Two and a half months into the NHL season, the race for the Calder Trophy for the year's top rookie is starting to clear up. Here are the top five candidates
1. Martin Jones - Los Angeles Kings
Yes, Jones has only played six games as an NHL goaltender. However, what he has done in those six games has been nothing short of remarkable.
Jones has given up a total of five goals, giving him an incredible 0.82 goals against average. Also, three of those six games resulted in shutouts.
Jones, who has an astonishing .972 save percentage, has been a huge reason that the Kings remain one of the top teams in the league even without star goalie Jonathan Quick.
2. Tomas Hertl - San Jose Sharks
Hertl will always be remembered for his highlight-reel goal that capped off a four-goal night, but he is still currently the top rookie scorer with fifteen goals and ten assists.
After his historic night, he cooled off. However, Hertl has begun to step up his play again and has created a huge offensive boost to a Sharks team desperately trying to make another run at the Stanley Cup.
3. Torey Krug - Boston Bruins
In the past three months, Michigan State University has had a Big Ten Championship in football, a #1 nationally-ranked basketball team, an alumnus who won the World Series of Poker and a particularly talented hockey and baseball writer for eDraft Sports (guess who).
At the end of the NHL season, MSU alum Torey Krug may add a Calder Trophy to that list.
Krug is the only defenseman in the NHL's top ten rookie scorers thus far, tallying eight goals and ten assists. He has become a leader on Boston's blue line and is one of the many reasons why the Bruins are first place in the Atlantic Division.
4. Frederik Andersen - Anaheim Ducks
So the Ducks have another star rookie goaltender?
Last year, it was Viktor Fasth. This year, it's Andersen.
Along with starter Jonas Hiller, Anaheim may have the deepest goaltending trio in hockey, right up there with the archrival Kings (Quick, Jones and Ben Scrivens).
Andersen has an incredible 8-1-1 record as well as a 1.74 goals against average and a .938 save percentage.
5. Nathan MacKinnon - Colorado Avalanche
The #1 overall pick has lived up to expectations in the Mile High City thus far, as he is second to only Hertl in points scored by a rookie.
MacKinnon has scored seven goals and added nineteen assists for an Avalanche team that has been one of the most pleasant surprises so far this season.