Ivan Demidov, Matthew Schaefer, Beckett Sennecke Named Calder Trophy Finalists
Midway through tonight’s Draft Lottery, the NHL announced its latest finalists for an end-of-season award. This year’s Calder Trophy finalists are Canadiens winger Ivan Demidov, Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer, and Ducks winger Beckett Sennecke. The Calder Trophy goes to the NHL’s top rookie and is voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers Association.
Demidov is the only one of the three who had NHL experience heading into the season, that coming in the form of two regular season games and five postseason contests last year but that didn’t affect his eligibility. The 19-year-old was the fifth overall pick in 2024 and led all freshmen players in assists (43) and points (62), while playing regularly in a top-six role. He also paced all first-year players in power play points with 20. If he wins the award, he would be the second straight Montreal player to win the award after Lane Hutson did so last season.
That said, Schaefer is widely assumed to be the overwhelming favorite for the award this year. The number one pick last June, he made New York’s roster out of training camp and was put into a top role basically immediately. As a result, he wound up playing well enough to garner serious Olympic consideration for Canada. Meanwhile, he tied for the rookie lead in goals (23) and was third in points (59), setting a league record for goals by a freshman blueliner. He also logged 24:41 of ice time per game, by far the most for any first-year player and 11th overall among all NHL skaters. He would be the first Islander since 2018 to win the award (Mathew Barzal).
As for Sennecke, his third-overall selection in 2024 raised some eyebrows originally but it’s fair to say that Anaheim is pleased with their pick so far. He tied Schaefer for the rookie lead in goals while finishing second in assists (37) and points (60). He also recorded 197 shots on net to lead all rookies while logging more than 17 minutes a night of playing time. If he were to win, he would be the first Anaheim player to take home the award.
There is no word yet on when the NHL will reveal the winners. Last year, they announced some awards through pre-recorded segments while holding an abbreviated awards show in June. It’s unclear if they will do so again this year or do something different.
NHL Announces 2026 King Clancy Memorial Trophy Nominees
Earlier this week, the NHL revealed the 32 nominees for the Masterton Trophy. Today, they unveiled another set of award nominees with the 32 finalists for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy. The award is presented “to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.”
Unlike the Masterton finalists which were voted on by each chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association, each team picked one player to serve as their nominee. Also unlike most awards, there won’t be a media or player vote to determine the winner. Instead, the winner will be picked by a committee consisting of Commissioner Gary Bettman as well as former winners of the King Clancy Memorial Trophy and the NHL Foundation Player Award.
The team nominees are as follows:
Anaheim Ducks: G Lukas Dostal
Boston Bruins: D Jordan Harris
Buffalo Sabres: F Alex Tuch
Calgary Flames: F Jonathan Huberdeau
Carolina Hurricanes: D Jaccob Slavin
Chicago Blackhawks: D Alex Vlasic
Colorado Avalanche: D Sam Malinski
Columbus Blue Jackets: F Boone Jenner
Dallas Stars: G Jake Oettinger
Detroit Red Wings: F Dylan Larkin
Edmonton Oilers: F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
Florida Panthers: F Sam Bennett
Los Angeles Kings: F Kevin Fiala
Minnesota Wild: F Marcus Foligno
Montreal Canadiens: F Nick Suzuki
Nashville Predators: F Ryan O’Reilly
New Jersey Devils: F Jack Hughes
New York Islanders: F Kyle Palmieri
New York Rangers: D Adam Fox
Ottawa Senators: G Linus Ullmark
Philadelphia Flyers: F Garnet Hathaway
Pittsburgh Penguins: F Bryan Rust
San Jose Sharks: F Alexander Wennberg
Seattle Kraken: G Joey Daccord
St. Louis Blues: D Colton Parayko
Tampa Bay Lightning: D Ryan McDonagh
Toronto Maple Leafs: F John Tavares
Utah Mammoth: F Alexander Kerfoot
Vancouver Canucks: F Brock Boeser
Vegas Golden Knights: F Jack Eichel
Washington Capitals: F Alex Ovechkin
Winnipeg Jets: F Gabriel Vilardi
The award was first handed out in 1988. The winner will receive a $25K donation to benefit a charity or charities of his choice. The winner will also be eligible to elect that his team receives a grant from the NHL for up to $20K to help organize a special activation related to his humanitarian cause.
NHL Announces 2026 Masterton Trophy Nominees
Each year, the Masterton Trophy is awarded by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association “to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to ice hockey.” Voting isn’t done at large; one player from all 32 teams is nominated by their local media chapter. That eventually gets narrowed to three finalists and a winner closer to the awards ceremony, but today, each club announced who they’re putting up for this year’s honor:
Avalanche: F Gabriel Landeskog
Blackhawks: G Spencer Knight
Blue Jackets: F Boone Jenner
Blues: G Jordan Binnington
Bruins: D Charlie McAvoy
Canadiens: D Mike Matheson
Canucks: G Kevin Lankinen
Capitals: F Alex Ovechkin
Devils: D Brenden Dillon
Ducks: G Ville Husso
Flames: G Devin Cooley
Flyers: F Garrett Wilson
Golden Knights: G Akira Schmid
Hurricanes: F Taylor Hall
Islanders: F Kyle Palmieri
Jets: F Jonathan Toews
Kings: F Anže Kopitar
Kraken: F Jordan Eberle
Lightning: D Darren Raddysh
Mammoth: F Clayton Keller
Maple Leafs: D Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Oilers: G Connor Ingram
Panthers: F Brad Marchand
Penguins: F Anthony Mantha
Predators: F Ozzy Wiesblatt
Rangers: D Matthew Robertson
Red Wings: F Dominik Shine
Sabres: D Rasmus Dahlin
Senators: G Linus Ullmark
Sharks: G Laurent Brossoit
Stars: F Jamie Benn
Wild: G Jesper Wallstedt