Trent Reinsmith
- Lucas Raymond of the Detroit Red Wings is the early favorite to win the 2022 Calder Trophy as NHL Rookie of the Year
- Raymond leads rookies in points, goals and assists
- Detroit also has the No. 2 player in the running for the Calder in Moritz Seider
The Calder Memorial Trophy is an annual award that goes to the best rookie player in the NHL. The award is voted upon by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association at the end of the NHL regular season. Three finalists are named after the PWHA members rank their top-five candidates for the award. The players compile points based on a 10-7-5-3-1 points system.
The 2021 Calder Trophy went to Kirill Kaprizov of the Minnesota Wild. The 24-year-old led NHL rookies in goals (27), points (51), power-play goals (eight) and shots on goal (157). Kaprizov received 99 of 100 first place votes.
Before we look at the odds, check out the best NHL betting sites and tips on NHL MVP betting.
2022 Calder Trophy Odds
Detroit Rookies Favorites
The Detroit Red Wings have had five players win the Calder Trophy in franchise history. In somewhat of a surprise, the Red Wings have not had a Rookie of the Year since Roger Crozier won the award in 1964-65. Prior to Crozier, Glenn Hall won in 1955-56 and Terry Sawchuk in 1950-51. Hall, Crozier and Sawchuk were goalies. The last time a skater took home the Calder for the Red Wings was in 1947-48 when Jim McFadden won the award. Carl Voss was the first Calder winner for the Wings. He took home the award in 1932-33.
Lucas Raymond, who was the fourth pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, leads the Red Wings in scoring with 18 points (7 goals and 11 assists). He ranks third in time on ice for Detroit forwards. No NHL rookie has more points, goals or assists than Raymond.
Lucas Raymond, Calder Trophy favorite? 🤔
— NHL (@NHL) November 8, 2021
Moritz Seider, who was drafted with the No. 6 pick in the 2019 draft, is the second leading rookie scorer for Detroit with 13 points (2G, 11A). The 20-year-old is fourth in team scoring and second in time on ice for the club. If Seider wins the Calder, he will be the first defenseman for the Red Wings to win the Rookie of the Year award.
Experience Helps
The Anaheim Ducks are the No. 3 team in the Western Conference and while Trevor Zegras is not leading the team in scoring, the 20-year-old, who was picked No. 9 overall in the 2019 draft, is pitching in. Zegras, who is fourth in rookie scoring, has 6 goals and 4 assists for 10 points. Zegras, despite playing 24 games with the Ducks last season, still qualifies as a rookie.
To qualify as a rookie, an NHL player has to be 25 or under and have not played more than 25 games in the preceding season nor six or more games in two preceding seasons.
Trevor Zegras with an OT tribute to Jack Hughes…throws his stick into the crowd after scoring his 4th goal in his last 2 games. Ducks have won 8 in a row! pic.twitter.com/HIrIW9JXvq
— Jason Gold (@JayGold85) November 17, 2021
Preseason Favorite Struggles
Cole Caufield was the preseason favorite to win the Calder. The bad thing for Caufield is that he’s playing for a Montreal Canadiens club, who has the fourth worst record in the NHL at 4-13-2. Like his team, Caufield had a slow start to the 2021-22 NHL campaign. In 10 NHL games, the 15th pick in the 2019 NHL draft registered a single assist. The Canadiens sent the 20-year-old to the AHL in early November for six games. It’s hard to pick Caufield as anything but an extreme longshot to win the Calder this year.
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