Colorado Avalanche defenceman Cale Makar is the winner of the NHL's Calder Memorial Trophy (Photo courtesy of Colorado Avalanche / Twitter)

By Scott Roblin

Calder Win

Bandits alumni Makar wins Calder Trophy as NHL’s top rookie

Sep 21, 2020 | 6:53 PM

DENVER, CO – In the span of less than five years, Cale Makar has gone from a rising junior star in Brooks to the National Hockey League’s rookie of the year.

On Monday, Makar captured the NHL’s Calder Memorial Trophy as the league’s best first-year player, joining Dany Heatley as the only Alberta Junior Hockey League alumni to win the award.

Makar’s first full season with the Colorado Avalanche was one to remember, finishing second in rookie scoring with 12 goals and 50 points in 57 games while adding 15 points in Colorado’s 15 playoff games.

The Calgary product has also become the first defenceman to win the Calder since Florida’s Aaron Ekblad in 2015.

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Making the moment even sweeter, Makar was presented the award virtually by Wayne Gretzky after beating out Vancouver’s Quinn Hughes and Chicago’s Dominik Kubalik for the honour.

Makar rose to prominence with the AJHL’s Brooks Bandits between 2015 and 2017, playing over 100 games with the program and capturing a bevy of awards during his junior tenure including national Most Valuable Player in 2017 and was a two-time RBC Cup tournament MVP.

Following his graduation from the Bandits program, Makar went on to be drafted fourth overall by the Avalanche and had a standout two-year career at the University of Massachusetts culminating in winning the NCAA’s Hobey Baker Award as the nation’s best collegiate player.

Makar received 116 out of a possible 170 first-place votes for the Calder, with Hughes (53) and New York’s Adam Fox (one) receiving the remainder.

Along with his Calder Trophy win, Makar was also a unanimous selection to the NHL’s all-rookie team.