from Will Burchfield of 97.1 The Ticket,

It’s true, Trevor Zegras has dazzled the NHL in his (second) rookie season with the Ducks. Also true: he continues to trail Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond in the race for Rookie of the Year. The race is far from over, but Detroit’s dynamic duo is positioned 1-2 at the halfway mark.

Or at least it should be.

According to a panel of 16 voters from NHL.com, Zegras has already taken the lead. He garnered 67 voting points in a poll released Monday, compared to 62 for Seider and 59 for Raymond. (Zegras and Seider were tied with seven first-place votes apiece.)

A reminder that Zegras is the rookie leader in exactly zero offensive categories.

Raymond ranks first in goals and points; Zegras is second in both. Seider ranks first in assists; Zegras is third. And not to diminish a young star, but a reminder, for whatever it’s still worth, that Zegras is minus-11. A reminder that he was two games shy of exhausting his rookie eligibility last season. Seider and Raymond, on the other hand, have learned to swim in the deep end.

continued

Posted by Paul from Motown Area on 01/25/22 at 02:19 PM ET

What Moritz Seider is doing this season is nothing short of amazing, I’m sorry but if he doesn’t win Rookie of the Year, even if he loses to Raymond, I will view this as a another offensive stat driven farce from here on out.

Posted by MurrayChadwick from Window Seat on the Captain's Ship on 01/25/22 at 02:31 PM ET

Murray nails it.

Posted by pnwwing on 01/25/22 at 03:21 PM ET

Posted by MurrayChadwick

Yup. I feel like, btw the flashy goal, the charisma in general, and the chance to show that the league isn’t biased toward the east coast, I have a feeling it’s gonna be Zegras. Pretty pointless award, really, but a nice honorific.

Posted by Steeb on 01/25/22 at 03:34 PM ET

I learned during the glory years of the Wings that any individual award means nothing when compared to winning the Cup and raising it above your head.  The ultimate award.

Posted by Paul from Motown Area on 01/25/22 at 03:37 PM ET

That said, I’ll probably watch the awards show for the first time in a decade or so… And by “watch”, I mean “tape and ffwd to the Calder presentation”.

Posted by Steeb on 01/25/22 at 04:00 PM ET

from Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News,

Zadina has been urged by coach Jeff Blashill, and the rest of the coaching staff, to get to the net more often, and spend less time on the perimeter. If there’s been one constant in Zadina’s game as professional, it might be an over reliance on his powerful shot, which can sometimes work as a negative.

“Five-on-five, there’s one area of the ice where everything is scored now and that’s in that slot,” Blashill said. “There’s different ways to get pucks there. You can carry it there, receive passes there, and you can get loose-puck recoveries there. That includes the net-front area.

“It’s easier to talk about than it is to actually do. But whether it’s giving it and finding those soft areas in the slot, whether it’s getting it back and carrying it into those areas, whether it’s, probably this is the easiest way, putting yourself in those areas constantly and other people shooting the puck and you get those loose-puck recoveries.

“The guys that score consistently always have dirty goals as part of their collection, because it’s impossible to score from the outside on a consistent basis. He knows that, and he’s going to continue to work to get to those areas.”

Even getting that hard shot toward the net has been a struggle. Zadina has only been averaging one shot per game over the last 10 games, which makes it even more difficult to score goals.

“There’s probably been more times where he’s had the opportunity to shoot and he hasn’t gotten it off quick enough, more than he’s passed up shot opportunities,” Blashill said. “He looks to shoot as much as anybody on our team. He just hasn’t gotten into those situations enough.

“Before the Christmas break that was extended, he was getting lots of opportunities and chances. He’s just got to keep working his way into getting those chances again.”

more (paid)

Posted by Paul from Motown Area on 01/25/22 at 05:26 PM ET

I agree the what Seider is going has been most impressive to me. Zegras is definitely getting the bump by his highlight reel goal and more outgoing personality.

In my opinion, Tanner Jeannot of Nashville deserves in on the conversation as well. He’s playing great in Nashville, has good stats with very minimal PP time.

There is a half season to go and still a lot can change. Typically the only way a defenseman or goalie wins this award is if no offensive player stands out. I’d like to see them create 3 awards for rookies (forward, defenseman, goalie).

Posted by evileye on 01/26/22 at 11:53 AM ET