Murray, Matthews, Laine all beat out for rookie of the month.

An unheralded rookie is taking the NHL by storm.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 7 years ago
Murray, Matthews, Laine all beat out for rookie of the month.
Keystone Press

Just prior to the start of the regular season there were many who believed the race to the Calder Trophy would be a three-man competition. After all the top two picks in the draft, Toronto Maple Leafs' forward Auston Matthews and Winnipeg Jets' forward Patrik Laine, were entering the league with a ton of hype behind them, and Penguins rookie Matt Murray is coming off a playoff run where he lead his team to a Stanley Cup Championship.

However when November's rookie of the month was announced on Thursday all three men were beat in the voting by a relatively unheralded rookie, defenseman Zach Werenski of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Werenski was Columbus' first round pick(8th overall) in the 2015 National Hockey League Entry Draft and he's having one hell of a start to his NHL career.

Werenski had 3 goals and 7 assists in his last 14 games, good for third among all rookies this month and first among defensive rookies, and has 5 goals and 11 assists for a very impressive 16 points in 21 games this season. As a defenseman who is ranked fifth among all rookies in points this season, Werenski is making a legitimate case for Calder contention, especially if he can maintain this pace.

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