To no one’s surprise, New York Islanders winger Mathew Barzal is this year’s recipient of the Calder Memorial Trophy, awarded to the rookie of the year.
It’s official. The young Isles winger has captured the hardware that’s given to the NHL’s rookie of the year.
Mathew Barzal is the first Islander to win the award since Bryan Berard did after scoring eight goals and 48 points as a 19-year-old defenseman during the 1996-97 season.
Overall, he is the fifth Islander in franchise history to win the Calder Memorial Trophy joining Berard, Bryan Trottier, Mike Bossy, and Denis Potvin.
The New York Islanders traded up at the 2015 NHL Entry Draft to select Barzal 16th overall and he nearly made the team out of training camp.
The following season, Barzal put up another dominant training camp and made the team but only played two games with the big club before being returned him to the Seattle Thunderbirds.
This past season, Barzal made the team yet again but this time around, he played in all 82 games. Barzal led the team in scoring and assists with 22 goals and 63 assists for 85 points, one point ahead of the team’s captain, John Tavares.
Barzal, now 21 years-of-age, led all rookies in assists, points, and power play points. He also had three five-point games, eight three-point games, and a hat-trick.
Barzal dominated the Calder voting, getting 160/164 first-place votes. Brock Boeser of the Vancouver Canucks got two first-place votes, Clayton Keller of the Arizona Coyotes got one, as did Yanni Gourde of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
With 85 points in 82 games, Mathew Barzal is the Calder Memorial Trophy recipient, awarded to the League’s rookie of the year! #Isles @EliteSportsNY pic.twitter.com/0dgvU8RLCV
— Elite Sports NY (@EliteSportsNY) June 21, 2018
