Could Matvei Michkov Win the Calder Trophy?

The Flyers have had their fair share of great rookies in the past. Eric Lindros scored 41 goals as a rookie in 92-93 to set a club record. The following year, Mikael Renberg came close to matching that total with 38 goals. Brian Propp scored 75 points as a rookie in 1979-80. Recently, Flyers fans fell in love with a rookie named Shayne Gostisbehere who scored 17 goals as a rookie. Alas, the Flyers have never brought home the Calder Memorial Trophy for best NHL rookie of the year.

Lindros finished fourth behind Teemu Selanne (76 goals), Joe Juneau, and Felix Potvin. Renberg, despite leading all NHL rookies in goals, finished third in voting behind Martin Brodeur and Jason Arnott. Like Lindros, Propp finished in fourth place amongst voters, behind Ray Bourque, Mike Foligno, and teammate Pete Peeters. Gostisbehere finished second in Calder Trophy balloting, losing out to Artemi Panarin.

The Calder Memorial Trophy is one of two NHL league awards that the Philadelphia Flyers have never brought home. The other one, of course, is the Lady Byng Trophy for best sportsmanship. No Flyer has ever finished beyond the top four, but when you think of a team that's reputation is based on being the "Broad Street Bullies", this is an award that will probably never, ever come to Philly.

Can Matvei Michkov bring the Calder Trophy to Philadelphia for the first time?

There has been a lot of buzz about Matvei Michkov coming into this season. When he was drafted, he was considered to be very close, talent-wise, to Connor Bedard. He is a player that many hockey experts are excited about seeing this year. If he is very close to expectations, could he be the one to finally bring the Calder Trophy home to Philly?

Before we get into that, we have to go with his health. In Nolan Patrick's rookie year, he scored 13 goals, but injuries started to take their toll on him. He never received any votes that year, but NYI's Mat Barzal took the trophy with a 22-goal/63-assist performance in 2017-18. Connor McDavid was probably robbed of a Calder Trophy after taking a hit from Philly's Brandon Manning in 2016, the same year Gostisbehere was up for the award. As long as Michkov stays healthy, he should be a strong contender.

Speaking of contenders, who could be his main competition for the trophy? First and foremost, there is the number one pick in this past draft, Macklin Celebrini. Ever since last year, he was heralded as the next big player to come up. Celebrini. He's been compared to everyone from Jonathan Toews to Sidney Crosby and could resurrect the once-proud San Jose Sharks.

Next on the list is Cutter Gauthier. The former Flyers prospect will get a chance to start for Anaheim this season. It is possible that if he pans out as expected, he could make a run at the trophy. Ironically, he and Michkov could've arrived at the NHL together. Oh well. Hope he doesn't get it.

After that, it depends on which recent draft picks and top prospects break training camp with their big clubs. As of now, the chances of Mickhov taking home the hardware look pretty decent. He should at least be in the top five in voting. The major Vegas-odds books all have him as the top guy. We'll just have to see. And while it will be nice just to see him play, it will be even better to see him awarded for his success.