Off The Crossbar

It’s a little early for awards talk—even I can admit that. However, a handful of rookies have been making cases—and names—for themselves throughout the first few games of the season, so let’s dive into five first year players who could find themselves in contention for the award come next summer. 

Ivan Demidov 

Montreal comes off a season where rookie success was turned into hardware for defenseman Lane Hutson, and they’re hoping the same can be said for Demidov. The right-winger was able to showcase what he can bring to the table in limited time last season when he played two regular season games for the Canadiens toward the end of the 2024-25 campaign, only bringing more excitement to Bell Centre as this season got underway. His three points through four games has him keeping pace with other rookies in the hunt for the Calder Trophy, and given that the Canadiens might just be playoff bound again, he’ll get the exposure he needs to prove that he can play at NHL level for an extended period of time.

Zeev Buium 

Minnesota’s first round pick in 2024 brings a wealth of big-game experience to the Wild, competing for the United States at several junior competitions in addition to skating alongside other NHLers at the 2025 IIHF World Championship. He comes into this season as one of the more-highly touted rookie of the year candidates, and given his play thus far in 2025-26 (1-4–5 in 4 GP) he has proven useful to the Wild’s gameplay. Buium’s statline of over a point per game played puts him on track to crush the franchise record for most points by a rookie defensemen set by Brock Faber in 2023-24 (47) and if he does that, not only will the Wild find themselves winning games, but he just may find himself up for more than just the Calder at year’s end. 

Matthew Schaefer 

Perhaps the player with the most pressure on him coming into the 2025-26 season, the 2025 number one overall pick has had his work cut out for him through the Islanders first three games of the season with the team unable to secure a win thus far. Despite the rocky start, Schaefer has played well sitting his time on the ice, securing a point in each of the Isles three games to bring his season totals to 1-2–3; there’s a lot of pressure on the Hamilton, Ontario product to produce for a team with no feasible immediate goals, and that can be rough for someone as young as Schaefer. Nevertheless, he’s setting records with his age early, becoming the youngest defenseman in NHL history to record a point in his NHL debut. I’d say he’s at a little bit of a disadvantage than most of the guys on this list since the Islanders have what looks like the rockiest start on paper, but who knows, he may just be exactly what they need to get going.  

Ryan Leonard

Leonard is an interesting piece to this year’s Calder race, as he brings the most playoff experience of these five to the table, appearing in eight games for the Capitals throughout the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs. Furthermore, he is the only rookie to play on a somewhat recent Cup-winning team, and learning from the most prolific goalscorer in NHL history might just have a huge impact on his game. He hasn’t quite lived up to expectations so far in 2025-26 with just one goal scored through four games, but it would be unreasonable to expect a rookie to come out guns blazing to begin their first campaign in the best league in the world. I have no doubt he’ll get his feet under him as the season progresses, and if his college and national team experience are anything to go by, he could just be the X factor Washington needs to go from President’s Trophy winners to Stanley Cup Champions.   

Beckett Sennecke 

The third overall pick by the Ducks in 2024 spent last season with the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League, tallying 36-50–86 in 56 GP after coming back from an injury midseason. That success has translated well to NHL play early on in 2025-26, as the Toronto native has found the scoresheet in all three games for the Ducks to start the campaign. He joins a mix of young players and seasoned veterans in Anaheim, which could heavily contribute to his performance as we get deeper into the campaign, especially considering the Ducks look to rely on high-scoring performances from their young core in Mason McTavish, Leo Carlsson, and Sennecke. While he’s not as high profile as some of the other names on this list, he could very well be a surprise contender throughout the campaign, so it’s worth keeping an eye on him as he gets more NHL experience.