Who will become the best rookie of the year, which club will surely surprise the skeptics, who will become the best regular season sniper – Sport Arena forecasts
Oleg Shimansky
In 2021, it’s time for sports fans to change their sleep schedule: The NHL season is about to begin, and in early February, the Australian Open will arrive. In the meantime – the most intriguing questions of the new hockey season.
Who will receive the Calder Trophy as the best rookie?
There are enough newcomers this year, and a dozen and a half claim for the Calder Trophy decent hockey players. Among them there are both experienced guys (Caprizov, Shesterkin, for example), and still very young Lafrenier and Stützle.
I am inclined to believe that the goalkeeper is unlikely to receive the prize for the best rookie, since the season is short, there was no full-fledged pre-season and the performance will increase from this. Therefore, we discard promising Russian goalkeepers Shesterkin and Sorokin, and look towards field players.
Canadian wunderkind Alexis Lafrenier, who was not even allowed to the World Youth Championships to fully prepare for the season, will definitely get into the starting roster. But due to the fact that he will start not in the TOP-6, the performance will suffer, and, as the practice of recent years shows, this is one of the main criteria for awarding the award. That is why Tim Stützle, a potentially very strong player, will also suffer, because Ottawa is not the most productive team.
But Kirill Kaprizov is quite capable of setting fire in Minnesotasuitable partners, and Kirill himself is charged to the limit. At the training camp, everyone is delighted with the game of the author of the golden goal of the Olympics-2018, the coach praises him in every way, and the division is not the most difficult. So my prediction is The Calder Trophy will be in the hands of Kirill Kaprizov at the end of this season.
Which team will be the main opening of the season?
One of the most difficult predictions is related to the opening of this season. Arizona did well last year in the playoffs, with the Islanders showing a miracle defense and reaching the Conference Finals. The Coyotes will definitely not repeat the success, and I personally consider the Islanders to be contenders for at least the semi-finals of the Conference this season.
Looking at the rosters, it seems like the favorites are obvious, but the shortened season is always ready to surprise. I propose to look at the Northern division, where Edmonton and Toronto are considered the favorites, and the remaining 5 teams are sent to the wheelhouse for a place in the playoffs. Among these commands I found a potentially unexpected Stanley Cup winner – Vancouver Canucks. The team is young, with the same leaders in attack (Elias Petersson), defense (Quinn Hughes) and a strong goalkeeping line (Thatcher Demko and Brayden Holtby).
For the most part, the guys play very decently, with the defense of their gates, the experienced Holtby will solve the issues, including through mentoring. Hughes, in my opinion, is one of the top five shooting guards in the league, so there are no questions here either. Physical condition due to age will allow the team to give all the best, sparing no effort, and this can be a determining factor in success. So that, these guys are capable of doing what Pavel Bure, Markus Näslund and the Sedin brothers failed to do.
Who will fail the season contrary to optimistic forecasts?
It’s easier to fail in the NHL than in the same KHL, but leaders prove every year that competent management lays the foundation for years to come. Recent Stanley Cup winners Chicago and Los Angeles are underdogs this season due to their misses. I would venture to guess that this year they will be joined by another team that shone in the last decade – the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Despite the presence of healthy Crosby and Malkin, a rather weak DeSmit/Jerry goaltending line and playing in unequal lineups can do a disservice. Yes, and the division in which place in the playoffs before the start of the season staked out Boston and Washington, and Philadelphia and the Islanders with a stronger Buffalo claim the two remaining vouchers, which definitely does not increase the chances of the penguins. Therefore, we will wait for strengthening by 2022, and in this the team will disappoint its fans.
How close is Ovechkin to Gretzky’s record?
At the moment, Ovechkin 706 NHL career goals. Before the record of the Great Wayne Gretzky (894) according to a schedule of about 45 goals per season, Alexander would need 4-5 years, which, you see, is a long time for a 35-year-old athlete. Add here shorter seasons, a difficult division, and it becomes clear that, most likely (no one will give guarantees), the record will stand.
At the same time, for 56 matches in 2021, if health allows all games to be played, Ovi is able to score about 25-30 goals, which will allow him to move from the 8th line in the list of the most scoring NHL forwards in history to the fifth. But not in this one, so next season Ovechkin will become the record holder for goals in the majority, here he has third place (260) and is within easy reach of the first (274). Well, or a club. And from the left face-off circle.
Who will be the top scorer in the regular season?
Well, the most important question is who will score the best statistics of the shortened season? Panarin with Zibanejad? Hall and Eichel? Or maybe Marchand without Pastrnak missing the start of the season? Or will the “oil” couple Dreisatl/McDavid again top all the ratings?
It seems to me that this time the guys from Edmonton will be replaced by a player who will pull his team to the former glory of the times of Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg and Patrick Roy. Yes Yes, I give my vote to Nathan McKinnon. First of all, thanks to good teamwork with Mikka Rantanen and a strong majority. And secondly, in connection with a simpler division.
Last season, Nathan knocked out 1.35 points per game, this year he can aim for grandmaster 1.5-1.6, although last year Draizatl knocked out just that much. Everything will be decided by the details and, possibly, injuries or missed matches due to covid, but in any case, my favorite is McKinnon.
Of course, we can make predictions and wait for one thing, and the best hockey players in the world will decide everything differently. Everything will start to become clear very soon – on the night of January 13-14 we will see the first NHL matches. I don’t know about you, but I’m already ready to spend a sleepless night watching the game of future hockey legends.
Source: Sportarena
I’m Todderic Kirkman, a journalist and author for athletistic. I specialize in covering all news related to sports, ranging from basketball to football and everything in between. With over 10 years of experience in the industry, I have become an invaluable asset to my team. My ambition is to bring the most up-to-date information on sports topics around the world.
