2009-10 NHL Calder Trophy Race Revisited

As the Olympic break approached, five players were still in the running as the best rookie of the 2009-10 NHL season. In no specific order, John Tavares, Jimmy Howard, Matt Duchene, James Van Riemsdyk, and Tyler Myers were at the top of the rookie class. Other players were either too old (Antti Niemi) or too hurt (Semyon Varlamov) to be considered. With the Olympic break behind us, two of those players seem to have hit the wall. This does not mean their futures aren't as bright though, as Tavares had a 5-point night last night and Van Riemsdyk continues to play well. In fact, only three strong contenders remain.

Jimmy Howard



Jimmy Howard was supposed to be a good goalie from day one. Detroit knew it too. They just took their time releasing him and his skills to the world. His play after October cemented him as the Red Wings #1 goaltender and this late-bloomer seems to be the real deal.

Matt Duchene



Matt Duchene wasn't even the best rookie on his team in October and November as Ryan O'Reilly drew most of the attention. However, steady play and a super burst in December put this favourite of Don Cherry into the spotlight.

Tyler Myers



Tyler Myers was supposed to be a project defenseman. His splendid early season play was no fluke and this massive Zdeno Chara clone is a franchise player of epic proportions. Not only is he playing big minutes against the NHL's best but he is putting up amazing offensive numbers for a defenseman as well. A big 4 point night in March proved that he can play a full season and continue to make an impact.

Prediction - Barring a late season charge by one of the other two, this award will go to Tyler Myer. As stated earlier... Who dares steal this trophy away from the hulking defenseman?

Duchene and Myers have rookie cards available in most 2009-10 products available at Canada Card World. Jimmy Howard has rookie cards available in many 2005-06 products.

Rookie Update - Tyler Myers

Tyler Myers is a massive young man at 6'8 and 225 pounds. Now, he's putting up massive stats too.

At the halfway point of the season, Myers is leading NHL rookies in ice-time and +/-. Not only that, Myers is now 5th in the rookie scoring race with 6 goals and 26 points in 44 games. Not bad for a 19 year-old defenseman who was considered a surprise addition to the Buffalo Sabres roster at the start of the season.



Despite being born in Texas, Tyler Myers plays internationally for Canada. He grew up in Alberta and Saskatchewan and holds dual citizenship. He was named to Team Canada at the 2009 World Junior Hockey Championships and helped Canada win a record-tying fifth straight gold medal. With his phenomenal play this season, Myers is an early favourite to join the defense corps of Team Canada for the 2014 Olympics.



Here's a short checklist of some of his available cards so far in the 2009-10 season:

09/10 NHL UD Black Auto'd Rookie Letterman Exchange Card #81
09/10 NHL UD Series 1 Young Guns #214
09/10 NHL UD Series 1 Young Guns #214 UD Exclusives
09/10 NHL UD Series 1 Young Guns #214 High Glossy
09/10 NHL UD MVP Rookie #370
09/10 NHL UD MVP Rookie Gold Script #370
09/10 NHL UD Black Diamond #205
09/10 NHL UD Black Diamond Ruby #205

Tyler Myers has rookie cards in most 2009-10 Upper Deck products available at Canada Card World.

Upper Deck Releases 2009-10 NHL UD Black Rookie Letterman Exchange Checklist

The 2009-10 NHL season is turning out many special young players.
Here is the checklist of redemptions from this season's 09-10 UD Black hockey.



2009/10 NHL UD Black Autographed Rookie Letterman Exchange Cards
73 John Tavares
74 Matt Duchene
75 Victor Hedman
76 Evander Kane
77 James Van Riemsdyk
78 Jonas Gustavsson
79 Logan Couture
80 Brad Marchand
81 Tyler Myers
82 Jamie Benn
83 Colin Wilson
84 Michael Del Zotto
85 Viktor Stalberg
86 Michael Grabner
87 Tyler Bozak
88 Erik Karlsson
89 Matt Gilroy
90 Ryan O'Reilly
91 Dmitry Kulikov
92 Sergei Shirokov
93 Cody Franson

The UD Black Letterman Redemption cards are all sequentially numbered to only 99 copies and will be autographed. Upper Deck expects to send these cards to collectors in late February 2010.

Upper Deck Releases 2009-10 NHL Fleer Ultra Rookie Exchange Checklist

If you were lucky enough to pull a Fleer Ultra Rookie Redemption card, we now know who exactly you pulled.
It's a great rookie class this season so it's hard to go wrong.



2009/10 NHL Ultra Rookies Exchange Cards
201 John Tavares
202 Matt Duchene
203 Victor Hedman
204 Evander Kane
205 James Van Riemsdyk
206 Jonas Gustavsson
207 Jamie Benn
208 Erik Karlsson
209 Tyler Myers
210 Ryan O'Reilly
211 Matt Gilroy
212 Michael Del Zotto
213 Viktor Stalberg
214 Tyler Bozak
215 Sergei Shirokov
216 Colin Wilson
217 Benn Ferriero
218 Michael Grabner
219 Dmitry Kulikov
220 Cody Franson

Upper Deck expects the Fleer Ultra cards to be completed in early February 2010.

Who to Collect - Tyler Myers

The next Zdeno Chara. That's a phrase that isn't spoken very often. First off, he would have to be a massive NHL defenseman of about 6'8 and over 220 lbs. Meeting that rare criteria first, he must then have offensive and defensive skills. After that, he has to be aggressive and a player that a team can build around. The Buffalo Sabres believe they've found that man in Tyler Myers, a 19 year old defenseman from Texas, USA.

Myers, unlike many Americans, began his major junior career in the WHL with the Kelowna Rockets. Myers was selected 12th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft and in the following season, he helped the Rockets to a 2009 Championship following a career-high 42-points in the regular season. Scoring an amazing 20 points during the Rockets playoff run, Myers was selected as the WHL Playoff MVP. Already with more points than fellow rookie defenseman Victor Hedman, Myers is showing skill not normally shown for a man his size and even scored a shoot-out winner for the Sabres.

Check out this move for the hulking defenseman:


Myers has appeared previously in ITG Heroes and Prospects, however his first big Upper Deck card will be his UD Series One Young Gun (#214) and will be available this season at Canada Card World