Rookies Becoming Household Names in these Stanley Cup Playoffs
Every season there are a few rookies who overcome their nervousness and excel in their first Stanley Cup playoffs. This […] This article: Rookies Becoming Household Names in these Stanley Cup Playoffs originally appeared on Florida Hockey Now.
Eric Bolte-Imagn Images Every season there are a few rookies who overcome their nervousness and excel in their first Stanley Cup playoffs. This postseason is no exception with 35 first-year players participating in the playoffs thus far. Some have left lasting impressions.
Of the three Calder Trophy candidates, the Islanders’ Matthew Schaefer is the odds-on favorite to capture the award. Unfortunately for the Islanders, the did not make the playoffs — so Schaefer will have to wait for his postseason debut to really show out. The other two candidates, Montreal’s Ivan Demidov and Anaheim’s Beckett Sennecke , are making their presence felt.
Sennecke has goals in the past three games, four in the playoffs. His 23 goals during the regular season tied him with Schaefer for the rookie lead. His first playoff goal was a tiebreaker in Anaheim’s 7-4 win in Game 3 against Edmonton in Round 1.
Sennecke is tied with Philadelphia’s Porter Martone for the playoff lead in rookie scoring. Martone, Alex Bump and Denver Barkey all impressed and are bright spots in the Flyers’ future. All three scored their first ever playoff goals.