You’ve no doubt already heard about the Calder frontrunners already, Stamkos and Turris, who AJ wrote about earlier.

Here are some of the other candidates for the NHL Rookie of the Year:

1. Mikkel Boedker – Phoenix Coyotes – Boedker was drafted just last year and is already in a position to have a significant impact with the ‘Yotes, as he’s currently slated to play Jokinen and Mueller on the first line. Shane Doan was initially supposed to play in the left wing slot but he was recently moved to the right wing slot to play with Calder frontrunner Turris. The move is very good for Boedker because it sets him up to potentially contribute a good amount of points right away, playing with some very good NHL talent. Boedker himself is very highly talented and he also had a pretty solid pre-season performance on top of it. Look for Boedker to be one of the frontrunners for the Calder, easily, if he can gel with Jokinen and Mueller. The Danish LW would make a very nice pick-up in a keeper league, for sure.
2. Kyle Okposo – New York Islanders – Due to the Isles’ lack of overall depth this season, Okposo has the best shot of contributing right away offensively for his team. Okposo will be starting on one of the top two lines, which gives him an edge over many of his fellow rookies, who are further down the depth chart. Okposo played a few games last season and performed admirably with 5 points in 9 games. Due to this, he’s got a bit of a headstart on a lot of his competition. One thing to keep an eye out for though, is that while talented, Okposo is projected to be a power forward player, and power forwards typically take longer to develop. He still may be able to put up a decent amount of points, though, so he’s as good a bet as any for your fantasy team. Don’t expect his +/- to be that great, though, as the NYI are going to be a pretty poor team this season.
3. Patrik Berglund – St. Louis Blues – Berglund is a highly touted prospect that is projected to be a franchise centerman for the Blues. He’ll be starting off on the second or 1B line, if you will, for St. Louis with veteran Paul Kariya and sophomore David Perron. Kariya even remarked that Berglund has 100 point potential and is in the running for the Calder, so that is always good to hear from a fantasy hockey perspective. Look for Berglund to be a fixture on Kariya’s line, as the trio had a very good pre-season and seem to have chemistry already. Berglund is a definite darkhorse for the Calder and he could surprise some people this season.
4. Jakub Voracek – Columbus Blue Jackets – Voracek was drafted 7th overall in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, the same draft that fellow Calder candidate Kyle Turris, and also Sam Gagner and last year’s Rookie of the Year, Patrick Kane. Voracek is highly talented but he’s on the 3rd/4th line (in terms of ice time) to start the season. As the Jackets have added a few pieces this past season, they’ve improved their depth up front, which moves Voracek down the depth chart slightly. If Voracek does move up and gets playing time with Rick Nash, however, he would dramatically improve his chances to win the Calder.
5. Derick Brassard – Columbus Blue Jackets – Brassard is in a very similar situation as fellow rookie teammate Voracek. His average ice time may fluctuate along with Voracek’s as the season goes on, depending on the line’s defensive performance. Also, keep an eye out for Brassard’s health, as he’s already had an injury in the pre-season, and has also suffered some injury setbacks before in his career. However, barring any injuries and hopefully both Brass and Jake get their deserved ice time, they could put up some solid points as Brassard is a very talented playmaker and Voracek can do the finishing. Both Brassard and Voracek are solid bets in keeper leagues.
6. T.J. Oshie – St. Louis Blues – Oshie, like his teammate Berglund is another highly touted prospect for the St. Louis organization. The Blues have a really nice crop of young players. Although the Blues are still probably a couple years from guaranteed playoff contention, they clearly are going in the right direction. Oshie is slated to line up with Keith Tkachuk and David Backes, in what will no doubt be a very physically tough line to play against. Oshie is more likely to become a very solid two-way player, whereas his counterpart Berglund should be more of an offensive force, Oshie can still score his fair share of points. Look for both players to help carry the Blues back to a new St. Louis playoff streak in the next few years.
7. Blake Wheeler – Bruins – Wheeler made the Bruins final cut due to a strong camp and pre-season performance. The Bruins had to waive a few players just to get him into the lineup, as his bonuses make his cap hit substantial for a rookie player. However, this gesture should bode well for Bruins fans as management looks like they’re ready to move forward with young talent. As for Wheeler, he’s playing on the 3rd line with Krejci and Kobasew. The line was very good in the first regular season game for the B’s as Wheeler scored a goal and later on Krejci potted the eventual game winner. If Wheeler moves up to the first line with Savard, it could put him in a very good position to win the Calder.
8. Fabian Brunnstrom – Dallas Stars – At the time of this writing, Brunnstrom is slated to be a healthy scratch for the first Dallas regular season game. It appears that they will be easing him into the lineup so he can get acclimated to the North American game at a smooth pace. Although there was a lot of hype surrounding him last year, it appears that Brunnstrom at this point is not near the forefront in terms of possible Calder winners. However, this can change quickly if he gets up to speed swiftly, so keep a close eye on him.

Some other possible players who could take the Calder include a very nice crop of young D-men like Doughty, Bogosian, Pietrangelo, and Schenn who were all drafted very high in last year’s NHL entry draft. However, it’s extremely difficult for a really young blue liner to make the impact necessary to get truly noticed for the Calder Trophy. Last year, Erik Johnson had a solid rookie campaign, and is widely considered a bona fide franchise defenseman already, however he was still not able to break into the top nominees for Rookie of the Year, as the top 3 vote getters were all forwards.

Another darkhorse is Nikita Filatov of the Columbus Blue Jackets, who was also taken in the 2008 draft. Although, at this very moment, he’s in the AHL, he’s widely regarded as extremely talented and was thought to be NHL ready during the draft last year. It’s very likely that he’ll be the first call-up for the Jackets if they experience any injuries at all. He won’t win the Calder if he doesn’t play that many games so unless he does get a full time position, don’t expect him to compete for Rookie of the Year in 2008-2009. Another likely scenario for Filatov is that he’ll get sent to the CHL once a transfer agreement is worked out with Russia. Once there, he cannot be called up unless it’s really necessary, unlike when he’s in the AHL where he can be called up any time, essentially. If he does stay in junior, expect him to be one of the frontrunners for the Calder next season.