With the 2026-27 season creeping closer, the Calder Trophy conversation is already taking shape around the obvious headliners. Porter Martone, Gavin McKenna and Ivar Stenberg sit near the front of the pack, but rookie of the year races have a way of throwing a few surprises into the mix. And if that happens again, three names stand out as longer-shot candidates who could force their way onto the ballot.
Konsta Helenius looks like the best bet of the bunch. Buffalo has a crowded forward picture to sort through, but the 14 th overall pick in 2024 brings the kind of profile that can cut through clutter.
He already showed plenty of that this summer, when his gold medal-winning goal for Finland at the World Championships put a spotlight on his game. Helenius plays with jam despite being 5-foot-11 and 190 lb, skates well, attacks all three zones with tenacity and can really move the puck.
There’s still some uncertainty about whether he settles in at center or on the wing, but the Sabres clearly have big plans for him. He should get a real chance to make noise in training camp, and it wouldn’t be a shock if he opens the season near the top of the lineup.
James Hagens is another name worth circling in Boston. The Bruins got a wave of buzz when he slid to seventh overall in the 2025 NHL Draft, and that excitement only grew when he got into two games with the club late in the season and then three playoff games.
This year, he’s expected to skate on the third line with Fraser Minten, where his speed and hockey sense should give him a chance to stick. The question is whether he can handle the physical side and keep his decision-making sharp.
If he does, the door opens for more ice time, including power-play chances. Even a little time next to David Pastrnak could be enough to put Hagens into the rookie scoring conversation.
Then there’s Jacob Fowler in Montreal, a goalie who could make this race interesting in a very different way. The Canadiens already have Jakub Dobes in the starter’s role, but the belief around the organization is that Fowler will be the guy when he’s ready, and the 21-year-old third-round pick may be ready sooner rather than later.
He got a taste of action in the 2025-26 season and held up well in 17 starts, finishing with a 2.43 goals-against average and .908 save percentage. That kind of production gives him a real path to the crease in 2026-27, whether that means taking over outright or turning the job into a platoon.
The obstacle is obvious: the last goalie to win the Calder Trophy was Steve Mason for the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2009. Still, if Fowler can pry the starting job away from Dobes and thrive behind a strong Canadiens team, he could absolutely build a case.
Beyond those three, there are more names lurking just outside the spotlight. Chicago has Roman Kantserov and Anton Frondell, while Washington could get a push from Ilya Protas and Cole Hutson.
That’s the kind of depth that makes this race worth watching. Sometimes the top pick cruises to the finish, but plenty of unexpected Calder winners have made their mark before.
If one of these under-the-radar players breaks through, his team will have plenty to feel good about.
In Other News...
Arber Xhekajs Deal Puts His Canadiens Future Under A Brighter Spotlight
Arber Xhekajs latest contract situation says as much about timing as it does about the player himself. According to Nicolas Cloutier, the one-year deal was not something imposed by the Canadiens, but a choice made by Xhekaj and his agent after a summer spent waiting to see whether a trade would ease the congestion on Montreals blue line. His ice time last season never fully matched the long-term role many had imagined for him, which only added to the sense that this was a player trying to keep his options open.
Medium-term contract ideas were also reportedly in the mix, which makes the eventual short-term route even more revealing about where things stood. For Xhekaj, the next season now carries real weight: a stronger year would not only help him re-establish his place in the lineup, it could also put him in a better spot when the next round of negotiations comes around. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens May Have An Unexpected Arber Xhekaj Plan
With Kaiden Guhle unavailable and Montreal still sorting through its blue-line depth, Martin St-Louis is keeping the door open to a different kind of lineup wrinkle for Arber Xhekaj. The Canadiens still view Xhekaj mainly as a defenseman, especially after he recently signed a one-year contract, but the coaching staff is clearly thinking about ways to keep him in the mix as roster needs shift from night to night.
Xhekaj has already gotten a brief look on the wing once before, and the idea is no longer being treated as a one-off curiosity. For Montreal, the appeal is simple: a physical, versatile player who can help in more than one spot gives St-Louis another option while the team waits to see how the rest of the lineup settles in. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Hype Is Suddenly Turning Into A Real Cup Debate
Training camp in Brossard is supposed to be about the grind, but this one opened with a different kind of buzz around the Canadiens. Players reported to the CN Sports Complex for medical exams, and the usual early-camp check-in has been shadowed by a louder conversation about just how high this groups ceiling might be after last seasons playoff run and the presence of key pieces already in place.
The chatter picked up again when the Canadiens were suddenly being treated by some as a legitimate Cup contender rather than just a team on the rise. A prominent NHL.com ranking put Montreal atop the short list of clubs with the best shot at winning it all, and the optimism only grew after the club added veteran forward Chris Kreider over the weekend, enough to send even more voices in the media into full-throated belief about what this roster could become. [Read more 🡒]