Calder Memorial Trophy facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Calder Memorial Trophy

Sport	Ice hockey
Given for	Rookie of the Year in the National Hockey League
History
First award	1936–37 NHL season
Most recent	Lane Hutson Montreal Canadiens

The Calder Memorial Trophy is a special award given each year in the National Hockey League (NHL). It goes to the player who is voted the best "rookie" of the year. A rookie is a player in their first full season in the league.

The award is named after Frank Calder, who was the very first president of the NHL. The trophy has been given out since the 1936–37 NHL season. After the regular season ends, members of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association vote to choose the winner.

Who Can Win the Award?
History of the Trophy
Winners
Gallery of Famous Winners
See also

Who Can Win the Award?

To be able to win the Calder Trophy, a player must be a "rookie." The NHL has specific rules for what makes a player a rookie.

A player cannot have played more than 25 games in a single NHL season before. They also can't have played six or more games in two different seasons before. These rules make sure the award goes to a true newcomer.

There is also an age limit. A player must be 26 years old or younger by September 15 of their rookie season. This rule was added in 1991.

Interestingly, playoff games don't count towards these limits. This led to a very unusual situation in 1972. Goalie Ken Dryden won the Calder Trophy even though he had already won the Stanley Cup and the playoff MVP award the season before!

History of the Trophy

NHL president Red Dutton gives the Calder Memorial Trophy to Gus Bodnar in 1944.

The Calder Memorial Trophy is named for Frank Calder. He was the president of the NHL from its start in 1917 until he died in 1943.

The NHL started giving out a "Rookie of the Year" award in the 1932–33 season. At first, Frank Calder himself would buy a trophy each year for the winner. After he passed away, the league created a permanent trophy and named it the Calder Memorial Trophy to honor him.

Players from the Toronto Maple Leafs have won the trophy the most, with ten winners. The most recent Maple Leafs player to win was Auston Matthews in 2017. The Chicago Blackhawks are second, with nine winners.

Today, sports writers vote for the winner. They rank their top five choices, and the player with the most points wins. The top three players are called "finalists," and the winner is announced at the NHL Awards ceremony after the playoffs.

Winners

Here is a list of all the players who have won the Calder Memorial Trophy.

