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Colorado Avalanche Rookie Cale Makar Still in Calder Race

By Nadia Archuleta

DENVER, COLORADO - DECEMBER 27: Cale Makar #8 of the Colorado Avalanche looks on during a break in the action against the Minnesota Wild at Pepsi Center on December 27, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Michael Martin/NHLI via Getty Images)
DENVER, COLORADO - DECEMBER 27: Cale Makar #8 of the Colorado Avalanche looks on during a break in the action against the Minnesota Wild at Pepsi Center on December 27, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Michael Martin/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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Despite missing eight games due to an injury, Colorado Avalanche rookie Cale Makar is still in the race for the Calder Trophy for rookie of the year.

The Colorado Avalanche’s prized rookie, Cale Makar, missed eight games with an upper-body injury after a nasty hit from nasty Brad Marchand. We all feared the worst when we saw him skate off the ice and go down the tunnel — a long-term absence. However, we were lucky, and Makar only missed eight games.

Before the injury, Cale Makar had been a heavy favorite for the Calder Trophy for rookie of the year. At one point, he was scoring at a pace not seen in a rookie defenseman in 100 years. Naturally, that all ended with his eight-game absence.

Or did it? Obviously, he didn’t record any points during those eight games, which is usually how Calder candidates are distinguished. He’d had such solid footing, though, that he didn’t lose a ton of ground in that time. And when he returned to action, he immediately started accumulating points again — he earned an assist in his first game back.

At the time of writing, only one player was ahead of Makar for rookie scoring — Buffalo’s Victor Olofsson, a forward. Olofsson has 34 points (16 goals, 18 assists) to Makar’s 29 points (8 goals, 21 assists).

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Olofsson, a forward, has played nine games more than Makar. So, not only has Olofsson had a lot more time to record those extra five points, he’s a forward, the position tasked with recording points. Makar, of course, is a defenseman.

Interestingly, the rookie who’s directly behind Makar in scoring is also a defenseman — Quinn Hughes of the Vancouver Canucks. He has 27 points (3 goals, 24 assists) so far. But he’s played 37 games to Makar’s 30.

Clearly, if you look at positions, forwards are usually expected to be higher scorers than defensemen. So, a defenseman being so close in scoring to a forward should be to his favor.

What’s more, Makar is crushing the points-per-game totals over the other two players. He’s at .967 per game. Olofsson is at .871, while Hughes is at .730.

Just behind those top three, we have the following rookie players:

  • Ilya Mikheyev (F): 23 points (8 goals, 15 assists) in 39 games
  • Martin Necas (F): 21 points (8 goals, 13 assists) in 34 games
  • Nick Suzuki (F): 19 points (7 goals, 12 assists) in 37 games

Interestingly, 2019’s #1 pick, Jack Hughes, is #12 on the list with 14 points (5 goals, 9 assists) in 34 games. The #2 pick in 2019, Kaapo Kakko, is at #10 with 14 points (6 goals, 8 assists) in 33 games. The NHL is tough for 18 year olds.

No shade to any of the players in this post — it’s amazing to come into the best hockey league in the world and score at all, much less at a notable pace.

Makar at Hobey Baker Ceremony. dark. Next

That said, I’m just happy that our superstud rookie, the “consolation prize” for enduring the 48-point season just to lose the draft lottery, didn’t get discounted from the Calder Trophy race just because of one jealous rat.

Cale Makar deserves the Calder Trophy for rookie of the year.

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