Makar Elevated Game to Win Calder Trophy

Cale Makar set Colorado Avalanche franchise records in the 2019-20 season for goals, assists, points and game-winning markers by a rookie defenseman, and his top-level play earned him end-of-season hardware for the second straight year.
Makar was named the winner of the NHL's Calder Memorial Trophy on Monday night, with the award going to the player that was the "most proficient in his first year" in the league. This recognition comes 17 months after being named the recipient of the Hobey Baker Award as college hockey's top player in 2018-19 following a similar record-setting campaign with the University of Massachusetts.

"I feel like it's a little bit similar, but the only difference was that I got the Hobey Baker in front of a crowd. It was a little more nerve-wracking to talk in front of that many people," Makar said. "Other than that, I feel for me they are pretty similar, just to be able to receive them, I'm very honored."
Selected No. 4 overall by the Avs in the 2017 draft, Makar is only the second player to win both the Hobey Baker Award in college and Calder Memorial Trophy in his first NHL season, joining another skater that began his professional career in the Mile High City. Forward Chris Drury, who won the Hobey Baker in 1998 with Boston University, was named the Calder recipient the following year after scoring 20 goals and recording 44 points in his first campaign with the Avalanche.
The usual annual awards spectacle in Las Vegas was virtual this year due to concerns with the COVID-19 pandemic, but Makar still got the limelight on a nationally televised broadcast in North America with Wayne Gretzky announcing the Avs blueliner as the winner to begin the show
"Honestly, to have Wayne Gretzky give it to me, that was pretty cool. I had never met him before, so that was a surreal moment for me," Makar said of the NHL's all-time scoring leader, who achieved many, many accolades and records in his playing career but never won the Calder Trophy.

Mobile, offensive-minded defensemen have made bigger and bigger impacts in the NHL in recent years, but this past season featured a special breed of young rear guards serving as key contributors for their respective clubs. Makar led a group that included Quinn Hughes of the Vancouver Canucks, Adam Fox of the New York Rangers, Miro Heiskanen of the Dallas Stars (second NHL season) and several others.
Hughes and Makar finished first and second among rookies in scoring before the NHL stopped its regular season in March due to the pandemic, becoming the first set of D-men to hold the top two rookie scoring spots in the NHL's modern era (since 1943-44). Hughes led with 53 points (eight goals, 45 assists) in 68 games while Makar registered 50 points in 11 fewer contests, suiting up in 57 outings after having two stints with minor injuries.
Makar led all rookies with four game-winning goals and a 0.88 points-per-game average--tied for the third-highest total by a first-year D-man in NHL history (minimum 50 games)--while also being first among rookie defensemen with 12 goals. His 38 assists ranked second for NHL freshmen this past year, and he was first among rookie rear guards in even-strength goals (eight) and points (31) as well as power-play tallies (four). Makar also finished second in power-play points (19) and power-play assists (15) for first-year players.
"I think it's a new time in the league. Coaches and organizations are giving younger guys the abilities and chances to come up on the backend, and guys are taking advantage of it," Makar said of the new generation of offensive defensemen entering the NHL. "I think for us, it's being able to move with the game and for us our main assets are skating and we're able to use that to our advantage."

Makar and Hughes were the undoubtable favorites for the trophy throughout the campaign, and the two defenders finished 1-2 in the final poll by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association, the group that votes on the award.
The Avs blueliner recorded 1538 points and received 116 of the 170 possible first-place votes, being rated first or second on every ballot (54 second-place votes). He finished with 201 more points and 63 more first-place votes than Hughes, while Chicago's Dominik Kubalik finished third with 554 points.
"I feel like we have very similar styles of play," Makar said of Hughes. "I think it's important, especially as a young guy, to watch other guys play, whether its veterans in the league like [Roman] Josi or [Victor] Hedman or younger guys like Hughes and Heiskanen. You need to take little things from everyone's game and add those aspects to your game in order to improve."
Hedman won the Norris Trophy as the NHL's top defenseman in 2018 and Josi was the recipient this year. Makar could be a finalist for that award sooner rather than later, as he finished ninth in the voting for the Norris this year, earning two fourth-place votes and 17 fifth-place votes.
Makar noted after he was named the 2020 winner of the Calder that individual awards aren't something he's focused on heading into each season, but it is a driving force for him to continue to develop his game.
"Obviously the main goal is to help your team and get that Stanley Cup," Makar said. "After winning the award, you want to prove to people why you did. For me, it is just to try and get better every day and come back next season better than I was this year."

The Calgary, Alberta, native joins a strong list of former players that have won the Calder in franchise history, becoming the sixth skater and first defenseman to win the award for the organization. Peter Stastny (1981) and Peter Forsberg (1995) won the award with the Quebec Nordiques, while current Avalanche teammates Gabriel Landeskog (2012) and Nathan MacKinnon (2014) joined Drury as winners since the team has called Colorado home.
The franchise's six rookie of the year honorees are the most for any NHL team since Quebec entered the NHL in 1979-80, while the Avs' four winners since 1995-96 are also the most for any club.
"I'm very honored and just to bring the trophy back to the Avalanche organization is pretty special," said the 21-year-old. "Those two great players in Landeskog and MacKinnon, they're fun to watch, and I'm just happy to be able to boast about the Avalanche organization and bring it back there."
In addition to the Calder, Makar was also named to the NHL's All-Rookie Team, the first Avalanche defenseman to earn the honor since John-Michael Liles in 2003-04. He was the only unanimous selection by the PHWA for one of the six spots on the squad, being named on all 170 ballots.
Makar's success this season no doubt stems from his world-renowned skill and the confidence that coaches had in him in all situations, but he said the accomplishments in his first full NHL campaign wouldn't have been possible without the support of his teammates, the organization and the Avs faithful.
"I can't give enough thanks to each and every one of my Avalanche teammates. Honestly, I owe them a ton of credit for my success this season, and it's a pleasure to compete with those guys," Makar said in his acceptance speech on national television. "To the coaching staff, obviously thank you for the trust that they showed in me throughout this entire season and thank you to our trainers and everyone in the Avalanche administration for everything they did to keep our focus on the ice. To the great fans of Denver, I'm extremely appreciative of the fantastic support you've showed me and our team."
It has been a whirlwind two years for Makar, helping lead UMass to the NCAA championship game, winning the Hobey Baker before jumping straight into the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, producing a record-setting first season with the Avalanche that culminated in another trip to the postseason and a Calder Trophy win.
It's anyone's guess on what Makar's next encore will be, but his trajectory with the Avalanche is certainly being elevated.