Positions key
C	Centre
LW	Left wing
RW	Right wing
D	Defence
G	Goaltender

Player is still active in the NHL Player is inducted in the Hockey Hall of Fame

Calder Memorial Trophy winners
Season	Winner	Team	Position	Age
1932–33	Voss, CarlCarl Voss	Detroit Red Wings	C	25
1933–34	Blinco, RussRuss Blinco	Montreal Maroons	C	25
1934–35	Schriner, SweeneySweeney Schriner	New York Americans	LW	22
1935–36	Karakas, MikeMike Karakas	Chicago Black Hawks	G	23
1936–37	Apps, SylSyl Apps	Toronto Maple Leafs	C	21
1937–38	Dahlstrom, CullyCully Dahlstrom	Chicago Black Hawks	C	24
1938–39	Brimsek, FrankFrank Brimsek	Boston Bruins	G	24
1939–40	MacDonald, KilbyKilby MacDonald	New York Rangers	LW	25
1940–41	Quilty, JohnnyJohnny Quilty	Montreal Canadiens	C	19
1941–42	Warwick, GrantGrant Warwick	New York Rangers	RW	19
1942–43	Stewart, GayeGaye Stewart	Toronto Maple Leafs	RW	19
1943–44	Bodnar, GusGus Bodnar	Toronto Maple Leafs	C	20
1944–45	McCool, FrankFrank McCool	Toronto Maple Leafs	G	25
1945–46	Laprade, EdgarEdgar Laprade	New York Rangers	C	25
1946–47	Meeker, HowieHowie Meeker	Toronto Maple Leafs	RW	21
1947–48	McFadden, JimJim McFadden	Detroit Red Wings	C	27
1948–49	Lund, PenttiPentti Lund	New York Rangers	RW	22
1949–50	Gelineau, JackJack Gelineau	Boston Bruins	G	24
1950–51	Sawchuk, TerryTerry Sawchuk	Detroit Red Wings	G	20
1951–52	Geoffrion, BernieBernie Geoffrion	Montreal Canadiens	RW	20
1952–53	Worsley, GumpGump Worsley	New York Rangers	G	23
1953–54	Henry, CamilleCamille Henry	New York Rangers	C	20
1954–55	Litzenberger, EdEd Litzenberger	Chicago Black Hawks	RW	22
1955–56	Hall, GlennGlenn Hall	Detroit Red Wings	G	23
1956–57	Regan, LarryLarry Regan	Boston Bruins	RW	26
1957–58	Mahovlich, FrankFrank Mahovlich	Toronto Maple Leafs	LW	19
1958–59	Backstrom, RalphRalph Backstrom	Montreal Canadiens	C	20
1959–60	Hay, BillBill Hay	Chicago Black Hawks	C	23
1960–61	Keon, DaveDave Keon	Toronto Maple Leafs	C	20
1961–62	Rousseau, BobbyBobby Rousseau	Montreal Canadiens	RW	21
1962–63	Douglas, KentKent Douglas	Toronto Maple Leafs	D	26
1963–64	Laperriere, JacquesJacques Laperriere	Montreal Canadiens	D	21
1964–65	Crozier, RogerRoger Crozier	Detroit Red Wings	G	22
1965–66	Selby, BritBrit Selby	Toronto Maple Leafs	LW	20
1966–67	Orr, BobbyBobby Orr	Boston Bruins	D	18
1967–68	Sanderson, DerekDerek Sanderson	Boston Bruins	C	21
1968–69	Grant, DannyDanny Grant	Minnesota North Stars	RW	23
1969–70	Esposito, TonyTony Esposito	Chicago Black Hawks	G	26
1970–71	Perreault, GilbertGilbert Perreault	Buffalo Sabres	C	19
1971–72	Dryden, KenKen Dryden	Montreal Canadiens	G	24
1972–73	Vickers, SteveSteve Vickers	New York Rangers	LW	21
1973–74	Potvin, DenisDenis Potvin	New York Islanders	D	19
1974–75	Vail, EricEric Vail	Atlanta Flames	LW	20
1975–76	Trottier, BryanBryan Trottier	New York Islanders	C	19
1976–77	Plett, WilliWilli Plett	Atlanta Flames	RW	21
1977–78	Bossy, MikeMike Bossy	New York Islanders	RW	20
1978–79	Smith, BobbyBobby Smith	Minnesota North Stars	C	20
1979–80	Bourque, RayRay Bourque	Boston Bruins	D	19
1980–81	Stastny, PeterPeter Stastny	Quebec Nordiques	C	24
1981–82	Hawerchuk, DaleDale Hawerchuk	Winnipeg Jets	C	18
1982–83	Larmer, SteveSteve Larmer	Chicago Black Hawks	RW	21
1983–84	Barrasso, TomTom Barrasso	Buffalo Sabres	G	18
1984–85	Lemieux, MarioMario Lemieux	Pittsburgh Penguins	C	19
1985–86	Suter, GaryGary Suter	Calgary Flames	D	21
1986–87	Robitaille, LucLuc Robitaille	Los Angeles Kings	LW	20
1987–88	Nieuwendyk, JoeJoe Nieuwendyk	Calgary Flames	C	21
1988–89	Leetch, BrianBrian Leetch	New York Rangers	D	20
1989–90	Makarov, SergeiSergei Makarov	Calgary Flames	RW	31
1990–91	Belfour, EdEd Belfour	Chicago Blackhawks	G	25
1991–92	Bure, PavelPavel Bure	Vancouver Canucks	RW	20
1992–93	Selanne, TeemuTeemu Selanne	Winnipeg Jets	RW	22
1993–94	Brodeur, MartinMartin Brodeur	New Jersey Devils	G	21
1994–95	Forsberg, PeterPeter Forsberg	Quebec Nordiques	C	21
1995–96	Alfredsson, DanielDaniel Alfredsson	Ottawa Senators	RW	22
1996–97	Berard, BryanBryan Berard	New York Islanders	D	19
1997–98	Samsonov, SergeiSergei Samsonov	Boston Bruins	LW	19
1998–99	Drury, ChrisChris Drury	Colorado Avalanche	C	22
1999–2000	Gomez, ScottScott Gomez	New Jersey Devils	C	19
2000–01	Nabokov, EvgeniEvgeni Nabokov	San Jose Sharks	G	25
2001–02	Heatley, DanyDany Heatley	Atlanta Thrashers	RW	20
2002–03	Jackman, BarretBarret Jackman	St. Louis Blues	D	21
2003–04	Raycroft, AndrewAndrew Raycroft	Boston Bruins	G	23
2004–05	—	—	—	—
2005–06	Ovechkin, AlexanderAlexander Ovechkin	Washington Capitals	LW	20
2006–07	Malkin, EvgeniEvgeni Malkin	Pittsburgh Penguins	C	20
2007–08	Kane, PatrickPatrick Kane	Chicago Blackhawks	RW	19
2008–09	Mason, SteveSteve Mason	Columbus Blue Jackets	G	21
2009–10	Myers, TylerTyler Myers	Buffalo Sabres	D	20
2010–11	Skinner, JeffJeff Skinner	Carolina Hurricanes	C	19
2011–12	Landeskog, GabrielGabriel Landeskog	Colorado Avalanche	LW	19
2012–13	Huberdeau, JonathanJonathan Huberdeau	Florida Panthers	LW	19
2013–14	MacKinnon, NathanNathan MacKinnon	Colorado Avalanche	C	18
2014–15	Ekblad, AaronAaron Ekblad	Florida Panthers	D	19
2015–16	Panarin, ArtemiArtemi Panarin	Chicago Blackhawks	LW	24
2016–17	Matthews, AustonAuston Matthews	Toronto Maple Leafs	C	19
2017–18	Barzal, MathewMathew Barzal	New York Islanders	C	21
2018–19	Pettersson, EliasElias Pettersson	Vancouver Canucks	C	20
2019–20	Makar, CaleCale Makar	Colorado Avalanche	D	21
2020–21	Kaprizov, KirillKirill Kaprizov	Minnesota Wild	LW	24
2021–22	Seider, MoritzMoritz Seider	Detroit Red Wings	D	21
2022–23	Beniers, MattyMatty Beniers	Seattle Kraken	C	20
2023–24	Bedard, ConnorConnor Bedard	Chicago Blackhawks	C	18
2024–25	Hutson, LaneLane Hutson	Montreal Canadiens	D	21