With more than a quarter of the 2019-20 National Hockey League season in the books, SB Nation reached out to their FanPulse voters to ask a few important questions.
One of them being – Who Will Win the Calder Trophy?
There happens to be a very talented rookie forward in Buffalo who just so happened to be named by the FanPulse voters.
It comes as no surprise that Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar leads the way by a large margin.
Makar, 21 years old, has 26 points (eight goals, 18 assists) in 26 games. His advanced defensive ability at such a young age has caught the eye of many throughout the league.
Rolling in with a little under 20% of the votes is another young defenseman – Quinn Hughes.
Hughes, 20 years old, much like Makar, looks like he belongs in the National Hockey League.
Hughes has 23 points (two goals, 21 assists) in 27 games.
Coming in third is the man simply known as #Goalofsson – Buffalo Sabres forward Victor Olofsson.
Olofsson, 24 years old, has amassed 22 points (11 goals, 11 assists) in 28 games. Olofsson is currently on-pace for 32 goals, which would be the fourth-most goals scored by a Sabres rookie in a season.
The one thing Sabres have come to know and love is Olofsson’s shot. When coming to North America a few years after being drafted in 2014, many scouts noted that it would be Olofsson’s shot that would elevate him to the National Hockey League.
Turns out, they were right.
Colorado Avalanche scout, and old coach of Olofsson, Henrik Gradin told Buffalo Sabres Senior Coordinator of Media and Content Jourdon LaBarber back in October that Olofsson’s shot is among the best he has seen in his 25 years of playing, coaching and scouting.
“His wrist shot, to be that precise, to really shoot that hard and be that precise – If he wants to hit the crossbar, he hits the crossbar. And, he hides his shot so well,” Gradin told LaBarber.
With what we have seen so far through 28 games, Olofsson finds himself among the top rookies in the league – and rightfully so.
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