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Time of India
a day ago
- Sport
- Time of India
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. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like When Knee Pain Hits, Start Eating These Foods, and Feel Your Pain Go Away (It's Genius) Read More Undo by Taboola by Taboola 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. Also Read: NHL trade news: Connor McDavid's big decision between the Edmonton Oilers and Auston Matthews' Maple Leafs stirs speculation Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!
New York Times
30-07-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
A brief history of the Joe Thornton Award, a fake trophy for best debut with a new team
It's summer and nothing's happening. Let's make up another fake award. We did this last summer, when we introduced the Sam Pollock Trophy for a season's best trade. Prior to that, we've also done the Jimmy Carson Trophy for best sophomore season, as well as the Ray Bourque Trophy for best final season. None of these actually exist, but they should, and that's enough for our purposes. Advertisement For today's award, we're going to create the Joe Thornton Award for the best debut with a new team. A couple of quick rules: Rookie debuts have their own award, so they don't count — a player has to have previously played for another NHL team before joining a new one. Unlike most awards, we're taking the playoffs into consideration. And finally, a player has to have played at least half the season with his new team, because I don't feel like figuring out how to rate deadline pickups. Other than that, the field is open — we can be looking at trades, free-agent signings, waiver pickups or whatever else. We'll cover the cap era, starting with a 2006 recipient. It's Slow News Summer, let's argue about an award that doesn't exist. The contenders: We're starting with what might be the toughest call in the whole exercise, or at least the most crowded field of contenders. The first season after the lockout featured a ton of turnover around the league, as teams adjusted to the new salary cap after having been dormant since 2004. You might assume that Joe Thornton would win the Joe Thornton Award. But it's no sure thing, as we have to consider other Hall of Famers, including Atlanta's Marian Hossa, Anaheim's Scott Niedermayer and Edmonton's Chris Pronger, plus Teemu Selanne going back to the Ducks. But the winner is: Thornton. He's the only player to ever win a Hart Trophy and Art Ross during a season that saw him switch teams, which is kind of hard to overlook. But it's closer than you'd have thought, and there are going to be future seasons where we'll wish we had anywhere near this deep a field. The contenders: It's not as star-studded as last year, but we do have some solid candidates. Alex Tanguay had a point-per-game debut with the Flames after coming over from Colorado, while Marc Savard dropped 96 points in Boston after leaving Atlanta. Advertisement But the bigger stars are on the back end. You might expect Zdeno Chara to be an easy pick here after signing with the Bruins, but he actually had a so-so debut in Boston, only finishing 20th in Norris voting in 2007 before being a finalist in 2008 and winning in 2009. So this one really comes down to Anaheim's Chris Pronger, who was a Norris finalist, or Vancouver's Roberto Luongo, who was the Vezina runner-up. But the winner is: I'm tempted to go with Pronger, since we said the playoffs count and he was dominant there as always while helping the Ducks win it all. But Luongo finished second in Hart voting that year, so I think he probably has to be the pick. The contenders: The field thins out in Year 3 of the cap era, with no goalie candidates apart from Florida's Tomas Vokoun and a forward crop that's limited to the big UFA class of 2007 — Chris Drury, Daniel Briere and Scott Gomez — all of whom were good but not great. But the winner is: I'm going to use this lackluster year as an excuse to give an award to a classic Hall of Very Good guy in Brian Rafalski, who went from New Jersey to Detroit as a free agent and then finished ninth in Norris voting to go with a Cup run. The contenders: Oof. There aren't many. In fact, if you look at the top point scorers for the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons combined, not one name in the top 35 played for multiple teams. The goalies aren't much help, and the best blue-line option is probably Brian Campbell, who signed in Chicago and had 52 points in his debut. But the winner is: Marian Hossa, whose one year in Detroit saw him score 40 goals during the season and six more in a playoff run that famously ended just short of the Cup. The contenders: My first thought was that Hossa could win back-to-back, but his first season in Chicago saw him limited to 57 regular-season games, and he somehow only scored three goals in their Cup run. That's still enough to put him in the running in another thin year — put it this way, I spent way too much time trying to talk myself into the Scott Gomez as a Canadien experience. Advertisement But the winner is: Call it a homer pick if you want, but Phil Kessel had 30 goals in his Leafs debut despite missing the first month due to what was basically the last injury of his career. See, Leaf fans, the trade worked out great. The