The league released the three finalists for the Calder Trophy today for rookie of the year. The trophy, by the way, is named for former NHL President Frank Calder who used to purchase a trophy for the league’s outstanding rookie from 1937 until his death in 1943 when the league began presenting the trophy in Calder’s honor.

The three finalists are . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Nicklas Backstrom - Washington Capitals

Patrick Kane - Chicago Blackhawks

Jonathan Toews - Chicago Blackhawks

The winner will be announced on June 12 during the NHL Awards Show.

Here’s a brief description of each finalist:

---- Backstrom finished second among NHL rookie scorers with 69 points
(14 goals, 55 assists) in 82 games, three points behind Kane. Backstrom
was the League’s Rookie of the Month for December and tallied 17 points
(five goals, 12 assists) and a +16 rating in his last 17 outings. His
point total was the second-highest by a Capitals rookie in franchise
history behind Alex Ovechkin’s 106 in 2005-06. His 55 assists set the
club record for a rookie, surpassing Ovechkin’s total by one.

---- The first player selected in the 2007 Entry Draft, Kane tallied 16
points in October as an 18-year-old, the most by an NHL rookie in the
season’s opening month since 1992-93. His shootout goal against Buffalo
childhood hero Dominik Hasek in his second NHL game gave the Blackhawks
their first victory of the season—a 4-3 decision over Detroit Oct. 6.
Kane finished the season as the League’s rookie scoring leader and tops
on the Blackhawks with 72 points (21 goals, 51 assists) in 82 games.

---- Toews scored his first career NHL goal on his first shot in the
first period of his League debut Oct. 10 against San Jose. He went on to
record a point in each of his first 10 NHL games (5-5--10), the longest
point streak by a rookie starting his career since Dmitri Kvartalnov of
the Boston Bruins notched a point in each of his first 14 games in 1992.
Despite missing more than a month due to a mid-season knee injury, Toews
led all rookies in goals (24), tied for the lead in power-play goals
(seven) and ranked third in points (54).

The Professional Hockey Writers Association votes for the Calder Trophy, so here are my votes, ranked 1-5

1. Toews
2. Kane
3. Backstrom
4. Carey Price - Montreal
5. Brandon Dubinsky - NY Rangers

The difference for me in voting Toews first and Kane second, despite Kane leading all rookies in points, was the difference Toews made when he was in the lineup as opposed to when he was out with injury. And despite missing a month of action with a knee injury, Toews still led all rookies with 24 goals and finished third in scoring. It’s kind if splitting hairs a little bit between Toews and Kane, but to me, Toews got the slight edge. I also think that if Price had played more during the season, he probably would have been shoo-in for the trophy, but he had some struggles early and spent a little time down in the minors (I know, it was only two games). And the fact that Price didn’t take over as the No.1 until the trade deadline when Cristobal Huet was shipped to Washington.
And in regards to Dubinsky, I just like the kid. He’s hard-nosed and everytime I saw the Rangers play I liked what I saw from him, he just seemed to bring his game. Throw in the fact that he ended up centering Jaromir Jagr and helped him bring his level up I think speaks volumes to Dubinsky. Plus, he’s from Alaska!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (That had nothing to do with my vote)

The finalists for the Lady Byng Trophy will be announced on Thursday. I’ll be on a field trip through the early afternoon, so I’ll give you my votes on that trophy later in the day.