Does Boston Bruins’ Charlie McAvoy have a chance at the Calder?

Charlie McAvoy is one of the best players on the Boston Bruins this season.  Does the sensational rookie have a shot at the Calder Memorial Trophy for league’s best rookie?

There’s no doubt that Charlie McAvoy has made a huge impact on this season’s Boston Bruins’ team.  If you watched Boston’s game against Winnipeg Thursday night, you saw McAvoy win it for the B’s in a shootout, on his 20th birthday.  If you haven’t seen it check it out here:

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That wasn’t even the first time that McAvoy won the game for the B’s.  The young star won a shootout for Boston on November 22nd against New Jersey after 10 rounds.  McAvoy also recorded the game-winning goal on December 18th against Columbus.  That’s four points that the Bruins owe to their rookie defenseman.

This season, McAvoy has 19 points from 5 goals and 14 assists.  That total leaves Charlie sixth on the team in points.  McAvoy is also fourth on the Bruins in plus/minus rating with a +7.  Last but not least, McAvoy leads all defenseman on the Bruins with 5 power play points.  It’s safe to say that the Bruins would look a lot different this season without the 20 year old on the roster.

The Calder Memorial Trophy is an award given out at the end of the season to the NHL’s rookie of the year.  The trophy is voted on by the Professional Hockey Writer’s Association.  McAvoy has looked like the B’s top rookie, but how does he stack up against the league’s other rookies?

Also in the mix

Vancouver’s Brock Boeser leads all rookies in points with 33.  The Islanders’ Matthew Barzal is right behind Boeser at 32 points.  Although they have a hefty lead on McAvoy in points, they’re also forwards and expected to produce more.

McAvoy is third among rookie defenseman in points.  He trails Tampa Bay’s Mikhail Sergachev and New Jersey’s Will Butcher.  However, McAvoy has been the most important rookie to his team, as he leads all rookies, forward or defenseman, in time-on-ice per game.  He’s averaging 23:17 minutes in that category as he’s been playing on the Bruins’ top defense pairing with Zdeno Chara.

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Charlie McAvoy has been awesome this season.  He showed Boston what he could do in last year’s playoffs against Ottawa, and he’s continuing to develop into the B’s top defenseman.  The race for the Calder trophy will be very competitive this season.  To win it, McAvoy will need to improve on his point total, while continuing to play the minutes he does.  Charlie McAvoy has a great future in the NHL, maybe with a Calder Memorial Trophy in it as well.