contenders: Antti Niemi was solid in his first year in San Jose after winning a Cup for the Hawks. With essentially nothing to choose from up front, his main competition will come from the blue line. But the winner is: It's another ex-Hawk, as Dustin Byfuglien scores 20 goals for the Thrashers after being a cap casualty in Chicago. The contenders: My first thought was Brent Burns going from the Wild to the Sharks, but his debut season wasn't great. There's a surprisingly solid case for Ilya Bryzgalov's first year in Philadelphia, and in theory, I shouldn't be using the benefit of hindsight here, but I just can't do it. But the winner is: Let's go with Brad Richards, whose first year as a Ranger saw him bank 66 points. This one also ends badly, but not Bryzgalov-level bad. The contenders: The big names here are the two Wild mega-contracts, Ryan Suter and Zach Parise. Don't sleep on PA Parenteau, who went nearly a point-per-game after joining the Avalanche. But the winner is: Suter. I'd forgotten that he finished as the Norris runner-up in his first year in Minnesota, just barely losing out to P.K. Subban. That's kind of a fascinating vote; I wonder how different Suter's HHOF case would feel if he had that Norris instead of falling a few votes short. For now, Hall voters will have to settle for factoring in his Thornton Award. The contenders: This is a tough year, with most of the biggest transactions coming around the deadline (including Martin St. Louis, Ben Bishop and Roberto Luongo). Mark Streit is worth a look for the Flyers here, as is Cory Schneider in New Jersey. Advertisement But the winner is: Tyler Seguin, who had 84 points and plenty of Hart votes despite not being the sort of guy who pays the price. That's the third ex-Bruins to win our award, by the way, a number nobody else will surpass. The contenders: It's another weak field, although Thomas Vanek was solid after joining the Wild and Paul Stastny was OK in St. Louis. But the focus ends up being on the goalies, where we have names such as Jaroslav Halak with the Islanders and Ryan Miller in Vancouver. But the winner is: Devan Dubnyk, who becomes our second winner from a midseason move. He went from journeyman to Vezina finalist in half a season in Minnesota, even finishing fourth in MVP voting. The contenders: Ryan Johansen and Seth Jones just get in under the wire of our half-season rule, but neither has enough time to really stake out a claim for the Thornton. Dougie Hamilton has a solid first year in Calgary, and we get a couple of strong goaltending options in Edmonton's Cam Talbot and San Jose's Martin Jones. But the winner is: We said we're counting playoff performance, so I think we have to go with the forward who had 59 points on his new team before exploding in the postseason for what should have been a Conn Smythe performance. Yes, it's our first two-time winner: Phil Kessel gets his second Thornton for his first year in Pittsburgh. The contenders: First things first — no, Taylor Hall didn't win the MVP in his first season in New Jersey. He was actually just OK in Year 1, with 53 points before banking 93 in Year 2. But while Hall is out, we still have two more contenders from that wild hour. The question is, who takes the Thornton: Shea Weber or P.K. Subban? But the winner is: Subban, in a photo finish. Weber was actually a bit better during the regular season and finished sixth in Norris voting. But Subban makes up that gap during the playoffs, leading the Predators to the Stanley Cup Final. Advertisement The contenders: Mike Smith is solid in Calgary, and Artemi Panarin is excellent in Columbus. But 2018 throws a wrench into our process by introducing expansion, meaning we've got an entire roster in Vegas that's 'new' to a team. Should that count? Probably not, but somebody should have thought of that before we started this whole thing, and here we are. But the winner is: Marc-Andre Fleury, who went .927 for a team we all thought would be terrible. William Karlsson finishes a close second. The contenders: The biggest name to switch teams is Erik Karlsson, going from Ottawa to San Jose, but his production dipped and he missed nearly 30 games. There's also John Tavares, who scored a career-best 47 goals in his first year in Toronto, and Robin Lehner having a career year in his one season with the Islanders. But the winner is: The playoffs loom large once again. Tavares is the clubhouse leader in April, but Ryan O'Reilly's Conn Smythe playoff run in St. Louis allows him to make up the ground and steal the Thornton. The contenders: It's a crowded field, with names such as J.T. Miller, Jacob Trouba and Mike Smith all in play. Sadly, Phil Kessel doesn't do quite enough in Arizona to make a run at a three-peat. But really, this year's award comes down to the Blue Jackets. Or rather, the ex-Blue Jackets, as Matt Duchene, Sergei Bobrovsky and Artemi Panarin all depart in free agency. But the winner is: Panarin, and it's not all that close. He racks up 95 points in a shortened season with the Rangers, finishing as a Hart finalist and runaway Thornton winner. The contenders: Jacob Markstrom was OK in his first year in Calgary, but his big breakthrough came in season two. Alex Pietrangelo missed a big chunk of his first season in Vegas. And the forward list is just bleak — of the top 60 points leaders from 2019 to 2021, only one