Can Pyotr Kotchetkov Bring Home the Calder Trophy to Carolina?

Coming into the 2022-23 season, there were high expectations for the Carolina Hurricanes as they went all in during the offseason adding big-name players such as Brent Burns and Max Pacioretty. It has been one player, though, that has taken this team by storm and made an impact that no one saw coming.

Rookie goaltender Pyotr Kotchetkov has been lights out for the Hurricanes so far this season. The 23-year-old Russian goaltender was a second-round 39th overall pick by Carolina in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft and has now blossomed into one of the NHL’s best young goalies early on.

While it has only been a small sample size of 15 games, Kotchetkov has only shown he is here to stay. On the season, he is 10-3-4 with a 2.20 GAA and a .919 SV% to go along with three shutouts. The most important thing to note is he puts the Hurricanes in a position to get at least one point every time he is in net.

The Hurricanes are the hottest team in the NHL at the moment after going 12-0-1 in the Month of December. They are currently first in the Metropolitan Division and second in the Eastern Conference with a 25-8-6 record, only trailing the Boston Bruins, who are 30-4-4. Their 56 points are also second-best in the whole NHL, and Kotchetkov has been responsible for 24 of them.

When it comes to the Calder Trophy, Kotchetkov will have to continue his strong play throughout the second half of the season. Right now, one of the major disadvantages against him is the number of games he has played. Kotchetkov has played in 17 games compared to other rookie goaltender Logan Thompson who has appeared in 28 games for the Vegas Golden Knights.

Even with the large difference in games played, Kotchetkov still has the second-best odds of winning the Calder. His GAA and SV% both rank first among rookie goaltenders, as Logan Thompson doesn’t even come close in these categories.

It has been a long time since a goaltender has won the Calder Trophy going all the way back to 2009 when Steve Mason of the Columbus Blue Jackets took home the honor. If there is a goaltender that can break the streak of forwards winning, it is Kotchetkov. Now that the net is all his expect a strong second half by the rookie netminder to push him over the top as he tries to take home the 2023 Calder Trophy and help the Hurricanes to a Stanley Cup victory.

For those that are interested in betting, Pyotr Kotchetkov is currently +280 odds to win the Calder Memorial Trophy.

Stanley Cup Aspirations Cue’ the Duck Boats Pod

The boys are back after a long break but have plenty to talk about as the playoffs are in full swing. We go series by series, looking at how teams have fared so far and who will come out on top. Thanks for listening! Please rate and review our show on your favorite listening platform. Check out our partner's website at www.insidetherink.com for all your latest hockey news.
  1. Stanley Cup Aspirations
  2. The Final Countdown
  3. Here Come the Playoffs
  4. Home Stretch
  5. Kevy Cooks

Discover more from Inside The Rink

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Kevin Santangelo

Co Host of Cue' the Duck Boats Podcast Writer for Inside the Rink

Leave a Reply

IIHF World Championships 2025

Detroit Red Wings Shine at World Championships

Team USA recently won the IIHF World Championships for the first time in 92 years after defeating Switzerland in the finals in overtime. Tage Thompson of the Buffalo Sabres scored the overtime winner off the rush. The Detroit Red Wings were well represented at the recent tournament co-hosted by Sweden and Denmark. The young players […]

Read More
Connor McDavid skating for the Edmonton Oilers

Opinion: Connor McDavid Continues To Show Why He Is the Best Player in The Game

There is no doubt that when all is said and done, Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid is going to end up in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Let’s take a look at what McDavid, 28, has accomplished so far: Notice that his career totals to date were not mentioned above because even those numbers are […]

Read More

AHL: Eric Dubois Heads Overseas to ERC Ingolstadt

The Manitoba Moose announced on Friday, May 30th, that Eric Dubois has joined the DEL club ERC Ingolstadt as an assistant coach. Dubois, 55, served as an assistant coach with the Manitoba Moose for nine seasons when he joined the club back in 2016. The Moose posted a 292-264-34-23 record in Dubois’ nine seasons as […]

Read More