Saturday, May 2, 2009

The NHL Awards, And How They are Determined






  1. Great article that is right on point. The Preds will always be fighting an uphill battle for recognition with the system geared as it is today. The PHWA is really loaded with Canadian market and big city media that is virtually impossible to overcome in situations like Pekka's. Mason had the Canadian press behind him as he was a national hero in juniors so the fact that he was in Columbus did not hinder him in the voting. Even with a different group of voters it was the same for Sully as he is well liked in Canada, Chicago and other larger markets. As newspapers continue to decline something will have to change but it won't be anytime soon. Thanks for the kind words for POTG. One of our goals is to try have appeal in other markets and have guests from all over on the radio show to try to increase Preds awareness all across North America. I really appreciate your recognition of that. Dirk (Forechecker) is one of the best at what he does anywhere and is recognized for it my many traditional pundits.

    John is a member of the PHWA and I believe i recall that he voted Mason, Ryan and Pekka for the Calder. I was somewhat concerned that he didn't pull a "homer" and vote Pekka #1 but I guess that's what he is a pro and I'm still learning.

  2. I'm not so sure that teams like Columbus and Anaheim, where two of the Calder nominees come from, are really teams in the spotlight for writers in Toronto. Nashville's not neglected any more than the Blue Jackets or Hurricanes, etc., would be.

    That Mason was a high profile junior star would have more to do with it than any favouritism for a team in Ohio.

    I saw hundreds of games this year and picked Rinne third. He didn't start enough games to finish higher than that: