Legendary hockey reporter Stan Fischler writes a weekly scrapbook for NHL.com. Fischler, known as “The Hockey Maven,” shares his humor and insight with readers each Wednesday. This week examines a group of elite NHL rookie prospects seeking varsity roles while comparing them to one of the all-time rookie success stories that began exactly 70 years ago.

The NHL’s rookie harvest is one of the most bountiful in years, which is why trying to predict a winner for the 2026 Calder Trophy is a form of hockey roulette. You may win, but don’t bet on it.

The trick is figuring who can make the leap. Only one player from the 2024 NHL Draft played the full 2024-25 season, Macklin Celebrini, a Calder finalist who led the San Jose Sharks with 63 points (25 goals, 38 assists) in 70 games.

A look at the top Calder candidates entering this season:

Ivan Demidov, Montreal Canadiens

The Canadiens managed to squeeze the 19-year-old right wing into two games and the Eastern Conference First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season. He dazzled with his skate work and had two assists in a five-game loss to the Washington Capitals. Well-built (6-foot-1, 192 pounds) with natural instincts, the No. 5 pick in the 2024 draft could find himself on a scoring line with productive left wing Patrik Laine and center Kirby Dach.

Jimmy Snuggerud, St. Louis Blues

After three seasons at the University of Minnesota, the Blues’ first-round pick (No. 23) in the 2022 NHL Draft played seven regular-season games (one goal, three assists) and seven playoff games (two goals, two assists). His style resembles teammate Jake Neighbours. His size (6-1, 193) and sizzling shot have impressed the Blues’ staff. One possibility is that the 21-year-old will skate on the third line at right wing.

Alexander Nikishin, Carolina Hurricanes

Nikishin was captain of SKA Saint Petersburg in the Kontinental Hockey League last season and ranked second among defensemen in goals (17) and game-winning goals (four), and third in points (46). Carolina’s third-round pick (No. 69) in the 2020 NHL Draft, Nikishin won a silver medal in the 2022 Beijing Olympics. One scout likens his game to a mix between Charlie McAvoy‘s two-way game for the Boston Bruins and two-time Norris Trophy winner Cale Makar‘s offensive thrusts for the Colorado Avalanche. Nikishin, who turns 24 on Oct. 2, had one assist in four playoff games for the Hurricanes last season. He’s “The Everything Bagel” on defense.

Ryan Leonard, Washington Capitals

The No. 8 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft is one of the best natural offensive talents to emerge from the NCAA (Boston College) in recent years. “He can score from any place on ice” is the way one scout put it. Another said, “He can hit, he can score, and he can get in your head.” The 20-year-old forward and two-time gold medalist at the IIHF World Junior Championship (2024, ’25) has played nine regular-season games and eight NHL playoff games.

Zeev Buium, Minnesota Wild

A rarity, Buium is an Israeli-American defenseman from San Diego who the Wild chose with the No. 12 pick in the 2024 draft. A star at the University of Denver and the 2024 NCAA national champions who won gold twice with the United States (2024. ’25) at the World Juniors, Buium’s offensive style is a blend of the Adam Fox of the New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks captain Quinn Hughes. The 19-year-old had an assist in four playoff games against the Vegas Golden Knights. He can pass, score, quarterback a power play and figures to complement another young Wild defenseman, Brock Faber. Buium had 98 points (24 goals, 64 assists) in 83 NCAA games.

Matthew Schaefer, New York Islanders

Overnight, the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NHL Draft has become “The People’s Choice” on Long Island without having played a single NHL game. Schaefer turned 18 on Sept. 5. He’s amiable and articulate, but played only 17 games for Erie in the Ontario Hockey League last season because of a broken collarbone sustained at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship. Considering his totality of skills, Schaefer might make the Islanders, especially after they traded Noah Dobson to the Canadiens. Based on his progress, the Hamilton, Ontario, native is projected to be the foundation of the franchise, a la Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman Denis Potvin of yesteryear.

Speaking of yesteryear rookies, few could match the swift progress of Henri Richard. At 19, he showed up at Canadiens training camp prior to the 1955-56 season with little chance to make the team.

“They said Henri was too small and too young,” wrote Le Soleil sports editor Claude Larochelle. “At first, (general manager) Frank Selke had him penciled in for another year of juniors, but the kid had other ideas.”

Rookie Canadiens coach Toe Blake put it another way: “After every preseason practice, we agreed that Henri was the best player on the ice. I couldn’t drop him.”

Blake didn’t, and that gave him a double-dose of Richard greatness. It helped that Henri’s older brother, the iconic Maurice “Rocket” Richard, helped shepherd the prodigy through Blake’s notoriously tough scrimmages.

“I really wanted to make the team at that first training camp,” Henri told Dick Irvin, author of “The Habs: An Oral History of the Montreal Canadiens, 1940-1980.”

“But they sent me back to juniors for a few days. Then they called me back and I played an exhibition game against their senior team, the Royals, and I got a couple of goals. That was the night I knew I made the big team.”

Before signing Henri to an NHL contract, Selke invited the Richard brothers to his office.

“I asked Maurice if Henri was ready, and he told me, ‘He’s ready to play.’ And he was,” Selke wrote in his autobiography, “Behind the Cheering.”

The man who became “The Pocket Rocket” played 20 seasons with the Canadiens and skated for 11 Stanley Cup-winning teams, more than any player in history. He was one of the engines that powered Montreal to an unprecedented five consecutive championships starting with Henri’s rookie season of 1955-56 through 1959-60.

“I never thought I’d be on a team with my brother that would win five Cups in my first five years,” Henri told Irvin. “That team was the best that ever was.”

“Henri was better than me. I played for only eight Cup winners,” wrote the Rocket in his autobiography, “The Flying Frenchmen.”