NHL Unveils 2022-23 Calder Trophy Finalists

The NHL announced that Seattle's Matty Beniers, Buffalo's Owen Power, and Edmonton's Stuart Skinner have been named finalists for the Calder Memorial Trophy.

The NHL's awards season is in full swing. 

The league continued to roll out its honors on Wednesday evening, announcing that Seattle's Matty Beniers, Buffalo's Owen Power, and Edmonton's Stuart Skinner have been named finalists for the Calder Memorial Trophy, awarded annually to the player "selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition." 

Leading the way among this trio is Beniers, who spent his first full NHL campaign helping lead the Seattle Kraken to a playoff appearance in just their second season of existence. In 80 games in 2022-23, Beniers racked up an impressive 24 goals and 33 assists for 57 points while averaging a little over 17 minutes in nightly ice time. The 20-year-old hit the ground running immediately upon reaching the NHL and should be one of the league's brightest young stars for years to come. 

While Power might not have the raw offensive numbers that Beniers does, his rookie season was just as impressive as his freshman counterpart. The former No. 1 pick looked like a grizzled veteran on the Sabres' back end this season, displaying a steadiness usually found in someone 10 years his senior. In 79 games, Power amassed four goals and 31 assists for 45 points while averaging a whopping 23:48 in nightly ice time, showing just how much he was relied upon by his club. 

And speaking of being relied upon, Skinner entered the season as somewhat of an afterthought and ended up practically saving the whole campaign for the Oilers. After pricey free-agent signing Jack Campbell stumbled mightily out of the gate, Skinner took over the starter's job and gave the Oilers the goaltending they needed, finishing with a 29-14-5 record with one shutout and a .913 save percentage in 50 starts. Skinner's emergence was so impressive that it even earned him a trip to the All-Star Game, where he joined fellow star teammates Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. 

Regardless of who takes home the hardware, each finalist is undoubtedly worthy of recognition.