Connor Bedard, Brock Faber, Luke Hughes named Calder Award finalists

Connor Bedard, Brock Faber and Luke Hughes are this year's finalists for the Calder Trophy, the NHL announced Tuesday.

The Calder Trophy is awarded to "the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition" and is determined through voting by the Professional Hockey Writers Association.

Bedard, who was the first pick of the 2023 NHL draft, has long been considered to be the league's next great generational talent. His first season with the Chicago Blackhawks only added to those expectations, as the 18-year-old showed he could handle the demands of playing as a top-line center, tying for the team lead with 22 goals in 68 games and leading the Blackhawks with 39 assists and 61 points.

Despite missing 14 games with a fractured jaw, Bedard led all rookies in goals, points and was tied for first in assists.

Faber, who was a second-round pick in 2020, played his first full season for his hometown Minnesota Wild. Already in a top-four role, the 21-year-old defenseman took on additional importance as the team was battling injuries on the back end.

Faber finished with 8 goals, 39 assists and 47 points while averaging just under 25 minutes of ice time -- leading all first-year players as well as the Wild -- over 82 games. He finished tied with Bedard for the most rookie assists and was tied for second in points.

Hughes, a first-round pick by the New Jersey Devils in 2021, also played his first full campaign this season. The 20-year-old defenseman's role continually grew throughout the season as he finished with 9 goals, 38 assists, 47 points and averaged 21:28 of ice time over 82 games. Hughes led all rookies in power-play points, was tied for second in points with Faber, finished third in assists and was second in ice time among newcomers with more than 20 games.

Hughes also led the Devils in ice time while finishing fifth on the team in points.