Should Jason Robertson be considered a favorite for the Calder?
While being virtually nonexistent during his first 10 games, Jason Robertson has only recently started to heat up. Since March 1, Robertson has scored 12 goals and 17 assists. For those that might want to do the math, that’s nearly a point- per game pace. To make matters more interesting, the Stars have heated up as well. With the team and Robertson now heating up, the Stars have battled back into the playoff picture.
Right now, the Stars are only two points out of the playoff picture. Alexander Radulov only playing in 11 games before getting shut down for the year, top center Tyler Seguin not returning from his offseason hip surgery yet, Roope Hintz playing on an injury that head coach Rick Bowness said most wouldn’t even dress for, Joel Kiviranta missing 25 games (and counting), all accounting for a significant portion of the team’s expected top six this year being out — Robertson has been a big role of getting them there.
In what is truly a “Next Man Up” season for the Stars, Robertson has done more than expected to help. He’s been setting up some clutch goals, like the one two nights ago, to give Joe Pavelski his team-leading 19th goal of the year. Kirill Kaprizov of the Minnesota Wild is the only player with more points than Robertson. With 38 points in 45 games, the Minnesota Wild rookie will continue to make Calder Trophy predictions interesting.
Jason Robertson, meanwhile, has 35 total points in 40 games.The Stars average over four goals a game when he’s on the ice, he’s third in scoring on a team with Joe Pavelski and Roope Hintz ahead in scoring. It is also worth mentioning that the young rookie is near the top of the team stats for “game winning goals”. Could it be fair to say that he makes a big impact on the team, and has hit a hot streak at just the right time?
In my mind, Jason Robertson is the perfect candidate for the Calder Trophy.