Smith Named to Postseason All-Rookie Team

According to Chris Wescott of the Devils’ official site, defenseman Ty Smith has been named to the NHL All-Rookie Team today.

Tom Gulitti shared on Twitter that Smith finished seventh in Calder Trophy voting as rookie of the year. He received one third place vote, three fourth place votes and 11 fifth place votes, edging just ahead of the Ottawa Senators’ Tim Stutzle. Yegor Sharangovich finished one place below Stutzle with one second place vote, once fourth place vote and seven fifth place votes. The Calder Trophy was ultimately won by Kirill Kaprizov of the Minnesota Wild.

Smith was named to the team by the Professional Hockey Writers Association, the same men and women who vote for the Calder Trophy winner.

Smith led all NHL rookie defensemen with 21 assists and 23 points. Wescott also mentioned that he also led in power play assists with six and power play points with seven.

Wescott mentions in his article that Smith “averaged 20:07 of ice time in 48 games.” He also “became just the sixth defenseman in League history to begin his career with a point streak of at least five games.”

Smith was picked 17th overall in the 2018 NHL Draft. He made the Devils this year after being a late-camp cut in 2019 – when he was sent back to the Spokane Chiefs of the Western Hockey League. He followed up his final junior season by making the New Jersey club and posting the numbers that got him a spot on the 2020-21 All-Rookie Team.

Joining him on the 2020-21 NHL All-Rookie Team are: goalie Alex Nedeljkovic of the Carolina Hurricanes, fellow blueliner K’Andre Miller of the Rangers, forward Kaprizov, forward Josh Norris of the Senators and forward Jason Roberson of the Dallas Stars.

Subban One of Three King Clancy Finalists

According to Amanda Stein on the “Inside the Devils Blog,” Devils’ defenseman PK Subban is a finalist for the King Clancy Award, “given to a player ‘who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and who has made a significant humanitarian contribution to his community.’”

Former Devil Kurtis Gabriel, now of the San Jose Sharks and Predators’ goalie Pekka Rinne are the other two finalists.

Stein mentions that Subban “expanded his Blueline Buddies program to incorporate healthcare workers who have been on the front-lines of the Covid-19 pandemic. Subban worked around the pandemic and inability to host fans in person to take his program virtual to make sure he was still connecting with the New Jersey community, particularly in this time of need.”

As in past years, as when he started the program in Nashville, it also linked “members of law enforcement with New Jersey’s youth.” Subban was also a finalist for this award last year as well according to Stein.

Stein reports that the winner of the King Clancy Memorial Trophy will also “receive a $25,000 donation to benefit the charity or charities of his choice.” The runners-up will receive $5,000 for the same purpose.

The NHL Awards will not be a show this year, but rather, Stein says, the awards winners “will be revealed during the Stanley Cup Semifinals and Stanley Cup Final, with further details to follow.”

Congratulations to PK Subban for this great honor. He was the Devils’ nominee last year but came up short to Mat Dumba of the Minnesota Wild. Good luck to him as the awards are announced, he certainly deserves it.