McDavid vs Panarin: Calder Trophy Debate

[Oakville Squires]

If McDavid had scored 60 in his 43 games, just dominated.... then sure maybe you could make a case for him.

45 in 43 is great, especially as an 18 year old. But it's not good enough to beat out someone who finished top 10 in scoring for the whole league.

Someday when Panarin is hopefully still scoring 75-ish points per year, McDavid will be scoring 100 and winning the Art Ross. The Calder isn't about the best player and especially who will be the best player in 5 years. It's about who had the best rookie season. That is Panarin.

Not to mention Panarin almost single handedly won me the Championship in my one year league and the consolation (and 10 extra draft lottery balls) in my keeper league - That should count for something!

[iwinthings]

if mcdavid wins...the fix is in.....

should not even be eligible.....hes good but the fact remains he missed most of season....injuries happen but you dont get a pass.....thems the breaks....

The fix was already in when he went to Edmonton. Hope you got your tinfoil on.

[Axeman33]

if mcdavid wins...the fix is in.....

should not even be eligible.....hes good but the fact remains he missed most of season....injuries happen but you dont get a pass.....thems the breaks....

I agree that he doesn't deserve to win, but I disagree when you say he shouldn't be eligible. Unless you plan on moving his eligibility to next season, this is the year he should be eligible to win it, or at least be considered.

[Mr. Guru]

McDavid should 100% still be a finalist, but Panarin should still win it for sure.

[Mr. Guru]

Yep.



The age issue is mute when they impose an age limit on the award. I get that it's more impressive or even difficult to excel in the NHL at 18 or 19 years old, but it's also hard to excel when you are under 5'10", so maybe height should be a factor as well? Okay, that's maybe a little sarcastic, but I am not a fan of using expectations as a measurement for the Calder...oh he's barely 19 years old, so we didn't expect him to be as good as he is so soon...And what about the language barrier? Non-native English speakers are at a disadvantage when they make the leap to the NHL, so should they be given a little bump in the Calder voting for overcoming a language barrier? Hells no!

Also, if you believe the NHL is the best league in the world (by a long shot?), then regardless of whatever backwater league you were playing in, it shouldn't matter because now you've moved up to the big league kid! (caution...definition of kid may vary).

Anyway, I'm not knocking anyone here, I think most of us here think Panarin will take home the hardware and rightfully so. Yeah, McDavid will have his day at the podium when he's claiming the first of his many trophies...:-)

What would be interesting is making a new or changing this rule (would never happen) to the best U23 player in the NHL. Seeing players winning it twice in a row would be neat to see.

[BreadManPanarin]

there's not a single person who doesn't think mcdavid won't end up as a better player than panarin.

Yeah, even I'm not THAT GUY.

[Godin]

Cherry says McDavid because he is the guy you would take to start a new team. Funny guy.

[skinnypete88]

I've only seen it mentioned a couple times but I think there's a lot to be said about coming over from the KHL or a whole other country for that matter. Sorry but there are 'pro' leagues and there is the NHL. Just because it has 'HL' in the acronym doesn't mean the players in the league or the competition is anywhere close to what the NHL offers. That's why its the NHL. And McDavid climbing through the minor leagues with all the hype he's had was essentially being groomed for this stage.

But Panarin, he either wanted to come to the NHL from early on and wasn't good enough until this year (which means he was denied and had to work way harder for it than McDavid) or he never planned to in which case he had to work even harder to make the transition to a new country in such a short time frame.

And if you argue that he's so good as to make the transition seamlessly and regardless of cultural or language barriers well then isn't he deserved of some form of recognition just for being that good?

Also anyone ever tried packing up their entire life and moving to the other half of the planet only to compete against a rookie class ripe with generational talent and a league flush full of players with the kind of caliber you grew up worshiping? If he had got half his points I'd consider it a major accomplishment but he excelled under these circumstances

Oh but ya McDavid got 45 in 43. Sorry, that's a much greater single season achievement.

[rataylor22]

Panarin looks like he has way more fun playing the game than McDavid. He acts more like a rookie. If Panarin shouldn't be eligible for the age on his birth certificate, McDavid shouldn't be eligible for the age he acts in interviews and on the ice.

[Godin]

Panarin looks like he has way more fun playing the game than McDavid. He acts more like a rookie. If Panarin shouldn't be eligible for the age on his birth certificate, McDavid shouldn't be eligible for the age he acts in interviews and on the ice.

You do have a sense of humor.