"And the winner of the 2007-2008 Calder Trophy is..."

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Two of the best sophomores in the National Hockey League, Nicklas Backstrom of the Washington Capitals and Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks. Both were candidates for the Calder Memorial Trophy last season; Patrick Kane being the actual receiver, Nicklas Backstrom the runner-up.


The Calder Memorial trophy is awarded to the NHL's best rookie in a particular season. Some of the best players in hockey's history have won this trophy; like Bobby Orr in the '66-'67 season, Mike Bossy in '77-'78, Ray Bourque in '79-'80, Mario Lemieux in '84-'85, Martin Brodeur in '93-'94 and Alex Ovechkin in '05-'06.
In general, to be named one of the best rookies in the league is an amazing feat, one that Nicklas Backstrom was able to achieve.
Backstrom was not the winner of the Calder Trophy last season (2007-2008), but he was the runner-up, behind the winner, Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks. To even be considered a choice for best rookie in a debut season is amazing. Entering the NHL is a whole different world compared to the other hockey affiliations out there.
For Nicklas Backstrom it was an even greater challenge; a new language, culture and an unfamiliar place far away from his home in Gavle, Sweden.
But Nicklas did not hold back. He finished the season with 14 goals, 55 assists, 69 points and +13.
This season, he has already almost tied the number of goals (currently has 12), and is 6th in the league in assists with 36.

Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks was the other candidate for the Calder Trophy last year.


More on the Calder Memorial Trophy here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calder_Memorial_Trophy

Aye, aye Captain Clark!

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The captain of the Capitals, Chris Clark, fighting Adam Hall of the Tampa Bay Lightning on January 1st, 2009.

On the first day of the new year, the Capitals hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning at the Verizon Center. It was a very eventful game! The Capitals were up 3-0 at the first intermission with goals from Sean Collins, David Steckel and Mike Green. In the second period Tampa Bay scored 3 goals, and the caps one, by Matt Bradley. Finally in the third period, the Capitals continued their lead scoring 3 more goals by Alex Ovechkin, Boyd Gordon, and the number one leader of the team, Captain Chris Clark. He hadn't had a goal since November 28th, 2007 because of a fractured forearm that caused him to miss most of the 2007-2008 season. On Thursday's game, he was close to a Gordie Howe hat trick (assist, goal, fight), just missing out on the assist.
The Caps ended up winning 7-4.

And incase you didn't know, Jamie Heward of Tampa Bay spent a night at Sibley Hospital after the hit from Ovechkin which caused a concussion.