Mark Stone Merits Calder Consideration

Lost in this city’s focus on Senators chasing down the Boston Bruins for the Eastern Conference’s remaining wild card seed is that a Senators rookie embarking on a chase of his own.

Like the Ottawa Senators, Mark Stone looked down and out in his chase of the rookie scoring crown back on January 1^st. Stone’s Senators were six points ahead of the lowly Buffalo Sabres and trailed the Washington Capitals by six points for the Eastern Conference’s second wild card seed. Stone on the other hand remained 17 points back (13 goals, 33 points) of Filip Forsberg (19 goals, 50 points) in NHL rookie scoring.

By February 17^th, the Boston Bruins held a ten point lead on the Senators, but by March 23^rd, the Senators passed the Bruins to take sole ownership of the second wild card spot. Although the majority of the accolades have gone to the team’s effort and the unlikely play of Andrew Hammond, Mark Stone’s production warrants its own recognition.

Since January 1^st, Stone has been the most productive rookie in the NHL. His 34 points (in 37 games) leads all rookies and tie him for the 12^th-highest amount of any player in the entire league during this span.

For the first time in his career, his offensive production matches his hockey IQ and defensive aptitude. If he can sustain this kind offensive output, not only does Stone have a chance to catch Gaudreau and Forsberg in rookie scoring, he also has the opportunity to become one of the elite two-way wingers in the game.

Although Stone doesn’t have the raw scoring numbers that Forsberg or Gaudreau have, proportionate to his ice time, he has been the more productive and efficient player.

To Forsberg’s credit, his possession proxy metric is off the charts and he is a big chunk of the puzzle for why a resurgent Predators team has surprised many this season. Put in contrast with the Senators or Flames, it’s important to remember that Forsberg plays on a stronger team.

Unlike either of Gaudreau or Stone, Stone has averaged less ice time per game. He receives less even strength ice time per game and less power play ice time per game.

Only three rookie forwards average more SH TOI per game than Stone and from a defensive standpoint, he leads all rookies in takeaways with 85. In fact, Stone ranks third in the entire league in takeaways with only John Tavares (88) and Ryan O’Reilly (87) ranking ahead of him. Stone does however average the most takeaways per game (1.20).

What also works against Stone in the Calder conversation is that Forsberg garnered a lot of interest for his first half performance. Stone also lacks the panache or the marketability of Johnny ‘Hockey’. Like this recent winning streak which most fans have attributed to Andrew Hammond or a resurgent Erik Karlsson who was finally reunited with Marc Methot, or even the goal scoring prowess of fellow rookie Mike Hoffman, a lot of what Mark Stone has done has gone under the radar without much league-wide recognition.

The truth of the matter is that Stone’s probably the best forward prospect that the Senators organization has developed since Marian Hossa. While I certainly don’t expect Stone to win the Calder because Aaron Ekblad deserves it, if he can get cut the margin and get within a few points or overtake one of Gaudreau or Forsberg, he deserves to be recognized for having one of the three best seasons as a rookie.