Connor Bedard winning the Calder Trophy feels like a foregone conclusion. The ultra-talented teenager has been as advertised in his rookie season with the Chicago Blackhawks.
There is one player who could at least make things interesting, though. Minnesota Wild defenceman Brock Faber has built up support as a result of his steady play on the team’s injury-ravaged back end. Captain Jared Spurgeon, out for the season because of hip and back injuries, was limited to 16 games this season. Jonas Brodin has also missed 20 games.
Faber leads all rookies and is seventh among all skaters in ice time per game (25:05). Since the NHL began tracking time on ice in 1997-98, no rookie has averaged 25 minutes over a full season. (Defenceman Jamie McBain played 25:47 per game for the Carolina Hurricanes in 2009-10, but he appeared in only 14 games.)
Unlike Bedard, Faber does not regularly appear on highlight reels. But he has shown tremendous poise for a 21-year-old playing top-pairing minutes, routinely making the right play to get the Wild out of trouble. (When Bedard missed time in January and February because of a fractured jaw, Faber led rookies with 17 points in 16 games in Bedard’s absence.)
There is a recent example of a defenceman beating out the hotshot forward for the Calder Trophy. In 2021-22, Detroit’s Moritz Seider won the award over Anaheim’s Trevor Zegras, earning 170 of 195 first-place votes. Zegras had the sizzle, but Seider led all rookies in total ice time (1,889:22) and put up 50 points. (Faber, who has received 1,781:07 of ice time in 71 games, is on pace for 46 points.)
In any other season, Faber probably would be voted the top rookie in the league. But Bedard has lived up to the hype, producing at an 80-point pace over 82 games with an unimpressive supporting cast. (The two Blackhawks forwards who have shared the most ice time with Bedard at even strength are Philipp Kurashev and Nick Foligno.)
Although Bedard is the likely winner of the Calder Trophy, Faber should not be too far behind on the ballot.
“He’s an incredible player in this league, already, at 18 years old,” Faber told The Athletic. “Obviously they’re struggling in Chicago and he’s still finding a way to put up points and make a difference. As an 18-year-old kid, that’s crazy. That’s me three years ago. He’s a superstar in this league already, and he’s going to be for a long time. … You’ve got to tip your cap to a guy like that.”
All stats via Sportlogiq