played for multiple teams. And that was Mike Hoffman, playing for two teams you have no recollection of him ever being on. Advertisement But the winner is: Let's go with Devon Toews, who fits in well enough in Colorado to earn some Norris votes after coming over from the Islanders. The contenders: It's another expansion year, meaning every veteran from the Kraken is eligible. We've also got Seth Jones in Chicago and Dougie Hamilton in New Jersey, plus a sneaky-good comeback year from Shayne Gostisbehere in Arizona. But this one really comes down to a couple of forwards. But the winner is: In some years, Pavel Buchnevich's 30-goal debut with the Blues would get it done. But this year, he's narrowly beaten out by Sam Reinhart, who goes from Buffalo to Florida and immediately explodes for a career year. Don't worry, Sabres fans, he probably won't keep that up. The contenders: This was that weird year where half the league changed goalies, and the blue line has some interesting names such as Brent Burns and MacKenzie Weegar. But yeah, I'm guessing that last name kind of gave it away. But the winner is: It's going to be an ex-Flame, and since we're factoring in the playoffs, that means a fairly easy win for Matthew Tkachuk in Florida over Johnny Gaudreau in Columbus. The contenders: It's another weak field, one that nearly opens the door for Erik Karlsson's disappointing debut in Pittsburgh to take home the trophy. Instead, my vote came down to two forwards: Alex DeBrincat in Ottawa, or Matt Duchene in Dallas. But the winner is: DeBrincat's numbers were a bit better, but Duchene is a center, and more importantly, he's moved around so much in his career that we should probably give him a Thornton as a lifetime achievement award. The contenders: We end with a strong field, although not necessarily one built around the names we would have expected. Instead, this one largely comes down to Jake Guentzel's 41 goals in Tampa against a trio of goalies: Ottawa's Linus Ullmark, Washington's Logan Thompson and L.A.'s Darcy Kuemper. Advertisement But the winner is: Offense sells, but I think we have to go with Kuemper here, based on his Vezina finalist season that kind of came out of nowhere. The contenders: There is literally no way to know, and it would be silly to even pick someone. But the winner is: Just kidding, we've already engraved Mitch Marner's name on the trophy. (Top photo of Joe Thornton in 2006: Elsa / Getty Images)
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
92 Before 20: How A Perfect Situation With The Kings Helped A Young Jimmy Carson Make History
By Bill Hoppe, Features Writer Jimmy Carson is on the phone chatting about his exploits as the greatest teenage goal-scorer in NHL history, and he's doing a little research at the same time. He can't remember when he learned that the 92 goals he scored for the Los Angeles Kings – 37 as a rookie in 1986-87 and a whopping 55 in 1987-88, the highest total by a U.S.-born player at the time – are the most by a player under 20. The affable, down-to-earth Carson, the No. 2 overall pick in 1986, is pretty sure he had no idea at the time. He thinks perhaps he heard about it in 2013 when TSN aired a feature on his career to mark the 25th anniversary of that little trade he was involved in that sent Wayne Gretzky to Los Angeles. 'At some point, someone said, 'You know, you have the most goals in the history of the NHL as a teenager,' ' Carson said. Carson never looked into it until now. 'I've been led to believe that's an accurate record,' he said. 'Is 'record' the right word?' Record. Achievement. Distinction. Whatever you want to call it, Carson owns it. From Oct. 11, 1986, when he scored a power-play goal in his second NHL game, until March 30, 1988, when he tallied four times and broke Bobby Carpenter's record for most goals in a season by an American player, he compiled 92 regular-season goals before he turned 20 on July 20, 1988. Carson is so curious about his accomplishment – he wants to double-check he's really first – he types 'most goals in NHL history by a teenager' into an internet search engine. 'Let's see what comes up,' said Carson, now 56 and working as a personal financial representative in suburban Detroit. Click here if you agree that Nathan MacKinnon is the best player in the NHL right now. Top 💯: — The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) April 20, 2025 First, he finds another one of his records: most goals in a single season by a teenager, 55. After adjusting his search, he finds what he's looking for. The legendary names behind Carson on the list of the top teenage scorers – Dale Hawerchuk, Gretzky, Sidney Crosby – illustrate how dynamically he performed. Hawerchuk (85) had the second-most goals, followed by Patrik Laine (80), Gretzky and Brian Bellows (76 each) and Crosby (75). No one else has hit 70. So, how has Carson's mark lasted for 37 years? For starters, most youngsters don't play two full seasons as a teenager. Gretzky turned 20 about halfway through his second season with the Edmonton Oilers. Ditto for Connor McDavid, who broke his clavicle as a rookie en route to 16 goals in 45 games. The high-scoring era Carson played in certainly buoyed him. In 1986-87 and '87-88, the NHL averaged 7.3 and 7.4 goals per game. In 2023-24, games averaged 6.2 goals. In 2024-25, the average was 6.0 goals. While some teenagers possess the talent and maturity to produce in a demanding league, it usually takes years. McDavid and Connor Bedard are often called generational talents. Bedard, who turns 20 on July 17, scored 45 goals over his first two seasons with two awful Chicago Blackhawks teams. Several other factors (most notably talent) contributed to Carson's unique place in history. He used his speed and lethal shot to make an immediate impact. 