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From snubs to shockers: Five NHL all-rookie team moments that still have fans talking
NHL Logo: Five NHL all-rookie team moments that still have fans talking (Getty Images)
Since the NHL All-Rookie Team debuted in the 1982-83 season, it's been a benchmark for emerging talent, a stamp of approval that a first-year player has truly arrived. But the history of this award isn't just a clean list of names.
It's dotted with oddities, surprises, and records that feel almost impossible to replicate.
My NHL All Rookie Team This Season // #shorts #nhl
Historic highs and baffling misses
In 1987, the Los Angeles Kings achieved something no other NHL team has matched: three rookies from the same roster making the All-Rookie Team in one season. Luc Robitaille, Jimmy Carson, and Steve Duchesne all earned the honor, with Robitaille also claiming the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year.
Five years later, the league witnessed the opposite, a shocking omission.
In 1992, Pavel Bure captured the Calder Trophy but somehow didn't make the All-Rookie Team. Splitting his season between left and right wing, his votes were divided between the two positions. Tony Amonte and Gilbert Dionne secured the winger spots instead. The NHL quickly adjusted its voting system to avoid another situation like this.
Luc Robitaille and Jimmy Carsons Magical Season
Rookie records that defied the norm
Some rookies don't just make the All-Rookie Team; they rewrite history, and in 1990-91, Ed Belfour dominated as a first-year goaltender.
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Leading the NHL in wins, goals-against average, and save percentage, his performance earned him the Calder, Vezina, and Jennings Trophies, plus a First-Team All-Star selection. No other rookie has matched this triple-award sweep.
The 1989-90 season brought another outlier: Sergei Makarov, a 31-year-old former Soviet League star, who led all rookies with 86 points for the Calgary Flames. Despite being over a decade older than most rookies and 12 years older than Mike Modano, the next-best rookie scorer, Makarov claimed both the Calder and All-Rookie Team honors.
His win sparked an NHL rule change, limiting rookie eligibility to players aged 25 or younger.
Goaltenders who did it twice
If making the All-Rookie Team once is a career highlight, doing it twice is nearly unheard of. Only two players, both goaltenders, have pulled it off. Jamie Storr earned back-to-back honors in 1998 and 1999 after limited appearances in his first season kept him eligible. Over a decade later, Jake Allen achieved the same distinction in 2013.
And again in 2015, with non-consecutive seasons of standout play.
While the NHL All-Rookie Team is meant to spotlight rising stars. These unusual cases show that the path to rookie glory isn't always straightforward, whether it's an unexpected snub, a record-setting season, or a rare repeat honor. The award's history proves that even in a league built on stats and performance. As there's always room for the unexpected.
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