ROOKIE DEFINITION

• To be eligible for the award, a player cannot 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.
• Source

2014-15

• Oscar Klefbom (60, 2-18-20)
• Leon Draisaitl (37, 2-7-9)
• Andrew Miller (9, 1-5-6)
• Iiro Pakarinen (17, 1-2-3)
• Tyler Pitlick (17, 2-0-2)
• David Musil (4, 0-2-2)
• Brandon Davidson (12, 1-0-1)
• Jordan Oesterle (6, 0-1-1)
• Bogdan Yakimov (1, 0-0-0)
• Darnell Nurse (2, 0-0-0)
• Curtis Hamilton (1, 0-0-0)
• Laurent Brossoit (1, 2.01 .961)
• Tyler Bunz (1, 9.00 .750)

2015-16

• Connor McDavid (45, 16-32-48)
• Iiro Pakarinen (63, 5-8-13)
• Brandon Davidson (51, 4-7-11)
• Darnell Nurse (69, 3-7-10)
• Adam Clendening (20, 1-5-6)
• Jordan Oesterle (17, 0-5-5)
• Jujhar Khaira (15, 0-2-2)
• Griffin Reinhart (29, 0-1-1)
• Anton Slepyshev (11, 0-1-1)
• Anders Nilsson (26, 3.14 .901)
• Laurent Brossoit (5, 3.61 .873)

2016-17

• Drake Caggiula (60, 7-11-18)
• Matt Benning (62, 3-12-15)
• Anton Slepyshev (41, 4-6-10)
• Jesse Puljujarvi (28, 1-7-8)
• Jujhar Khaira (10, 1-0-1)
• Dillon Simpson (3, 0-0-0)
• Laurent Brossoit (8, 1.99 .928)

2017-18 ROOKIE CANDIDATES

• RD Ethan Bear. Bear has improved across the board since his draft day. He ended up winning WHL Defenseman of the Year, posted 67gp, 28-42-70 and playoffs 17gp, 6-20-26 and could find his way to the NHL during his rookie pro season.
• R Mitch Callahan. An obscure option, Callahan has been a consistent performer for the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL. Although he has played just five NHL games, Callahan is proven at the minor-league level and may get a look with the Oilers.
• G Nick Ellis. A strong first season of pro has Nick Ellis on the radar. He posted 34gp, 2.69 .918 for Bakersfield and is probably the first recall option this fall.
• LD Caleb Jones. He is a fascinating prospect, partly due to foot speed. His scouting report on draft day didn’t imply a lot of offense, but he delivered 63gp, 9-53-62 in regular year and 11gp, 2-8-10 in the postseason. He could surprise, has a nice range of skills.
• L Joey Laleggia. A position change may be a key turning point for his pro career. Mid-season 2016-17 he moved from left defense to left wing, and from Boxing Day forward, he went 43gp, 18-13-31.
• R Kailer Yamamoto. Extremely likely he’ll return to the WHL but he has enough skill to make things interesting. Small, fast and impact offense His boxcars (65gp, 42-57-99) were fantastic. If he did make the NHL team, he could keep the string of impact prospects going for another year.

WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?