Tough battle at the top in race for Calder Trophy!

Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar , Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes , and Chicago Blackhawks forward Dominik Kubalik have been voted as the three finalists for the Calder Memorial Trophy, the league announced Wednesday.

The trophy is awarded to the league’s top rookie.

It feels almost certain that Kubalik will not win the award — Makar and Hughes are the other two finalists and are considered neck-and-neck frontrunners. 

A tough battle at the top as many pundits and fans wonder who will come out on top. 

It remains quite an accomplishment for Kublaik nonetheless, he who tallied 30 goals and 46 points in 68 games for the Hawks this year. No other rookie this season scored more than 20 goals (Buffalo’s Victor Olofsson and Dallas’ Denis Gurianov both hit that mark).

The fight will be tough between Makar and Hughes. Both defensemen have managed to separate themselves from the rest of the rookie class and both have put together very strong point totals. 

The Avalanche blue liner has played 11 fewer games than Hughes while totalling only three fewer points than his Canucks rival. While Makar beats Hughes in the points-per-game department, he has also scored four more goals than Hughes.  This could be why Makar edges out Hughes in the race for the title for the best rookie, giving the Avalanche their third Calder Trophy winner in the past nine years.

But who knows? Hughes was a brilliant part of the Canucks’ success this season and could come out on top. 

As you have noticed from the league’s announcement, top picks of the 2019 NHL Draft Jack Hughes and Kaapo Kakko failed to meet expectations this season and never found themselves in the race. 

We have neck-and-neck frontrunners and we cannot wait to see who’s the ultimate winner!