The Calder Race

For the first time in forever, the Edmonton Oilers have a legit Calder candidate in Andrew Cogliano. Unlike Ales Hemsky or the other young gun Sam Gagner, Cogliano has all of his cannons pointed in the right direction:

• He’s 20
• He’s got a job
• He’s getting minutes
• He’s performing

According to nhl.com (who don’t like Kyle Brodziak as a rookie, don’t know the criteria but it looks like he doesn’t qualify for the Calder) here are the top 7 rookie forwards in terms of time on ice per game:

1. Pat Kane 18:11
2. Jonathan Toews 17:46
3. David Krejci 16:58
4. Martin Hanzal 15:13
5. Andrew Cogliano 14:45
6. Sam Gagner 14:40
7. Bryan Littler 14:16

Toews is already getting a lot of attention, but so is Cogliano. The London Knights underagers will likely fall back a little as the season wears on and Krejci too is unlikely to keep pace. Hanzal is a very interesting prospect, as is Peter Mueller. Here’s top 5 in forward scoring among rookies:

1. Patrick Kane 7gp, 1-6-7
2. Andrew Cogliano 7gp, 2-4-6
3. Daniel Carcillo 6gp, 2-2-4
4. Jonathan Toews 5gp, 2-3-5
5. Sam Gagner 6gp, 0-4-4
6. Niklas Backstrom 6gp, 0-4-4

And finally plus minus:

1. Andrew Cogliano +4
2. Bryan Little +3
3. Jared Boll +2
4. Patrick Kane +2
5. 10 players tied at +1

Andrew Cogliano would have to be considered a front runner (along with Toews and Kane) among forwards for the 07-08 Calder Trophy.