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Is Macklin Celebrini about to follow Connor Bedard in becoming the latest No. 1 pick to win the Calder Trophy? Or could a winner come from a dynamic field that features Cutter Gauthier, Matvei Michkov, Logan Stankoven and Will Smith?
We won’t know the answers to those questions until next June … but why wait? Being the top pick in 2023 — plus the fact he’d been talked about for years — made Bedard an early Calder front-runner, only for Brock Faber to emerge as a serious challenger who at one time appeared as if he could win.
So what about this season? Who are the favorites and why? Who are the less-hyped players to keep an eye on who could potentially emerge as serious Calder challengers? Here’s our way-too-early look.