If you thought the race for the Calder Trophy was a fun one last season, the battle for the award in 2024-25 could be even better. With numerous of the NHL’s best prospects entering the league, who are the top contenders to be crowned as the best rookie this season?
In order to be eligible for the award, the guidelines are that “A player cannot have played more than 25 games in any single preceding season nor in six or more games in each of any two preceding seasons in any major professional league. Beginning in 1990-91, a player must not have attained his 26th birthday by Sept. 15 of the season in which he is eligible,” via the NHL. This definition excludes players such as Brandt Clarke of the Los Angeles Kings and Shane Wright of the Seattle Kraken. With that out of the way, let’s take a look at our top contenders.
Matvei Michkov
Matvei Michkov’s contract in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) was set up to keep him there until 2026-27, but his club has allowed him to continue his hockey journey in the NHL with the Philadelphia Flyers. The winger might just be 19 years old, but he has the potential to give them a new offensive identity.
Michkov has put up jaw-dropping numbers everywhere he has been during his hockey career, and that didn’t stop last season in the KHL. Scoring 41 points in 48 games, he came just one point shy of Kirill Kaprizov’s 42-point total for the most among age-19 athletes. Doing this on one of the worst teams in the KHL whilst simultaneously battling pneumonia for portions of the season, he is a superstar prospect.
Michkov’s offensive mind and talent alike could transform a Flyers team that finished 27th in goals last season yet seemed like a lock to make the postseason until they lost nine of their last 11 games. With Philadelphia’s offensive creativity lacking, Michkov is a player who can help everyone around him be better. Even with a head coach like John Tortorella, he should get top-six minutes.
Related: Flyers’ Matvei Michkov & John Tortorella Won’t Be at Odds
The fact that the Flyers could be in the mix for the playoffs this season unlike some of the other top contenders on this list could do a lot of justice for Michkov. If he puts up similar offensive totals to the other rookies but grants Philadelphia their first playoff berth since 2020, voters might have a tough time giving the Calder Trophy to anyone else but the Russian sensation.
Macklin Celebrini
Drafted with the first-overall pick of the 2024 NHL Draft by the San Jose Sharks, centerman Macklin Celebrini has as good of a shot as anyone to take home the Calder Trophy. He became just the fourth freshman in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) history to capture the Hobey Baker Award, joining Paul Kariya, Jack Eichel, and Adam Fantilli. Celebrini scored 64 points in 38 games with Boston University in 2023-24.
Celebrini is the type of player who, even on a poor Sharks team, can be productive at both ends of the ice. Last season, 19-year-old phenom Connor Bedard won the Calder Trophy despite having some of the worst defensive numbers for a forward in the entire league. Scoring 61 points in 68 games helped put him over the top, but it wouldn’t be unreasonable to expect Celebrini to be different.
Not only is Celebrini a dynamic offensive player, but he is also very responsible in his own end. While we can’t directly compare a league like the NCAA to the NHL, the habits are clearly there. He has the talent to immediately take on a top-six role with the Sharks and perhaps be their first-line center if he is impressive enough in training camp and the preseason. With tons of talent, some good forwards around him, and what is likely to be a high workload, there should be some confidence in Celebrini.
Logan Stankoven
Logan Stankoven is not a generational prospect like the last two arguably are, but he is extremely gifted and in an ideal situation. With the retirement of right winger Joe Pavelski from the Dallas Stars, it could be the 21-year-old’s turn to take over on the top line.
Stankoven played the majority of his 2023-24 season in the American Hockey League (AHL), and he was dominant points-wise. He was the only player in the AHL aged 20 or younger to score at least a point per game with double-digit contests on his resume—he had 57 points in 47 games. Clearly, he was ready for the NHL.
The Stars called him up late in the season, and he scored 22 total points in 43 games across the regular season and the playoffs. However, now he has the chance to potentially make the Stars’ first line alongside Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz, which could be his shot at elite production. With a Dallas team that finished with the best record in the Western Conference last season, his numbers at both ends of the ice could be elite. Potentially playing with the best linemates and on the best team of anyone in the top tier of rookies, the odds certainly aren’t against Stankoven.
Lane Hutson
Lane Hutson of the Montreal Canadiens is our first defenseman on this list, but his offensive firepower is as good as any forward. The 20-year-old holds the NCAA record for the highest point-per-game season for both age-18 and age-19 defenders. Scoring 49 points in 38 games in his sophomore campaign with Boston University, he finished just ahead of Luke Hughes of the New Jersey Devils (48 points in 39 games) for the age-19 points-per-game record. For some context, Hughes was a major player in the Calder Trophy race last season, finishing as a finalist behind Bedard and Brock Faber.
Just looking at Montreal’s lineup, Hutson will likely slot behind veteran Mike Matheson on the defense, giving him a second-pairing role. Scoring two points in a two-game stint with the Canadiens at the end of last season, the youngster has essentially already proven that he belongs in the NHL. If he can get some ice time on the power play and minutes with a young but effective first line of Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, and Juraj Slafkovsky, it wouldn’t be unwise to bet on Hutson this season.
Hutson is an incredibly gifted skater with a very high hockey IQ. He made a noticeable difference in 2023-24 in his short stint, but now he has a full season ahead of him to do the same. Only four defensemen have won the Calder Trophy since the 2005 NHL lockout (21.1 percent win rate), but he’s a player who can change that trend.
