Kukla's Korner Hockey
Deserving A Calder Nomination
by Paul on 04/05/11 at 06:54 AM ET
Comments (5)
from Frank Seravalli of the Philadelphia Daily News,
My ballot has yet to be filled out. Votes like these should be taken seriously. As such, I will wait until the last possible moment, to fully digest the complete regular season for each player - and judge based on the whole and not its parts.
That’s why I’m leaning toward the Flyers’ Sergei Bobrovsky as my third Calder finalist and not Crawford or Neuvirth.
Statistically, all three goaltenders are close. Crawford quickly supplanted Marty Turco for the Blackhawks’ starting job. He has a 31-17-5 record in 51 starts with a .918 save percentage and 2.27 goals-against average.
Neuvirth is 26-11-4 with a .914 save percentage and a less-impressive 2.50 GAA.
For me, the case for Bobrovsky is simple. He didn’t even land in North America until August. Few knew his name, let alone what to expect from him. Bobrovsky hadn’t even played a single game in a North American-style rink until a rookie game against Washington in September.
Bobrovsky, 22, went from the worst team in Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League to one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference. Now, he is leading the Flyers into the Stanley Cup playoffs as their starter apparent - and he has won over a fan base that places more pressure on their goaltending than any city outside of Montreal.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Philadelphia Flyers, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: sergei+bobrovsky
Comments
ransacktheelder, we are on the same level today.
Normally I try to point to writers who are not directly involved in a decision, but this one I could not let go by since it has the traits yo just mentioned.
Posted by Paul from Motown Area on 04/05/11 at 11:16 AM ET
If Bobrovski wins the Calder, he’ll be the next Raycroft.
Posted by steviesteve on 04/05/11 at 11:25 AM ET
No, but only because Raycroft didn’t have big, conspicuous-looking bricks glued on top of his oversized chest-protector.
Posted by steviesteve on 04/05/11 at 02:00 PM ET
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Oh, boy, here’s a surprise: A Philly sports “writer” is going to nominate a Flyers’ player for the Calder. Wow. I’m so shocked. I’m glad I was sitting down when I read this. However, I do wonder why homeboys like this bother with attempting to explain their opinion. It’s obvious he’s voting for Bobrovsky because he plays for the Flyers, not for any other reason. Why not just write that?
Posted by ransacktheelder on 04/05/11 at 11:11 AM ET