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Flyers’ first-round pick Matvei Michkov is the favorite to win the Calder Trophy

The Flyers rookie is just ahead of Macklin Celebrini on the betting board

FILE - Matvei Michkov, center, adjusts his Philadelphia Flyers cap after being picked by the team during the first round of the NHL hockey draft June 28, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. A person with knowledge of the situation tells The Associated Press that top Flyers prospect Michkov is being released by KHL club SKA Saint Petersburg. The move is the first step toward Michkov joining the Flyers ahead of the schedule. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)
FILE - Matvei Michkov, center, adjusts his Philadelphia Flyers cap after being picked by the team during the first round of the NHL hockey draft June 28, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. A person with knowledge of the situation tells The Associated Press that top Flyers prospect Michkov is being released by KHL club SKA Saint Petersburg. The move is the first step toward Michkov joining the Flyers ahead of the schedule. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)Read moreGeorge Walker IV / AP
    by Michael Leboff, Action Network
    Published 

The 2024-25 NHL Season doesn’t start for over two months but the betting market is starting to take shape, giving us a decent picture of what to expect when the puck drops in October.

And one race that looks like it will be full of drama is the hunt for the Calder Trophy, which is given to the league’s Rookie of the Year.

Unlike the previous few years, there are a half-dozen players who are coming into the season with legitimate hopes of winning the award and it’s a Philadelphia Flyer who currently sits as the favorite.

Matvei Michkov, the No. 7 overall pick in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, is the betting favorite at +400. There was plenty of speculation over when (or if) Michkov would come over from his native Russia, but the Flyers got the wunderkind to make the move earlier than most people expected.

Michkov is coming off an impressive season in the KHL in which he put up 41 points in 47 games with Sochi.

There are two players right behind Michkov at +450: Macklin Celebrini of the San Jose Sharks and Logan Stankoven of the Dallas Stars.

Celebrini is considered to be a generational prospect after going first overall at the 2024 NHL Draft. The Vancouver native became just the fourth freshman ever to win the Hobey Baker Award last year with the Boston University Terriers. Celebrini is expected to get every opportunity to be the No. 1 center for the Sharks in 2024-25 and San Jose did add some veteran players like Tyler Toffoli, Alex Wennberg and Barclay Goodrow to help provide some support for Celebrini.

Stankoven is in a different boat compared to Celebrini and Michkov. The feisty winger was terrific in his first NHL season with the Stars, putting up 14 points in 24 games.

But what makes this Calder race truly unique is there are three other players right behind Celebrini and Michkov.

Cutter Gauthier, a Flyers draft pick who infamously asked for a trade last year and was sent to Anaheim soon thereafter, is sitting at +500, while Will Smith, who is expected to ride shotgun with Celebrini in San Jose, is priced as the fifth favorite at +550.

Lane Hutson, a puck-moving defenseman for the Montreal Canadiens, is also in the single-digits at +800.

Dustin Wolf of the Calgary is next at +1100 and is the only goaltender listed under +4000. And it’s after Wolf that we finally see our first real jump to Mavrik Bourque, who led the AHL in scoring last season, at +3000.

When a prospect like Bourque -- coming off a terrific season, nonetheless -- is that big of a price, you know the incoming pool of rookies is quite deep.

Outside of Bourque, a couple of other longshots that could be worth a punt are Easton Cowan at +5000 and Maxim Tsyplakov at +6500.

Cowan lit the OHL up last season and will get a long look for the Toronto Maple Leafs at training camp. If he makes the big club, you’d be thrilled to have this ticket.

Tsyplakov is an undrafted player who started to turn heads with a breakout 2023-24 season in the KHL. The 25-year-old was fourth in the league with 31 goals in 65 games. He signed a one-year deal with the New York Islanders over the summer and will likely be a top-six winger on Long Island.

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