draft, where he was selected in the second round by the Carolina Hurricanes. He spent the regular season as Puljujarvi's teammate with Oulun Karpat in Finland and finished second in scoring behind Puljujarvi as Finland captured gold at the World Junior Championship in January.

But while Puljujarvi dominated at April's under-18 tournament in North Dakota, Aho and Patrik Laine were invited to join the men's team for May's World Championship in Russia. Finland came up just short with a silver medal, with Aho collecting seven points in 10 games.

Aho also earned a valuable opportunity to audition for his future Carolina Hurricanes coach Bill Peters, who was manning the bench for Team Canada. He signed an entry-level contract in June and should have a chance to make an immediate impact in the NHL next season.

6. Jimmy Vesey

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Age to start 2015-16 Season: 22. He was drafted 66th overall in 2012.

2015-16 Stats

• NCAA: Harvard: 33 GP, 24-22-46.

Total NHL Games Played: 0

Rookie-Season Outlook 

Jimmy Vesey is a tough player to rank because it's unknown where he'll be playing this coming season. That's reflected here by his middle-of-the-pack ranking.

The 2016 Hobey Baker winner decided to exercise his right to become an unrestricted free agent following four years at Harvard. That means he'll be putting himself in a position he believes he'll find most favorable once his free-agency period officially begins on August 15.

The Buffalo Sabres took a chance and acquired Vesey's signing rights from the Nashville Predators in June. They're hoping they can convince the Boston-area native his best fit would be on an up-and-coming team that features offseason workout partner Jack Eichel. 

Greg Wyshynski of Puck Daddy recently sized up Vesey's options and believes Vesey will land in his own backyard. He'd get plenty of on-ice opportunities—and get buttered-up big time by the local press—if signed with the Boston Bruins.

5. Mike Matheson, Florida Panthers

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Age to start 2015-16 Season: 22. He was drafted 23rd overall in 2012.

2015-16 Stats

• AHL: Portland Pirates: 54 GP, 8-12-10; playoffs 3 GP, 0-1-1
• NHL: Florida Panthers: 3 GP, 0-0-0; playoffs 5 GP, 0-1-1

Total NHL Games Played: 3 regular season; 5 playoffs.

Rookie-Season Outlook 

Watch for Mike Matheson to be a breakout Calder candidate in 2016-17.

The 22-year-old is already four years removed from being drafted and has spent his time wisely, with three seasons at Boston College and one year spent mostly in the AHL.

After a late-season call-up by the injury-stricken Florida Panthers last spring, Matheson was solid on the blue line during the first round of the playoffs and went on to earn gold for Team Canada at the World Championship in Russia.

The media also named Matheson to the tournament's All-Star team, and he got the nod as best defenseman from the directorate, per the International Ice Hockey Federation website.

The Panthers have majorly overhauled their blue line this offseason. Keep an eye on Matheson as an important part of the new-look defense.

4. Oliver Bjorkstrand, Columbus Blue Jackets

Gerry Broome/Associated Press

Age to start 2015-16 Season: 21. He was drafted 89th overall in 2013.

2015-16 Stats

• AHL: Lake Erie Monsters: 51 GP, 17-12-29; playoffs 17 GP, 10-6-16.
• NHL: Columbus Blue Jackets: 12 GP, 4-4-8.

Total NHL Games Played: 12

Rookie-Season Outlook 

One year removed from his junior career with the Portland Winterhawks of the WHL, Danish right wing Oliver Bjorkstrand got a 12-game taste of NHL action with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2015-16. His real impact, however, came during the AHL playoffs, during which he scored an astonishing six game-winning goals as the Lake Erie Monsters captured the Calder Cup.

Per the AHL website, Bjorkstrand scored the winner in the last three games of the Calder Cup Final against the Hershey Bears, including the only goal of the Cup-clinching game, with two seconds left to play in the first overtime period.

It seems Bjorkstrand has a flair for the dramatic. If he can continue to be a clutch scorer next season in Columbus, he would barge his way into the Calder discussion in spite of his humble status as a third-round draft pick.

3. Patrik Laine, Winnipeg Jets

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Age to start 2015-16 Season: 18. He was drafted 2nd overall in 2016.

2015-16 Stats

• Finland: Tappara: 46 GP, 17-16-33; playoffs 18 GP, 10-5-15.

Total NHL Games Played: 0

Rookie-Season Outlook 

If the Calder Trophy was awarded solely for charisma, Finland's Patrik Laine would win it hands down next season.

A brash, confident personality who also happens to possess an Alexander Ovechkin-like wrist shot, Laine will bring a big dose of personality to the Winnipeg Jets in 2015-16.

Laine has more swagger than another super sniper from Finland who became a star in Winnipeg in the '90s, Teemu Selanne, but the comparisons between the two are justified.

The 18-year-old MVP of the men's 2016 World Championship made a push to supplant Auston Matthews as this year's top draft pick, and with his offense-oriented playing style, there's a good chance he'll finish his rookie year above Matthews in the scoring race.

Expect to see Laine make a splash when he lands in the NHL this fall.

2. Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs

Pavel Golovkin/Associated Press

Age to start 2015-16 Season: 19. He was drafted 1st overall in 2016.

2015-16 Stats

• Switzerland: ZSC Lions: 36 GP, 24-22-46; playoffs 4 GP, 0-3-3.

Total NHL Games Played: 0

Rookie-Season Outlook 

As a first overall draft pick starting his NHL career in the center of the hockey universe, Toronto, Auston Matthews certainly won't fly under the radar next season.

His coach, Mike Babcock, is a conservative character who doesn't like to give youngsters too much responsibility until they've shown they can handle themselves at both ends of the ice, but that's where Matthews excels.

He won't turn 19 until September, but he is already playing in the rugged 6'2", 210-pound body of a man and has a two-way sensibility to match.

Matthews isn't as flashy as a franchise center like Sidney Crosby. He might not be as offensively gifted as McDavid. But he can be trusted. That trait will earn him ice time from Babcock and heaps of praise from the Toronto-based media.

1. Matt Murray, Pittsburgh Penguins

Keith Srakocic/Associated Press

Age to start 2015-16 Season: 22. He was drafted 83rd overall in 2012.

2015-16 Stats

• AHL: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins: 31 GP, 20-9-1, 2.10 GAA, .931 save percentage.
• NHL: Pittsburgh Penguins: 13 GP, 9-2-1, 2.00 GAA, .930 save percentage; playoffs 21 GP, 15-6-0, 2.08 GAA, .923 save percentage.

Total NHL Games Played: 13 regular season; 21 playoffs.

Rookie-Season Outlook 

Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Matt Murray has a chance to follow in the footsteps of the great Ken Dryden by earning his first Stanley Cup ring before taking a run at the Calder Trophy as the league's top rookie.

Two concussions for Penguins starter Marc-Andre Fleury during the 2015-16 season gave Murray the opportunity to show his stuff at the NHL level, and he proved to be up for the challenge.

By the time Fleury was well enough to get back into action in the playoffs, Murray had claimed the net for himself. The veteran saw action in just two games of the Eastern Conference Final; Murray played every second of Pittsburgh's six-game Cup win over the San Jose Sharks.

Before Murray gets back to work in Pittsburgh next fall, he'll have a chance to add another award to his collection. Team North America, made up of players aged 23 and under, could be true contenders at September's World Cup of Hockey if Murray can replicate his playoff form.

All stats courtesy of HockeyDB.com.