Anaheim Ducks' Beckett Sennecke scored a hat trick last night and took the lead in the rookie goal-scoring race while cutting Ivan Demidov's lead in the rookie-scoring race to just two points.
From the moment he arrived in town last April, Ivan Demidov has been a Montreal Canadiens fan’s favourite, and his performance this season has not disappointed. He started the year on a line with fellow rookie Oliver Kapanen and Alex Newhook, which proved to be a very good line until Newhook was injured, forcing Martin St-Louis to find another combination. The rookies got a turn with Kirby Dach, but he was injured in their very first game as linemates. They then had a seven-game stint with Juraj Slafkovsky before spending a few games with Alexandre Texier. Still, ultimately, the coach reverted to the Slovak power forward, and the league has really come into its own.
After 52 games, the Russian rookie leads all NHL rookies with 43 points, 24 penalty minutes, and a plus-eight rating, and until Sunday night, his linemate Kapanen was leading all rookies in goals scored, with 16, but that changed with the Anaheim Ducks’ 4-3 win over the Calgary Flames. Ducks’ rookie Beckett Sennecke scored his first hat trick in the comeback overtime win, leapfrogging Kapanen in the rookie goal-scoring race. He now has 18 lamplighters.
That performance also allowed Sennecke to get closer to Demidov and the rookie-scoring lead, as he now has 41 points, just two behind the Canadiens’ Russian wonder. Both players have skated in 52 games and should be Matthew Schaefer’s main competition in the race for the Calder Trophy.
The fact that Demidov has the lead right now is impressive considering he only plays an average of 18.1 shifts per game compared to Sennecke’s 21.7 shifts and Schaefer’s 26.9. Of course, it means the Russian gets less ice time, skating for an average of 15 minutes and 24 seconds, while Sennecke spends an average of 17:09 on the ice, and the defenseman, 24:04. Demidov is undoubtedly making the most of the time he is given.
In the last 10 years, seven forwards have won the Calder Trophy while only three defensemen have been able to grab it. Last year, Lane Hutson won it with 66 points, while Moritz Seider claimed it in 2021-22, and Cale Makar landed it in 2019-20, both with 50 points, but Covid shortened Makar’s rookie season. Over those 10 years, the forwards who won the Trophy averaged 67 points.
As things stand, Demidov is on pace for 68 points while Sennecke is on pace for 65. Meanwhile, Schaefer is on pace for 55 points, in Calder Trophy territory for a blueliner, and his role goes beyond just putting up points for the New York Islanders. It feels like Demidov will need to really separate himself with his production if he’s to win the rookie of the year trophy for a second year running for the Canadiens.
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