As has become tradition, my first poll after the start of the regular season is one where you get to choose the Calder Trophy finalists. Of course, this season is a bit different, in that most of us likely can agree that barring a major injury one of those finalists is already set in stone in Connor Bedard. But hey – you still can vote on the other two, right? Or even if he isn't a sure thing, I figure most everyone would vote for him if given the choice, so let's put our focus elsewhere.

This isn't a vote for who'll necessarily be the best when it comes to fantasy value, as sometimes rookies deemed worthy of being Calder finalists are not tops when it comes to fantasy. And since I'm counting Bedard as a given, you should vote for exactly two other choices.

Also, in addition to 18 players listed as options, I also have two "catch all" choices. The first is "Two rookies not listed here", which you should choose if you think neither of the other two finalists will be among the 18 listed. The second is "One rookie not listed here", meaning you think one of the 18 players will be a finalist but one who is not among the 18 will be the third finalist. Thus if you choose "One rookie not listed here" you should also vote for one of the 18 listed players, for a total of two votes. I hope all that makes sense.

Without further ado, here are your 18 voting choices, listed in alphabetical order. The link to cast your votes will be at the end of the column.

Bobby Brink – The diminutive forward is seemingly transitioning to the NHL quite well, with a top-nine spot and power play role. By the end of this season he might just prove to be an exception to the 400-games undersized breakout threshold rule.

Leo Carlsson – After seeing him be a healthy scratch for two straight games, I thought Carlsson for sure would be ticketed back to juniors. But then he goes out and tallies two points in his return to the line-up. The Ducks want to make sure they do what's best for Carlsson's long-term development, but he may leave them no choice but to keep him in the NHL all season long.

Logan Cooley – It may have surprised some that he chose to sign to play this year, foregoing his sophomore year in college. Thus far Cooley looks plenty ready for the NHL. Still, although he is on PP1, he's not on the top line at ES and his SOG rate is a bit low. It remains to be seen if indeed he will impress for the entire season.

Matt Coronato – Seeing regular time at ES and on the PP, Coronato just needs to points to come. They should if things continue as they are, especially with Calgary not having anyone doing so well as to push him out of the picture.

Lukas Dostal – The heir apparent to John Gibson, Dostal has looked steady early on. Since it is likely that Gibson either finally does get traded or, if not, plays poorly yet again, Anaheim may opt to give Dostal more starts than they'd likely envisioned.

Luke Evangelista – He had last season magic with Tommy Novak in 2022-23 and the two have been inseparable yet again for 2023-24 thus far. Evangelista is not getting heaps of PP time but is shooting the puck a good amount; and with Nashville certainly not bursting at the seams with top talent, he should continue to get favorable deployment this season.

Adam Fantilli – It is not a surprise to see the second overall pick in the NHL, and doing well thus far, as he was thought of by many as the Jack Eichel to Connor Bedard's Connor McDavid. The issue is Columbus still doesn't look like a strong team, but perhaps that might make them more inclined to have Fantilli stick with the club and strut his stuff?

Ridley Greig – If the return of Josh Norris was thought to signal the end of any chance at fantasy relevance for Greig, someone forgot to give Greig that memo. With Shane Pinto out of the picture for a while, Grieg gives the Sens a viable third line.

Luke Hughes – After the season Dougie Hamilton had in 2022-23, it was a surprise to see Hughes getting major PP minutes. Lo-and-behold that's what's happened, at least thus far. With the end-to-end talent of Hughes, and the strength of the Devils as a team, Hughes seems poised for a good to great rookie season.

Matthew Knies – When the Leafs inked Max Domi and Tyler Bertuzzi this offseason, many felt that Knies, who saw some top-six time in the 2023 playoffs, would be ticketed to the minors. But Knies' play has kept him in the mix, and Toronto would like nothing more than for him to shine, as unlike Domi and Bertuzzi he's not going anywhere after this season.

Kevin Korchinski – The early 2022 pick looks like he'll not only stick in Chicago but might turn out to be a fantasy factor, which isn't surprising since after Seth Jones Chicago isn't brimming with offensive talent from the blueline. Then again, the Blackhawks might play it safe and send him back to juniors.

Devon Levi – It looks like the Sabres weren't kidding this offseason when, despite his age, they said they were ready to hand the netminder reins to Levi. Yes, the team has two other netminders in the picture; but neither one is so well paid or well established as to keep Levi from rising to the occasion.

Pavel Mintyukov – This season was supposed to be all about Jamie Drysdale. But someone forgot to give Mintyukov that memo apparently, as although he's still just a teen he seems not at all intimidated by the NHL game.

Matthew Phillips – Inked by Washington this offseason and likely envisioned as a depth player or perhaps not even someone who'd stick with the Caps, Phillips is making early noise. As the Caps are not brimming with offensive talent, at least thus far, chances are he gets a long look with the club.

Matthew Poitras – I'll admit he was not even on my radar for this season, and my hunch is I was not alone in that regard. Regardless, the teen has shown a deft scoring touch and looks like a safe bet to stick with Boston this season. The question then becomes, can he continue this pace? That's not so clear.

Marco Rossi – Amazingly Rossi was a choice in this poll for both 2021-22 and 2022-23. His issue is he's an offensive player but his size prevents him from centering the top line and Joel Eriksson-Ek has solidified his grip on the second line center gig. Still though, points are coming this season, so there is hope.

Arvid Soderblom – When you're an NHL back-up, sometimes you just accept the fact that you'll play 20-25 games and that's pretty much be it. For Soderblom, he's behind Petr Mrazek, who hasn't had an even decent season is quite a while plus gets hurt often. Soderblom might be the 1A or starter by the time 2023-24 in is the books.

Joseph Woll – After bidding his time in the AHL for four seasons, Woll landed the back-up gig for the Leafs, likely due to looking quite good when pressed into duty in the 2023 playoffs. He is making a strong case to see regular starts, but can he keep this up given his lack of experience?

**********

To recap, your task is to vote for two players who – in addition to Connor Bedard – you believe will be 2023-24 Calder finalists. There are also two voting options in case you believe that none or just one of the 18 voting choices will be a finalist. The link to cast your votes is here.

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

Questions for Mailbag Column

My monthly mailbag column is next week and I'm still looking for questions. To get yours to me, either private message “rizzeedizzee” via the DobberHockey Forums or, instead, send an email to admin@dobbersports.com with “Roos Mailbag” as the subject line.