Last week, when the NHL announced the final three nominees for the Calder Trophy, Buffalo Sabres rookie Jack Eichel wasn’t on the list.
To many – at least to many Buffalo Sabres fans – this seemed to come as a huge surprise.
Many felt ‘slighted’ or ‘disappointed’ that Eichel didn’t get a nomination.
Many of those people pointed out the nomination of Chicago’s Artemi Panarin, who’s 24 years old and has played several seasons of professional hockey in Russia.
Some seemed to feel that Panarin didn’t deserve a nomination since he’s already played pro – but the qualifications for the Calder say nothing about previous pro experience, only NHL experience, and Panarin does qualify as an NHL rookie.