On Tuesday, the final five NHL awards are being handed out. The second award of the night was the Calder Memorial Trophy, handed out to the NHL’s top rookie. Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider took home the trophy after a stellar first season. Maple Leafs winger Michael Bunting and Ducks center Trevor Zegras were the other two finalists.
The 21-year-old was the sixth-overall pick by Detroit back in 2019 and spent his post-draft season with AHL Grand Rapids before playing in Sweden last season. The extra seasoning certainly was beneficial as he led all rookie defensemen with 50 points (seven goals and 43 assists), the third-highest point output from a rookie rearguard in the last 30 years. Seider also led all rookies (including forwards) in assists and power play points while logging more than 23 minutes a game to lead all Detroit defensemen, a franchise record for all rookies.
As a result, the vote wasn’t particularly close. Of the 195 PHWA members to cast a ballot, Seider was ranked first on 170 of them while he was the only player to appear in the top three on every ballot. That helped Seider become the first Detroit rookie to win the award since goaltender Roger Crozier back in the 1964-65 season.
The full results of the voting can be found here.
Congratulations to Mo Seider…well earned and well deserved! This is a great win for the Detroit Red Wings organization as well!
He is truly impressive, cornerstone to rebuild the Wings. Raymond should have been a finalist.
Best reverse checker I’ve seen since Datsyuk.
I had sky-high hopes for Seider in his rookie season and he still exceeded them.
He already plays like a seasoned vet, rarely makes mistakes, and has an otherworldly feel for the game in all three zones.
Yzerman has done a fantastic job rebuilding the Red Wings. The next few years are going to be awesome.