We are officially at the halfway point of the 2024-2025 NHL season, with each team play over 41 games. With a decent sample size in, let’s take a look at the newcomers in the league and see which youngsters are in line for the Calder Trophy if they keep up their stellar play.

This list is in no particular order, just the most likely candidates to take home the award at season’s end.

Macklin Celebrini – San Jose Sharks (C)

The 2024 first overall pick has lived up to the incredibly high expectations throughout the first 33 games of his career.

His 29 points (13 goals 16 assists) puts him third in scoring among rookies this year. Impressively, he’s done this despite missing 12 games due to injury. For a better representation of how good he’s been in comparison to his rookie counterparts, he leads all rookies in points per game with .875.

Matvei Michkov – Philadelphia Flyers (RW)

The Russian right wing has come on and made immediate impact for the Flyers, with 31 points (13 goals 18 assists) in 43 games played so far.

He has been clutch for the Flyers as well, with three overtime goals already (most among all rookies). He has fared well in power play minutes as well as he has racked up 13 points (6 goals 7 assists) in these minutes.

His one big flaw however, is his defense, as he has been shaky on that end of the puck (minus 13 on the year). At just 20 years old though, he has plenty of time to learn and adjust and improve.

Dustin Wolf – Calgary Flames (G)

The Calgary Flames are sitting at an impressive 21-15-7, aiming for a playoff spot. Their 23 year old goaltender has a large part in their success, as his .916 save percentage and 2.50 GAA are both strong numbers.

The current league average save percentage is .901, meaning Wolf has been well above average in that category.

Lane Hutson – Montreal Canadiens (D)

The 20 year old defenseman has been an integral part of the Canadiens offense, with 32 assists and 3 goals. He is third in team scoring, only trailing Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield.

he has shown his ability to quarterback the power-play, with an impressive 14 power-play points. However, he has shown the ability to be just as effective at five-on-five, with all three of his goals occurring at full strength.

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