Skip to main content

Artemi Panarin Races for the Calder


CHICAGO, IL -- I got the notification during my noon class.

"Artemi Panarin has been named the NHL's First Star of the week after posting 8 points (3G, 5A) in 3 games."

What a crazy thing to think that this rookie (though I've heard he doesn't quite enjoy being called one) from the KHL could meld so quickly with his almost comically similar linemate, Patrick Kane, and another newbie to the team (and also Russian), center Artem Anisimov.

He's had a really incredible season thus far, so when people say he doesn't deserve the Calder, I scratch my head a little.

Is it the age thing? NHL says he's a rookie, so I'll take their word for it.

Is it the fact that he's played for another hockey league? NHL doesn't recognize it as a professional league.

Is it the fact that he plays on a line with Patrick Kane? Well, you do want to put players with chemistry and similar game play on the same line.

Sure, he had a nine-game scoring drought, but let's be honest: March wasn't the highlight of the season at all for the Blackhawks.

 But, he's picking up at the point in the season when the team needs him to the most.

 He's leading the rookies in goals, assists, and points (28-44--72), and in each of those categories, he's leading by a fair amount. He leads rookies in points by 20, the next runner-up being Eichel with 52. Panarin's three-game run has been a good one, putting him that much further in front of his competition. And, this isn't even his first 'First Star of the Week'--in fact, it's his third on the season, which is pretty impressive.

 Remember, too, that this is really the first time in a while that Patrick Kane has had a solid line to play on. The second line hasn't changed much this season aside from when Panarin or Anisimov were sick or out with injuries. They've also done the most scoring for the Blackhawks this season, which helped them in the early part of the season to maintain an upper seed in the standings. It's what helped make March less dreadful.

 The thing that bites the most about this is that people refuse to even suggest he could be a nominee for the Calder Trophy. Now, I'm slightly biased, but... what?

 With that impressive of a rookie season in the NHL, he's deserving of the trophy. He's the first to tally 72 points in a rookie season for the Blackhawks since his twin, Patrick Kane, did it in 2007-08. He's also the first rookie to post consecutive four-point games for the Blackhawks. Ever.

 Now, people will have their opinions about all of this, and that's fine. But, if you're discrediting the hard work he's put in this season because of his age, or because he plays for a good team, or because he's on a line with Patrick Kane, you need to take a step back and look at the stats.

 If for one second you think someone else is more deserving of this trophy than Panarin, well... I don't know what to tell you.

The evidence for him is pretty damning.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Checking In - Breaking Down the Blackhawks' Play Over a Month

CHICAGO, IL — I’m going to be absolutely real with you—I had no idea what to write about for the blog this week. I’ve written about the Blackhawks being good, bad, and everything in between, I’ve written about Patrick Kane a couple times now (#Kane4Hart), and I’ve even written about the best goal celebrations from the Hawks this season. The idea tank is running dry, my friends. So, I thought we could throw it back to a post I made a while back about what the Hawks really needed to do to make the playoffs, and grade them on how well they're meeting all three of those items a couple of weeks later. Let's just get right on into it, shall we? 1) With 27 games left, you have to go 18-9 to get to the 88-90-point range that would potentially get them into the playoffs. So, the Hawks currently sit at 71 points through 70 games, and since the date of this article (February 8th), the Hawks have gone 9-6, which is not terrible, but also only gives them a b...
Post a Comment
Read more

Measuring the Blackhawks Rookies and Newbies

CHICAGO, IL -- I know I did a quick measure of the entire Blackhawks roster back in February, but I thought since the season is likely coming to a close (save for a miracle), it might be nice to get an idea of where the newbies and rookies to the Hawks roster are. For this article, I did create some guidelines, like I did with the mid-season report cards (end of season report cards are coming soon, by the way!). This isn't really going to be a report card, but more of just my general thoughts on how the player is doing in his first season with the Hawks--I'll give a more specific/"graded" report in the post-season report cards article. The basic guidelines are as follows: Must be currently on the Hawks roster (not in Rockford) Must have played less than 82 NHL games OR less than 82 games with the Blackhawks (all stats will be just for this season to make things easy) Must be their first full year playing with the Blackhawks With that out of...
Post a Comment
Read more

Hawks Bounce Back with a Huge W over Penguins

PITTSBURGH, PA -- Well, this Hawks team looked decidedly better tonight, and much more like themselves.  The Hawks certainly started strong, taking just three minutes to score--and of course, it was another Artemi Panarin and Patrick Kane beauty (with Tanner Kero's help as well). This was Panarin's 26th goal on the season, and boy has he looked good this season. And, incidentally, all three of these players that helped on this goal are the three stars of the night. Well deserved, too. But, back on track. Not but a few moments later,  Scott Wilson took a penalty for whacking the back of Ryan Hartman's head with his stick--in the words of referee legend Mike Leggo: you can't do that. Hawks went to the power play, but nothing came of it and they were back to even strength. Corey Crawford made some incredible stops tonight, and I thank my lucky stars every night that the Hawks are lucky enough to have him in net. He and Scott Darling are an unbelievable duo. The ...
Post a Comment
Read more