Colorado Avalanche rookie Gabriel Landeskog looking forward to winning Calder Trophy -NHL Update
It has been almost a year since Gabriel Landeskog was selected as the second overall pick during the 2011 National Hockey League (NHL) Entry Draft by the Colorado Avalanche and after a great season, the rookie is looking forward to ending it with a Calder
Trophy.
"It's crazy. Time really does fly. It feels like yesterday I was sitting there [at the Draft]," Landeskog told NHL.com while in New York for a product promotion. "I've been having a lot of fun with it, but I'm enjoying it with my family and friends."
Being termed as the “Most NHL Ready” player prior to the 2011 draft by NHL scouts all over the league, Edmonton Oilers decided to go with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, while Colorado definitely scored by selecting Landeskog.
He was signed on to a three-year, $2.775 million contract which will come to an end after the 2013-2014 regular season.
Landeskog has definitely been working hard all season long and missing the playoff by less than 10 points was also an achievement of its own, which they hope to correct in the up and coming season.
"Coming back from the All-Star break and getting a bit of a break from the tough schedule was good for me," Landeskog said. "Confidence is a huge part of the game, and coming back I felt like my production started coming. The last couple of months [of the
season] were better than the first couple of months."
Playing all 82 games with Colorado, Landeskog certainly showed why he was the second to be picked. The 19-year-old left winger potted 52 points (22 goals, 30 assists) for a plus-minus rating of 20, which definitely proves that the players has a lot of potential
for sure.
Even Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was not able to match the brilliant performance and sheer dedication of Landeskog, which has certainly made him the frontrunner for this year’s Calder Trophy for the best rookie player of the season.
Displaying such fearlessness during the regular season and fighting his way through the competition every night is something that sets Landeskog apart from the competition, making this year’s NHL awards even more exciting than the last.
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