The Calder Memorial Trophy is an annual

award An award, sometimes called a distinction, is given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An award may be d ...

given "to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL)." It is named after

Frank Calder Frank Sellick Calder (November 17, 1877 – February 4, 1943) was a British-born Canadian ice hockey executive, journalist, and athlete. Calder was the first president of the National Hockey League (NHL), from 1917 until his death in 1943. He ...

, the

first president First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

of the NHL. Serving as the NHL's Rookie of the Year award, this version of the trophy has been awarded since its creation for the

1936–37 NHL season The 1936–37 NHL season was the 20th season of the National Hockey League (NHL). Eight teams each played 48 games. The Detroit Red Wings were the Stanley Cup winners as they beat the New York Rangers three games to two in the final series. Le ...

. The voting is conducted by members of the

Professional Hockey Writers' Association The Professional Hockey Writers Association (PHWA) is a North American professional association for ice hockey journalists writing for newspapers, magazines and websites. The PHWA was founded in 1967 and has approximately 180 voting members. The ...

at the conclusion of each

regular season In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of S ...

to determine the winner.

Eligibility

When the award was established in 1937, there were no requirements beyond that the winner be in his first year of competition in the NHL, and the winner was decided by League President

himself. Currently, the eligibility requirements are that a player cannot have played more than 25 regular season games in any single preceding season, nor in six or more games in each of any two preceding regular seasons, in any major professional league. The last requirement was implemented in 1979 to block

Wayne Gretzky Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...

(who had played a single season in the

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association () was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972–73 WHA season, 1972 to 1978–79 WHA season, 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (N ...

the year before) from winning the award. After the Calder win of 31-year-old Sergei Makarov in 1991 (following the influx of

Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc (Combloc), the Socialist Bloc, the Workers Bloc, and the Soviet Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America that were a ...

players around the fall of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

), the rules were further amended to require that winners be 26 years of age or younger. Further, the limitation is for regular season games only, exempting games played in the playoffs. This has led to aberrations such as

Ken Dryden Kenneth Wayne Dryden (born August 8, 1947) is a Canadians, Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender, politician, lawyer, businessman, and author. He is an Officer of the Order of Canada and a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. He was ...

winning the Calder in 1972, despite leading the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens (), officially ' ( Canadian Hockey Club) and colloquially known as the Habs, are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. The Canadiens compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic D ...

to a

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...

victory the season before, and winning the

Conn Smythe Trophy The Conn Smythe Trophy () is awarded annually to the most valuable player (MVP) of his team during the National Hockey League's (NHL) Stanley Cup playoffs. It is named after Conn Smythe, the longtime owner, general manager, and head coach of the ...

as the playoff MVP.

History

The Calder Memorial Trophy is named in honour of

, the former president of the

(NHL) from its inception in 1917 to his death in 1943. Although ''Rookie of the Year'' honors were handed out beginning in 1932–33, the Calder Trophy was first presented at the conclusion of the

. Calder himself purchased a trophy each year to award to the winner. After Calder's death in 1943 a permanent trophy was cast, and it was renamed the Calder Memorial Trophy. The trophy has been won the most times by rookies from the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

, who have won it on ten occasions, with the most recent being

Auston Matthews Auston Taylour Matthews (born September 17, 1997) is an American professional ice hockey Centre (ice hockey), centre and captain (ice hockey), captain for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). Matthews is widely considere ...

in 2017. The second-most is the Chicago Blackhawks with nine wins. Since the 1948 season, the voting is conducted at the end of the regular season by members of the

, and each individual voter ranks their top five candidates on a 10–7–5–3–1 points system. Three finalists are named and the trophy is awarded at the NHL Awards ceremony after the playoffs.

Winners

File:Howie Meeker Calder.jpg,

Howie Meeker Howard William Meeker (November 4, 1923 – November 8, 2020) was a Canadian professional hockey player in the National Hockey League, youth coach and educator in ice hockey, and a Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament. He became best ...

, winner in 1947 File:Terry Sawchuk 1963.JPG,

Terry Sawchuk Terrance Gordon Sawchuk (December 28, 1929 – May 31, 1970) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played 21 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Los Angeles Kin ...

, winner in 1951 File:Eric vail atlanta flames 1978.jpg, Eric Vail, winner in 1975 File:Mario Lemieux 2001.jpg,

Mario Lemieux Mario Lemieux (; ; born October 5, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played parts of 17 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Pittsburgh Penguins between 1984–85 NHL season, 1984 and 2005–06 NHL se ...

, winner in 1985 File:Pavel Bure in Canucks uniform.jpg,

Pavel Bure Pavel Vladimirovich Bure (, ; born 31 March 1971) is a Russian former professional ice hockey player who played the Winger (ice hockey), right wing position. Nicknamed "the Russian Rocket" for his speed, Bure played for 12 seasons in the Nationa ...

, winner in 1992 File:Daniel Alfredsson.jpg,

Daniel Alfredsson Daniel Alfredsson (; born 11 December 1972), nicknamed "Alfie", is a Swedish-Canadian former professional ice hockey player and assistant coach for the Ottawa Senators. He spent 18 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), primarily with the ...

, winner in 1996 File:Alexander Ovechkin 1 2016-03-01.JPG,

Alexander Ovechkin Alexander Mikhailovich Ovechkin (, ; born 17September 1985) is a Russian professional ice hockey Winger (ice hockey), left winger and Captain (ice hockey), captain of the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nicknamed "the ...

, winner in 2006 File:Gabriel Landeskog in 2012 cropped.jpg,

Gabriel Landeskog Gabriel Landeskog (; born 23 November 1992) is a Swedish professional ice hockey winger (ice hockey), left winger and Captain (ice hockey), captain of the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected second overall in ...

, winner in 2012 File:Auston Matthews 2017-12-09.jpg,

, winner in 2017 File:Moritz Seider.jpg,

Moritz Seider Moritz "Mo" Seider (; born 6 April 2001) is a German professional ice hockey defenceman for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted sixth overall by the Red Wings in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Playing career A ...

, winner in 2022 File:Beniers smiles-2.jpg, Matty Beniers, winner in 2023 File:Connor Bedard rookie closeup.jpg,

Connor Bedard Connor Bedard (born July 17, 2005) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Considered one of the greatest ice hockey prospects of his generation, he was selected first overall ...

, winner in 2024

References

Calder Trophy history at NHL.com

{{Featured list National Hockey League trophies and awards Awards established in 1933 Rookie player awards

Eligibility

History

Winners

See also

References