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The members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association vote annually on which NHL rookie stood out from the rest, and this year we have three wingers whose careers are really taking off (yes I know that was awful we are mimicking an awards show here)...
Gallagher tied for the Habs' team lead in goal-scoring, and helped lead a rapid turnaround in Montreal this season.
The #3 overall draft pick from 2011 is living up to his billing as an offensive leader.
Saad has stepped into a role on Chicago's top line and hasn't looked out of place, finishing fourth on that team in scoring.
OTF Staff Ballots
1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | Rationale | |
Dirk | Jonathan Huberdeau | Nail Yakupov | Jonas Brodin | Brendan Gallagher | Brandon Saad | Huberdeau was one of the very few bright spots in Florida this season. |
Caroline | Jonathan Huberdeau | Brendan Gallager | Jonas Brodin | Nail Yakupov | Brandon Saad | When you're that productive on team like Florida, you deserve credit. (Also, I was going to add Dougie Hamilton, but then I remembered Yak.) |
Jonathan | Jonathan Huberdeau | Brandon Saad | Brendan Gallager | Jonas Brodin | Nail Yakupov | JH takes the cake, but I have to give some love to the former Saginaw Spirit. He struggled during the lockout and rebounded impressively, taking full advantage of his strong teammates. |
Chris | Jonathan Huberdeau | Jonas Brodin | Nail Yakupov | Brendan Gallager | Brandon Saad | Can it be anyone else? |
George | Brandon Saad | Nail Yakupov | Jonathan Huberdeau | Brendan Gallagher | Jonas Brodin | Not just a benefactor of playing his rookie season with the NHL's best squad, Saad was the most complete rookie of all. He played top minutes with Jonathan Toews, and used his size to create havoc and space for his linemates when he wasn't contributing on the score sheet. |
Jason | Jonathan Huberdeau | Brandon Saad | Nail Yakupov | Jonas Brodin | Brendan Gallagher | The impact on a terrible team like Florida is easier to see than on a great team like Chicago. That's the difference for me. |
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