Hey everybody, we are heading down the final stretch of the season and I thought now might be a nice time to reflect on a few players, specifically rookies. It's been a good year for rookies this season and there are a handful of standouts. I think more and more it's becoming a young player's league. It's becoming more and more commonplace to see players come up super early in their development and make an immediate impact. So let's take a look at a few of the top Calder candidates and go over just how helpful they can be to your squad now and going forward in future seasons.

Anton Lundell

Lundell is in such a great place to succeed. He was drafted in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft 12th overall, and although it's quite early to judge, it seems like he will emerge as one of the best picks from that draft. The 20-year-old Finnish center joins a powerhouse Florida Panthers squad that is a threat from top to bottom. 

Lundell has wasted no time in establishing himself as a viable player both for the Panthers and for fantasy hockey lineups alike. In 45 games so far this season, Lundell has scored 10 goals and added 24 helpers for 34 points thus far. That's a 62-point pace, which is incredible considering this is a rookie playing on the third line this season.

In many ways, Lundell gets overlooked since the Panthers are just so good right now. Jonathan Huberdeau is one of the best players in the league this season, while Aleksander Barkov continues to dominate also. In addition to the team's top two, Sam Bennett is having a breakout year and Carter Verhaeghe and Anthony Duclair continue to impress as well. So as you can see, it's pretty easy for Lundell's strong season to go a bit unnoticed.  

If you consider the fact Lundell is on a 60-point pace while on the third line with virtually no time on special teams, it's easy to get excited for his future. He has found some really nice chemistry playing alongside Sam Reinhart this season.  The sky’s the limit for him and I think he is especially lucky to have fellow Finnish center Barkov serving as his mentor during his early years. I think it won't be long until Lundell is universally considered a star in the NHL.

Trevor Zegras

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the likely winner of this year's Calder trophy: Zegras. To put it simply, this year has been Zegras' coming out party in many ways. First was the flip goal from behind the net to Sonny Milano, which will probably be goal of the year amongst most circles. More recently, he single-handedly stole the show at All-Star weekend with his insane penalty shot moves. There's no denying the appeal and star-power Zegras possesses, but above all else, he can flat out play and his numbers are starting to reflect that.

Zegras was drafted by the Ducks ninth overall in the 2019 NHL Draft as they continued to rebuild after being a contender for many years in seasons past. The Ducks young talent pool is finally starting to develop and the future could be very bright for the franchise. As a rookie, Zegras is second on his team in scoring, behind only Troy Terry who had the hottest start to the season out of anyone in the league. Through 45 games, Zegras has netted 13 goals and 22 assists for 35 points. Just like Lundell, that puts Zegras just over a 60-point pace. 

Zegras has an incredibly high hockey IQ and playmaking ability, but he also isn't afraid to shoot. He's got 101 shots so far this year, which averages out to just over two per game, so that's a decent number for a rookie. While Lundell enjoys the benefits of playing on a contender, Zegras will be leaned on and will need to be the catalyst for his team if the Ducks want to succeed going forward. The upside to that is Zegras is already getting more minutes and power-play opportunities than a normal rookie would. This makes him a bit more of an appealing option for the immediate future. Next season will be the final year of Zegras' entry-level contract and then the Ducks will either have to pay the kid a ton of money or let him walk, so that's something to keep an eye on moving forward.

Moritz Seider

The Detroit Red Wings have a pair of incredible rookie talents this season, but for diversity's sake, I chose to go with defenseman Seider as my last player to highlight. Sorry to all the Lucas Raymond fans out there, he's totally noteworthy as well, but I will save him for another day! Seider is a 6-4 massive giant German defender for the Red Wings, and despite being just 20, he is hands down the best defender on the team. 

To put things into perspective, Seider leads the defensemen on his team in goals, assists, hits, shots and blocks. While the Red Wings are in a rebuild and don't have the most impressive defensive corps right now, it's still crazy that a kid with 51 games under his belt has emerged as the go-to player on that squad already. If it were my vote, I'd be giving Seider the Calder Trophy, hands down. 

He's played in every game this season for the Wings, and through 51 games he has five goals and 30 assists for 35 points. That puts him on pace for 56 points, which is less than the other two players I've mentioned, but for a rookie d-man those are some incredible numbers. And it's not like he is a one-dimensional player who is a pylon on defense either. He plays a tough game and uses his giant body effectively. He has 98 blocks already this season, which is just under two per game. On top of that he has 74 hits which isn't earth shattering by any means, but it's enough to be effective for fantasy hockey purposes.

Seider is a lock to be the number-one defenseman for the Red Wings long-term and will be one of the main cornerstone players for the franchise going forward. I have no doubt in my mind that general manager Steve Yzerman will be looking to lock Seider up to a long-term contract sooner rather than later. I really feel like Seider is a next-generation version of Roman Josi or someone of that ilk. If you have him in a keeper-league, hold onto him tight! 

That's all for this week, folks. It's always fun looking at rookies and trying to project their futures, but these three players I mentioned all seem to have very bright futures. I wonder if Matt Boldy would be on this list too if he started the season out in Minnesota? Until next Sunday, hope everyone has a great upcoming week. Cheers!