Cutter Gauthier
Cutter Gauthier is in a similar position as Stankoven since he could be working with a dangerous first line in 2024-25. The Anaheim Ducks winger and centerman scored 65 points in 41 NCAA games in his sophomore campaign last season, finishing with 38 goals. While Anaheim is led mostly by young players, Gauthier is in a desirable situation with a lot of talent around him.
Things could be different by the start of the season, but Gauthier might be working with 19-year-old Leo Carlsson on the Ducks’ top line. The latter was incredible in his rookie campaign for Anaheim, effective at both ends of the ice and displaying astounding talent. A duo like that could put up some sizable offensive totals and make the league take notice. Gauthier, who does a lot of his damage on the power play, is also entering a nice situation with a player like Trevor Zegras by his side.
Gauthier seems to be a tier below Michkov, Celebrini, and Stankoven for this race, but that doesn’t mean he won’t have a shot. Depending on his usage, he could be right up there with them when all is said and done.
Will Smith
Will Smith is our second feature from the Sharks and yet another forward, so he might be out of luck if he’s in a race with Celebrini. However, he could be on the same level or even better than his fellow teammate.
In the NCAA, Smith had 71 points in 41 games following his selection at fourth overall in the 2023 NHL Draft by San Jose. Clearly ready for that next step, he will likely get top-six minutes for the Sharks, so that should allow him to blossom scoring-wise. Being a whole year older than Celebrini could also work in his favor, so that’s a friendly competition to look out for.
Smith’s offensive talent and high hockey IQ are inspiring factors in his game. They could translate to the NHL immediately, making him a lower-end contender for the Calder Trophy, but he is still a heavyweight in the race.
Other Calder Trophy Contenders
There are some other Calder Trophy contenders that won’t exactly make a ton of lists but should still be in the conversation nonetheless. These players range from those who could have to fight for ice time or a roster spot altogether to those simply in an unideal situation. Who are these other candidates?
Center Brad Lambert of the Winnipeg Jets is far from a guarantee to make their roster, but there is a chance that he surprises some people. Losing Sean Monahan to free agency, Winnipeg seems to need a second-line center—that’s where the 20-year-old can come in.
If Stankoven were out of the picture, Lambert would likely be hailed as the best rookie forward in the AHL in 2023-24. He scored 55 points in 64 games for the Manitoba Moose and recorded a point in his lone game with the Jets. This element of youth would be interesting to add to Winnipeg’s season-long roster, and it might give them the spark to follow up their 110-point campaign.
Defenseman Olen Zellweger of the Ducks is a player who we can be pretty confident in to make their team, seeing as he played in 26 contests for them in 2023-24, but his usage will have to increase (19:17 of average ice time) to be in the Calder Trophy discussion. Though he is just 5-foot-9 and 182 pounds, Zellweger is dynamic and projects to be an elite defender in the future. He displayed his offensive upside in the Western Hockey League (WHL), AHL, and even the NHL with nine points, but he will need to be utilized often to be in the discussion. He’s a bit of a sleeper name right now, but he could be one of the best defensemen in the league someday.
We can be sure with 100 percent certainty that Dustin Wolf will make the Calgary Flames’ opening night roster barring an injury of some sort, and he’ll probably be their starting goaltender throughout the entire season. Both the opportunity and his numbers make him a contender for the Calder Trophy.
Just 23, the AHL has been a cakewalk of a league for Wolf. Since being named the starter of the Flames’ AHL affiliate in 2021-22, he has tied the league record (two) of Baz Bastien Awards for the best goaltender in the AHL and has put up a .927 save percentage (SV%), a 2.27 goals-against average (GAA), and a 95-31-9 record in that time frame. Nobody has really come close to this level of dominance during his reign, but he’s not exactly entering the most ideal situation—this is where the positives start to halt.
Whether you want to call the Flames’ process a rebuild or a retool, they made a hockey team with a losing record last season (38-39-5) arguably even worse than it was before. While Calgary doesn’t seem to belong in the discussion for the worst team in the league, they are probably closer to that than they are being a playoff team. They could always make things interesting, but they don’t seem to have the talent to make a legitimate push in a deep Western Conference.
With that being said, the potential stats for Wolf in 2024-25 might not look worthy of winning the Calder Trophy on paper. Even then, this class is so good that he probably won’t be in the conversation anyway unless he takes the Flames to the playoffs or something of that nature. It’s an uphill battle for the young netminder, but that’s not to say it’s impossible for him to turn some heads.
Finally, Mackie Samoskevich of the Florida Panthers could be a name that shows up on some ballots if he is able to make their roster. Obviously, it’s not the easiest thing to make a stacked forward core that just won the Stanley Cup as a 21-year-old player. However, his Lambert-esque production in the AHL (54 points in 62 games) could be enough to get him some big minutes on the offense.
After Sam Reinhart, the Panthers seem to be relatively weak for a contender on the right wing. Evan Rodrigues is the best that there is, but behind him is Mackenzie Entwistle and not much else. At the very least, Samoskevich seems poised to play on the third line. If he can get second-line ice time, though, that’s where we could really see him take charge. He’d likely be paired with Matthew Tkachuk, who is one of the best wingers in the NHL. With either Sam Bennett or Anton Lundell down the middle, he’d be in paradise. You can’t just put anyone with high-quality players and expect it to work, but that’s what makes Samoskevich such a wildcard. Don’t be too surprised if he makes a name for himself.
Even last season, the Calder Trophy seemed like it would always be won by Bedard—it ultimately was. This time around, though, there are so many high-end contenders that there’s no clear-cut winner this time. Winning the award this season may just start an immaculate legacy for a young player.