'He had an explosive first few strides,' said Morris Lukowich, one of the linemates Carson played with as a rookie. 'He had huge legs. That was one thing that was tremendous about him. When he got the puck, he'd be gone.' JIMMY CARSON But Carson, the NHL's youngest player during his rookie season, also found himself in the right place at the right time in Los Angeles. The Kings immediately expressed their belief in him, putting him in situations to succeed and showcase his high-end skill set. Like the rest of the Smythe Division in the late 1980s, they played an up-tempo style. Carson was teammates with respected veterans – Marcel Dionne, one of his childhood heroes, Dave Taylor and others – who welcomed him. He also adapted to the NHL alongside Luc Robitaille, another special rookie. If Carson's hometown Detroit Red Wings, who owned the No. 1 pick in 1986, had drafted him, he wouldn't have enjoyed the same early success. The Wings selected Joe Murphy, who, coincidentally, was traded for Carson in 1989. 'In hindsight, it was a real blessing for me, I believe, that I was not picked by Detroit, because they had a whole different style of play, and the Norris Division was much more clutch-and-grab,' Carson said. 'Who knows if I would've made the team or if I would've been sent to the minors or back to juniors? Would I have had as good of a start? You never know how those things develop.' Carson, who scored 70 goals and 153 points for the QMJHL's Verdun Junior Canadiens in 1985-86, learned early in his first training camp just how much the Kings valued him. 'I had a pretty good training camp,' he said. 'And then, we started some exhibition games, and I was told, 'You're making the team, and we expect you to be an impact player right away.' ' The news filled the durable Carson, who played all 160 games over his first two seasons, with confidence. If he had a poor shift or a weak game, he never felt like he would be demoted. While he admits he was raw, he produced from the get-go on a line between Lukowich and Taylor. 'Wherever I played, I could put numbers on the board and score,' he said. 'It just kind of started translating right away.' As a rookie, Carson never went more than eight games without a goal. He enjoyed his hottest stretch in late March, scoring nine times in seven games to hit 37 goals. Meanwhile, Robitaille, a ninth-round pick from 1984 who was always exceeding expectations, scored 45 goals. Having entered the league together, Carson and Robitaille are often linked. They developed a close friendship off the ice and displayed special chemistry on it when they became linemates in 1987-88. 'We were both kind of finding our way around,' Carson said. 'But Luc always exerted such enthusiasm and love of the game and a very strong offensive nose. We had a lot of fun off the ice. We had a lot of fun on the ice. And we were putting some good numbers up.' Carson – whose 186 points as a teen rank fourth behind Crosby, Gretzky and Hawerchuk – remembers watching the 1987 Canada Cup with Robitaille during their second training camp in Victoria, B.C. When Gretzky and Lemieux combined to score their legendary tournament-clinching goal against the Soviet Union – Lemieux, a right-handed shot, moved the puck to Gretzky, a lefty, on the left wing before completing a 2-on-1 – Carson, a righty, and Robitaille, a lefty, looked at each other and said, 'Wow!' 'We're like, 'We're going to have to use that play this year,' and I'll never forget, we actually did a few times,' Carson said. 'I think we called it 'The Mario' or something. I remember a few times, right in the middle of a game, we would see the play develop, and one of us would yell, 'Mario!' ' Carson scored his 50th during a three-goal performance on March 26, 1988. He scored four times four days later, reaching 92 goals as a teenager. Robitaille, who turned 22 that season, scored 53 goals. Then, four months after Carson scored five goals in five games in the 1988 playoffs, the Kings sent him to Edmonton in the massive deal that landed them Gretzky. But even before he was a major part of the biggest trade in sports, Carson had secured his place in hockey history. His early success might never be duplicated. 'It's very hard to compare eras,' Carson said. 'Am I surprised? I've never really thought about it.' This article appeared in our 2025 Top-100 NHLers issue. This issue focuses on the 100 best players currently in the NHL, with the Avalanche's Nathan MacKinnon sitting atop the list. We also include features on Alex Ovechkin finally beating Wayne Gretzky's goal-scoring record, and former CFL running back Andrew Harris' switch to semi-professional hockey. In addition, we provide a PWHL playoff preview as the regular season nears its end. You can get it in print for free when you subscribe to The Hockey News at today. All subscriptions include complete access to more than 76 years of articles at The Hockey News Archive.
