Darren Dreger was on Edmonton’s TSN 1260 on Tuesday morning.
On who he thinks will win the Calder Trophy, after the nominees of Artemi Panarin, Connor McDavid and Shayne Gostisbehere were named on Monday evening:
“Well, look. I can only tell you who I voted for. In this order, I went Panarin, McDavid, and Gostisbehere.
“… If Connor McDavid doesn’t miss three months, we’re probably – well, we’re having this conversation because you don’t know until the award has been announced. But I think it’d be a lot more convincing that he was going to win the Calder. He still made a strong push, no question about that. For that reason, he’s on my ballot a top-2 rookie.
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“Even though I understand the argument of Panarin’s age, and how maybe they’ve got to consider putting limitations in the future – I don’t know if they really will – the fact that he had what, 20-plus points more than the next guy? That matters. That matters. And I know (they put him) on a line with Patty Kane, and that matters to some degree as well. But you still have to do it. You still have to play the games. You still have to produce the points, and Panarin did that.
“And I really struggled with Gostisbehere as well, because I don’t think the Philadelphia Flyers make the playoffs without him. Certainly not without his offense and how well he played.
“So for me, those are the three guys that should have made the top 3 finalists for the award.”
Source: TSN 1260/ Transcript: Nichols
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