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Ducks’ Ryan a finalist for rookie of the year

By Helene Elliott
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Ducks winger Bobby Ryan, Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Steve Mason and Chicago Blackhawks winger Kris Versteeg are the finalists for the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s rookie of the year in balloting by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Assn., the league announced today.

Ryan led all rookies in goals (31) and points (57) despite starting the season in the American Hockey League because the Ducks were so close to the salary cap limit. He was recalled Nov. 15, after then-General Manager Brian Burke left for Toronto.

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Ryan is a deserving finalist, Mason essentially got the Blue Jackets into the playoffs with a 2.29 goals-against average and league-leading 10 shutouts, and Versteeg was part of the Blackhawks’ revival this season with a rookie-leading 31 assists.

But it’s a shame that Kings rookie defenseman Drew Doughty wasn’t a finalist after stepping into the league at 18 and playing a very tough position with remarkable poise and endurance.

The winners will be announced June 18. Finalists for other awards will be announced this week.

More later at www.latimes.com/sports

-- Helene Elliott

Sports Now
Helene Elliott

Helene Elliott was with the Los Angeles Times’ Sports department from 1989 to 2024, first as a staff writer and then, starting in 2006, as a columnist. She became the first female journalist to be honored with a plaque in the Hall of Fame of a major professional sport as the 2005 winner of the Hockey Hall of Fame’s Elmer Ferguson Award, awarded to writers “who have brought honor to journalism and to hockey.” A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., and graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, she has covered 18 Olympics.

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