{"id":411575,"date":"2026-01-15T19:31:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T19:31:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/411575\/"},"modified":"2026-01-15T19:31:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T19:31:11","slug":"five-under-the-radar-rookies-making-noise-in-the-2026-nhl-calder-trophy-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/411575\/","title":{"rendered":"Five under-the-radar rookies making noise in the 2026 NHL Calder Trophy race"},"content":{"rendered":"

With more than half the NHL season done and dusted<\/a>, we have a pretty clear picture as to whom the true Calder Trophy contenders are.<\/p>\n

Matthew Schaefer, Ivan Demidov and Beckett Sennecke look like near-locks to be named finalists for the award. Jesper Wallstedt, Alexander Nikishin and Ryan Leonard continue to put up strong arguments, while a handful of others have made their presences known this season.<\/p>\n

But today, we\u2019re looking at guys who won\u2019t receive much Calder Trophy love but still deserve some attention. Most of them are third-line NHLers, but you still need guys who can fill roles and make an impact further down the lineup.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s check out five underrated freshmen making impacts this season:<\/p>\n

The Toronto Maple Leafs<\/a> wanted a two-way center at the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline, so they acquired Scott Laughton. They then wanted some defensive depth, and traded away Fraser Minten \u2013 projected to be the team\u2019s long-term No. 3 \u2013 to get Brandon Carlo. Laughton has been fine, but the Leafs probably wish they still had Minten in their stable. <\/p>\n

The 21-year-old is projected to finish with just under 40 points, which, given his role as Boston\u2019s No. 3 middleman, is fantastic. He\u2019s playing with so much confidence, and he has been one of the team\u2019s top two-way forwards. In fact, he\u2019s one of the NHL\u2019s top defensive rookie forwards, and he\u2019s clearly finding success around the net. Minten isn\u2019t projected to be a big-time offensive threat, but he does an excellent job of winning individual battles and getting the puck close to the crease. He\u2019s physically strong, too, often overpowering bigger opponents to win pucks.<\/p>\n

Once a star college winger, Steeves continued that by dominating with the AHL\u2019s Toronto Marlies for close to half a decade. By all accounts, he had nothing left to prove in the AHL. He has 224 points in 256 career games, including eight in nine outings this season. But Steeves never managed to stick with the Leafs<\/a>, rarely getting him any time outside a fourth-line role.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s a tale as old as time: once he left Toronto, Steeves found his game. Steeves is pacing for more than 30 points on Boston\u2019s third line, providing excellent value at just $850,000 on a one-year deal<\/a>. The 26-year-old won\u2019t blow you away with his pure skill, but he is a proven contributor at every level and can even play on the power play, if needed. These are the types of low-risk signings that can thrust a team into the playoffs \u2013 inexpensive scoring depth is extremely important.<\/p>\n

Kindel went from a surprise pick at No. 11 by the Penguins to an everyday fixture in the team\u2019s lineup immediately out of training camp. He has seen time with both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, but has settled in primarily on Pittsburgh\u2019s third line. He\u2019s not blowing the doors off the league offensively by any means, but he\u2019s tracking for about 15 goals and 36 points. <\/p>\n

Kindel has found ways to impress scouts and fans alike with his work ethic, his pace, his hockey sense and playmaking abilities. He was a dominant offensive threat in the WHL and has carved himself a spot on Pittsburgh\u2019s power play, where he often creates havoc around the net. It\u2019s hard for an 18-year-old to crack the NHL and be an impact player. But in Kindel\u2019s case, the puck typically finds its way towards the opposing team\u2019s net more often than not<\/a> when he\u2019s skating around.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a\u2026 rough season for the Canucks<\/a>, to say the least. So the fact that Karlsson has been on the top line shows a lack of true depth with this squad. Still, Karlsson has taken the opportunity by the horns, and a 40-point rookie campaign is not out of the cards right now. <\/p>\n

Karlsson has been in the top 10 in rookie scoring<\/a> for quite a while now, while showing some good hands and defensive acumen. He had a good taste of the NHL a year ago, but was more important with Abbotsford, where he helped lead the team to its first Calder Cup championship. Karlsson took a while to establish himself as an NHLer \u2013 he was drafted eight years ago \u2013 but he has earned every opportunity so far.<\/p>\n

The Florida Panthers seemingly gave Sourdif away<\/a> for free last summer, moving on from one of the team\u2019s top prospects. But in actuality, it was to give him a chance to prove he can be an NHLer \u2013 something he has done exceptionally well for the Capitals. He has bounced around the lineup, but has played his best hockey as Washington\u2019s No. 3 center. He\u2019s tracking for around 16 goals and 34 points, which would match his output in the AHL last year. <\/p>\n

Sourdif has a good shot, is good in transition and plays with pace. His skating has always been positive, not because of pure speed, but because he never stops moving. Sourdif\u2019s all-around game needs work, but it\u2019s easy to like how hard he works to win battles and get himself into scoring lanes. With an expected goals-for percentage of 53.0<\/a>, the puck is in the attacking zone with Sourdif on the ice much more consistently than it isn\u2019t. That\u2019s exactly what you\u2019re hoping to see out of a third-liner.<\/p>\n

Other notables: Ryan Greene, C (Chicago Blackhawks<\/a>); Danila Yurov, RW (Vancouver Canucks<\/a>); Braeden Bowman, RW (Vegas Golden Knights<\/a>)<\/p>\n

SPONSORED BY bet365<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With more than half the NHL season done and dusted, we have a pretty clear picture as to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":411576,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[433],"tags":[49,48,448,82],"class_list":["post-411575","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411575","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=411575"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411575\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/411576"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=411575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=411575"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=411575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}