|
Displaying pretext
With the NHL season at its halfway mark, we've decided to take a look at how the Calder race is shaping up, picking out the youngsters who have performed at a high level, the ones who have come out of nowhere, and one rook who has failed to meet expectations.
For each player we've included basic stats and GVT -- our proprietary value metric, which you can read about in more detail here -- in addition to projections based on their performance outside the NHL last year. Since VUKOTA does not project for players who have not played previously in the NHL, we use something called NHL League Equivalencies (NHLE). NHLE allows us to project a player's stats for the current NHL season based on his performance in a non-NHL league the year before, and is adjusted for different league qualities and player age.
Note: Stats are accurate as of games ending Jan. 15, and all players included below are Calder eligible.
Standouts
| 
From Daigle To Datsyuk (01/01)
1 comment has been left for this article. 
I would have included Michael Grabner of the Islanders as well. It's funny, because my opinion about him has changed over the last month. For a good part of the year, Grabner got too much credit--anyone closely following the Isles and being honest about it would have noted that his only tool was his speed. Once Grabner got close to getting a shot off, it always seemed to go right into the goalie's breadbasket. But that's changed of recent. Grabner has often been the best Islander/best plater on the ice, creating even more chances and often finishing them as he was not doing before. Anyone looking for a potential second half breakout has one here.