Beniers, Power, Skinner voted Calder Trophy finalists

Matty Beniers, Owen Power, and Stuart Skinner are the 2022-23 finalists to win the Calder Trophy as the NHL's top rookie.

Beniers tied for the league lead among the class in goals (24) and led all rookies in both points (57) and even-strength points (46).

The 20-year-old also ranked second in average ice time (17:06) among rookie forwards who played at least 35 games. Beniers is already centering Seattle's top line, and his play was a major reason the Kraken made the playoffs for the first time in their second season.

Power led the entire class in average ice time with 23:48, outpacing second-place Jake Sanderson of the Ottawa Senators by nearly two minutes. The Buffalo Sabres blue-liner, who's also 20 years old, led all rookies at the position in assists (31), points (35), and even-strength points (26).

Skinner grabbed the job as the Edmonton Oilers' starting goaltender away from offseason signing Jack Campbell, and Skinner was certainly deserving of the role. The 24-year-old authored a .914 save percentage and a 29-14-5 record and got the majority of starts for his club over the latter half of the campaign.

It should be noted that Vancouver Canucks forward Andrei Kuzmenko is ineligible for this award despite having just played his first NHL season. The Russian turned 27 on Feb. 4, so he does meet the requirement for being no older than 26 by Sept. 15 of his debut campaign.

However, the other rule is that a player can't have played more than 25 games in any single preceding season, nor in six or more games in each of any two preceding seasons, in any major professional league. Kuzmenko played eight years in the KHL, suiting up for 315 contests in that span.

The Professional Hockey Writers Association votes on the Calder Trophy at the end of the regular season. Detroit Red Wings rearguard Moritz Seider won it last summer.