The NHL announced Sunday that Brock Boeser, Mathew Barzal and Clayton Keller have been nominated as the three finalists for the Calder Memorial Trophy - given annually to the league's best rookie.
Barzal shined for the New York Islanders in what was an otherwise extremely disappointing season. He finished with 22 goals and 85 points in 82 games, and was tied for 13th in league scoring. Barzal had one more point than team captain and pending UFA, John Tavares.
As for Keller, he was one of the few productive players on a lowly Arizona Coyotes team, finishing with 23 goals and 65 points. The 19-year-old could be the first Coyotes player to ever win the Calder Trophy since the franchise relocated to Arizona. Dale Hawerchuk and Teemu Selanne both won the award when the franchise was the Winnipeg Jets, in 1982 and 1993, respectively.
Boeser finished in a tie with Daniel Sedin for the lead in Canucks scoring. He could join Pavel Bure as the only Vancouver players to win the Calder Trophy, with the Russian Rocket accomplishing the feat in 1992. Boeser was named the All-Star Game MVP and was easily Vancouver's best player throughout the 2017-18 season.
Though all three rookies shined and look to be perennial All-Stars, Barzal will most likely win the award. 85 points is far better than the totals put up but by both Boeser (who missed the final month with a back injury), and Keller.
But in today's NHL, many of the top rookies only get close to about 50 points a season. If healthy, Boeser would have surpassed the 60-point mark along with Keller and Barzal. This was one of the greatest rookie classes in recent NHL memory, and all three are deserving of the award.