- Porter Martone sits atop the early Calder Trophy board after a 10-point cameo with the Flyers
- Gavin McKenna is projected around 60 points in Toronto and a spot among the finalists
- Read below for the full rundown of the 2026-27 rookie class
Porter Martone is the name at the top of almost every early Calder Trophy board, and he barely needed a month of NHL hockey to get there.
The Flyers winger played nine regular-season games last spring and piled up 10 points, then added five more in 10 playoff games. Steven Ellis of Daily Faceoff listed him among the top 10 candidates for 2026-27 and wrote that many believe Martone is the favorite. Oddsmakers have the 19-year-old narrowly ahead of Gavin McKenna as well.
His 25 goals at Michigan State led all NHL prospects in college hockey last season. Then he showed up in Philadelphia and scored an overtime winner in Boston for his first NHL goal, a result that pushed the Flyers into the playoffs.
Watch the goal that started it:
McKenna is the other half of this race.
Toronto took him first overall in June, and that same list projects roughly 60 points and a finalist spot. A big part of that is the supporting cast. McKenna was asked after the draft about skating with the team’s top players, and he made it clear nothing is being handed to him.
“You’re not just going to step into the League and hop right onto the first line. I’ve got to earn that and prove myself.”
Take a look at the reel that made him the No. 1 pick:
He spent chunks of the offseason skating with Dylan Cozens, the only other NHLer born in Whitehorse, Yukon.
Behind those two, San Jose’s Ivar Stenberg is the wild card. The 18-year-old Swede put together one of the best U-19 seasons in recent SHL history, and the projection has him leaving camp as a middle-six winger. Drop him on a line with Macklin Celebrini and the math changes in a hurry.
Chicago has two shots at this. Anton Frondell gets a heavier workload out of the gate with Connor Bedard sidelined to start the year, and Roman Kantserov arrives after leading the KHL with 36 goals, the most productive U-22 forward season in that league’s history.
Washington could have two names on the ballot as well. Cole Hutson is the best bet among rookie defensemen, and Ilya Protas led all AHL rookies with 66 points in Hershey before a four-game NHL run alongside his older brother Aliaksei.
Rounding out the group: Boston’s James Hagens, Buffalo’s Konsta Helenius and Ottawa blueliner Carter Yakemchuk, who scored 40 points in the AHL and finished last season with the Senators.
Camps open in a couple of weeks, and opening night rosters will settle which of these names actually gets a full runway. McKenna already sits atop our 2026-27 prospect rankings, but Martone is the one who has already scored in an NHL playoff game.
