San Jose Sharks rookie Macklin Celebrini finished third in the Calder Trophy voting, according to the NHL announcement on June 10, finishing behind Montreal Canadiens rookie defenseman Lane Hutson and Calgary Flames rookie goaltender Dustin Wolf. Hutson was well ahead of the pack with 1,832 points. Wolf was second with 1,169 points and Celebrini was third, just 65 points behind Wolf.
Voting table for the Calder Memorial Trophy, won by #Habs defender Lane Hutson. #NHLAwards pic.twitter.com/ocbBrBCszF
— NHL News (@PuckReportNHL) June 10, 2025
Celebrini received just 11 first-place votes.
While Sharks fans are understandably disappointed by the end result, the silver lining is that losing out on the Calder Trophy is not a foreshadowing of the future of a player’s career in the NHL. So, because misery loves company, we thought we’d mention a few other NHL players who came up short in Calder voting in their rookie seasons.
Red Wing snubs
In 2002, Dany Heatley won the Calder Trophy with Ilya Kovalchuk and Kristian Huselius rounding out the top three. While Heatley and Kovalchuk were both good NHL players, it’s hard to overlook that Pavel Datsyuk was on the outside looking in that season, finishing fourth in the Calder voting. Of the four, Datsyuk is the only one in the Hockey Hall of Fame, after he was inducted last year.
The very next year, it was Henrik Zetterberg’s turn to get snubbed. The winger came in second in the Calder voting that season, losing to St. Louis Blues defenseman Barret Jackman. Rick Nash was third in the race that season.
Not even in the running
There were also times when players you would draft first in your fantasy hockey league barely even made the Calder voting lists. For example, in 2003, Boston goaltender Andrew Raycroft won the Calder, while an 18-year-old Patrice Bergeron was eighth in voting.
In 2009, Steve Mason won the Calder Award, while Pekka Rinne finished fourth and Drew Doughty finished fifth. Also on the list were Blake Wheeler in sixth place and Steven Stamkos in ninth.
The next season, defenseman Tyler Myers won the trophy, but there were some notable names further down the list. For example, John Tavares came in fifth, while Victor Hedman and Evander Kane tied for ninth.
Sharks fans remember 2011 because it was the last time the team truly felt snubbed. Yes, Logan Couture lost to Jeff Skinner, but there were other players who didn’t get a single first-place vote but may very well be first-ballot Hall of Famers. Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky finished seventh in voting that season, while Brad Marchand finished 12th.
Superstars fall short
And then, of course, there are some of the more famous examples, like in 2006, when there were too many superstars to keep things straight. Alex Ovechkin won, but that meant Sidney Crosby had to play second fiddle. Henrik Lundqvist didn’t even make the cut that season. He was fourth in voting. Ryan Miller was eighth. Brent Seabrook was 13th.
And perhaps the most memorable of all, the 2015-16 season when Connor McDavid finished third overall in the Calder voting and lost to then-Chicago Blackhawks forward Artemi Panarin and then-Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere.
The point is, Sharks fans will give two craps about the Calder Trophy if in the next five seasons Celebrini is lifting a much more important award, whether one that he earns personally or as a member of the Sharks.
