Carolina Hurricanes rookie forward, Jeff Skinner, was named as one of three finalists for the Calder Trophy, the National Hockey League's award ``to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition,`` as announced via a league press release on Tuesday. Skinner was nominated along with fellow finalists Logan Couture from the San Jose Sharks and Michael Grabner from the New York Islanders. All three will be present on June 22 at the 2011 NHL Awards from the Pearl Concert Theater inside the Palms Hotel Las Vegas to find out who will receive the prestigious award. Skinner ended the regular season as the NHL's top rookie scorer tallying 31 goals and adding 32 assists to help the Carolina Hurricanes make a serious run for the playoffs throughout the season. Drafted seventh overall in 2010, the Hurricanes' 18 year-old forward ended up in second place in team scoring and immediately made an impact as he scored his first goal, a shootout winner, in only his second professional game. However, since the NHL does not recognize shootout goals as 'official', Skinner had to wait until his sixth game into the season to score his first NHL goal against the Los Angeles Kings. Skinner's fluid skating style, attributed to his experience from competing nationally as a youth figure skater, immediately made an impact for the Hurricanes and their fans as he contributed often to help boost the Hurricanes offense and quickly became a focus for opposing defenses. As hosts of the 2011 NHL All-Star Game in Raleigh, NC, the Carolina Hurricanes were represented by captain Eric Staal, goaltender Cam Ward, and Skinner who was added to the roster as the youngest player to ever participate in the league's marquee event while he led all rookies in scoring at mid-season. Throughout the weekend, jerseys and T-shirts with Skinner's name on them sold more quickly and were more prominent than any others as Staal referred to his teammate as possessing similar popularity as that of pop singing sensation, Justin Beiber. After the All-Star break, Skinner continued his scoring pace during the second half of the season and notched his 30th goal against the Detroit Red Wings on April 6th and became the seventh-youngest player in NHL history to reach the milestone.
Carolina Hurricanes rookie Jeff Skinner named Calder Trophy finalist