Our Calder Memorial Trophy Candidate

There have been roughly 74 winners of the Calder Memorial Trophy, which is given 'to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the National Hockey League'. The difference in the number of times the trophy has been awarded really depends on what source you use. According to the National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book (2008 edition), The NHL President, Frank Calder, bought a trophy each year and awarded it to the outstanding rookie in that season. After his death in 1943, the league presented the cup as we know it today, in honor of Calder. It appears that the early records for awarding this trophy began after the 1932-33 season, as Carl Voss is listed as the first recipient according to ESPN.com.

I am not going to pretend that I have seen most of the past winner of the Calder cup play, as most of them were winners long before I was born. In fact, it would not be a stretch to say that I have not even heard of a good chunk of the winners. I actually get lost in the list of winners prior to the Bobby Orr rookie season of 1967 and after that, there are names here and there that I still do not recognize. But the ones I do are or were, for the most part, true super-stars in the NHL. There is a good portion that are or will be a who's who in the Hall.

So now that I have laid the ground work for my working knowledge of the trophy and its winners, or lack there of, I believe that there is a case to be made for awarding the Calder Memorial Trophy to our own Cal Clutterbuck. Of course this is said with the premise that he continues on the path he has laid so far this season. Russo mentioned him in his recent 'The Best Of The First Half', as a potential candidate. Whether or not that was a tongue-and-cheek mention, I do not know. But truth be told, I have been pondering that exact idea for a couple of weeks. In reality does he have a chance? No way. History shows that the top rookie scorer (or one of the top), an outstanding goaltender, or a defenseman who was seen as a good two-way player, will be the winner. But what about the grinders? The guys that bang around and dig in the corners and do, you know, the little stuff we always hear about. Clutterbuck is that guy.

Unfortunately Clutterbuck does not score nearly enough. His 9 points this season puts him in a 4-way tie at 31st in rookie scoring. His -2 puts him way off the pace of the +47 that Minnesota native Blake Wheeler has so far this season. And his average time on the ice does not even put him on the first page as tracked by ESPN.com. So why does he deserve a look?

Once again it's the little things that he does. He knows when to drop the gloves and when not to. He goes in the corners, always. Clutterbuck is the energizer bunny of this team. And not only does he finish his checks, he knows how to hit. His 160 hits not only ranks him atop the rookie list, it puts him 3rd overall in the league. His other note-worthy stats include being in the top half of the rookies in shots on goal (56, tied for 21st) and blocked shots (19, 17th).

For a guy who did not even make the opening day 23-man roster, Cal Clutterbuck has had a real nice rookie season. He makes his presence known every shift that he gets, and gives us that reckless play that is fun to watch. Unfortunately though, he will not get the Calder Memorial Trophy this season. For those of us that do like to think outside of the box however, he makes a great candidate for top rookie.