I have a few polls in mind, but they need more games to have been played before it would make sense to vote on them. For now, it's time to put on your prognosticator hats to choose who you think will be the best rookies for 2021-22. Specifically, you should vote for the three players you believe will be Calder Finalists. Now I realize that the "best rookies" in terms of fantasy might not always equate to the "best rookies" when it comes to Calder voting, so keep in mind you're voting on the latter – the Calder Finalists.

When casting your votes, be sure to choose exactly three of the 19 choices, as, of course, there will be that many Calder finalists. Note also, however, that I've included a "one or more rookies not listed" option as the 20th voting choice, which you should select either as your lone vote (i.e., if you think none of the 19 listed players will be a Calder finalist), or one of your two votes (i.e., if you think only one of the 19 listed players will be a Calder finalist, and two won't) or one of your three votes (i.e., if you think only two of the 19 listed players will be Calder finalists, and one won't).

With that out of the way, here are the 19 choices listed in alphabetical order. The link to cast your votes will be at the end of the column.

Bowen Byram

The Colorado blueline already has young phenom Cale Makar plus a "second banana" in Samuel Girard who'd likely be good enough to be top dog on many teams. Still though, Byram is doing what he can to succeed despite PP scraps, reinforcing just how talented he is and making a case for an expanded role.

Alexandre Carrier

Logging over 20:00 per game despite his rookie status, Carrier looks like he might be the one to most benefit from the exodus of Ryan Ellis, rather than defensive partner Mattias Ekholm. Yet with barely any PP time and a low SOG per game rate, it's not clear if he can post numbers that would allow him to enter the Calder picture.

Cole Caufield

[Editor's Note: This column was submitted before Caufield was sent down to the AHL – He could be back up very soon with some renewed confidence]

Arguably the Calder favorite before the season began, Caufield has been slow out of the gate. It might be that the presence of Mike Hoffman is impeding his progress, or at least delaying it. If Caufield keeps shooting the puck as much as he is, and logging nearly 50% of his team's PP minutes though, he should be able to turn things around before all is said and done on 2021-22.

Jonathan Dahlen

Twice traded before age 22, lacking a top tier draft pedigree, and having failed to impress in a 2018-19 AHL stint, second generation NHLer Dahlen nevertheless broke camp with the Sharks and is making the most of his opportunity thus far. With the Sharks eager for any and all offensive talent they can round up, Dahlen could continue to impress.

Jamie Drysdale

Although Kevin Shattenkirk stormed out of the gates, Drysdale still is looking strong despite being only 19. His ice time is way up, including an extra 30 seconds per game on the PP. With Shattenkirk being a player who's had big first halves in the past, Drysdale should get better and better as the season progresses.

William Eklund

The lone 2021 draftee on this list, Eklund's talent plus San Jose's aforementioned need for offense seem like the perfect recipe for mutual success. Thus far he's looked like anything but a boy among men. Still, most 19-year-olds who put up strong numbers either were a top four overall pick, or put onto a strong line for a strong team, neither of which is the case with Eklund. He's also eligible to be sent to juniors after nine games.

Filip Gustavsson

Although it's a small sample size, Gustavsson has been the best Ottawa netminder over the past two seasons. Certainly the team had designs on Matt Murray being a true #1 goalie for them, but Murray's lackluster play and injuries are providing a possible opening for Gustavsson to make enough of a mark to enter the Calder conversation.

Kaapo Kahkonen

Thanks to 2020-21 being only 56 games, KK is still a rookie despite appearing in nearly half of his team's contests. With Cam Talbot not having a huge contract, it's easier to foresee KK being able to make his mark again, rising to 1A or even #1 if his play is strong enough and Talbot falters.

Spencer Knight

Thus far Sergei Bobrovsky has looked far better than in his prior two seasons. However, if he reverts to the Bob of the recent memory we know the Panthers aren't above sitting him, and once Knight gets a clear opening it might be difficult for the team to not play him a lot more.

Anton Lundell

After several seasons in Liiga Lundell made a mark in 2021, first at the World Juniors and then the World Championships. With Florida having a surplus of top six talent, it seemed like an impossible hill to climb for him to get ice time with the team's elite. Thus far he's played superb, and looks to be emerging as a strong player. Still, he might have a shorter leash than some of these others choices due to the strong and deep offensive team for which he plays.

Nils Lundkvist

Thus far his strong preseason hasn't translated into early success; however, make no mistake that Lundkvist oozes with talent. Plus, even if Adam Fox is "the guy" let's not forget Fox was able to put up solid numbers as a rookie when Tony DeAngelo was succeeding, so the chance for success for Lundqvist is definitely there.

Alex Nedeljkovic

As with Kahkonen, due to the shortened 2020-21 season Neds, a Calder finalist, is eligible for the trophy yet again. The Wings have looked better than expected, and clearly coveted Neds in prying him away from Carolina. Of all the goalie choices he seems to have the clearest path to being a #1 or 1A, although Thomas Greiss might have something to say about that.

Lucas Raymond

Although he was likely to make the team either way, the injury to Jakub Vrana paved the way for Raymond to have an even more prominent role. Thus far he's thriving, playing with confidence and skill far beyond the teen he is. He might have the best combination of talent plus opportunity of all the voting choices.

Marco Rossi

Yes, he's not even in the NHL right now; however, one has to wonder how long that will last. Let's also not forget that last season Nedeljkovic was waived early on then played well enough to earn a Calder nomination before all was said and done.

Moritz Seider

After an impressive preseason, Detroit decided they didn't need training wheels for Seider, who has been thrust into a prominent role. He's also the main PP option and is playing a complete game, with the scoring to show for it. He certainly looks like a star in the making, with the only question being if he might hit a rookie wall.

Jeremy Swayman

A strong preseason has led to Swayman being considered more of a 1B than back-up. The question now is whether he can recapture the magic he showed in a limited role last season, or whether that was just a run of short term luck.

Phillip Tomasino

Last season we saw Eeli Tolvanen make a mark as a rookie for the Preds, and now it's Tomasino who's doing his best to insert himself into the top six and PP picture. He may be a centre, but he's being brought along as a winger, which is where Nashville has less depth. As a result, he might be able to keep up his early strong pace and end up one of the top rookies this season.

Karel Vejmelka

It was thought Vejmelka would not be in the Arizona goalie equation, but then he fared well enough to break camp as the back-up. With Carter Hutton playing like his usual lousy self, it might not be too long before Vejmelka is the official #1, where he can do his best to make the Coyotes a tougher opponent than they've been thus far.

Trevor Zegras

Another preseason Calder favorite, Zegras has indeed been placed into a major role as was expected. And after a sluggish start he's hitting his stride. Will he – and his team – have what it takes though for him to do well enough this season to be among the rookie elite?

************

To reiterate, your task is to vote for the three rookies you believe will be Calder finalists. Or if you think one of more other rookies will be finalists, use the "one or more rookies not listed" option in place of one, two, or all three of your votes. They key is you're not to vote for more than three rookies, as there will be three Calder finalists. To cast your vote, click here.

************

Scheduling Note and Questions for Mailbag Column

My monthly mailbag column is running next week and if you hurry and send a question there's still a chance I can answer it. To get question(s) to me, either private message “rizzeedizzee” via the DobberHockey Forums or, instead, send an email to [email protected] with “Roos Mailbag” as the subject line.