Colby Guy
While Trevor Zegras, Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond have been the talk of all Calder Trophy conversations for the most part at the beginning of the season, Florida Panthers rookie Anton Lundell has put himself right in the middle of the race.
A month of January that saw him score 17 points in 15 games — and win the NHL’s Rookie of the Month — propelled him into the thick of things.
“He had a great, month, he had a great season, I think he has come in as advertised,” Panthers coach Andrew Brunette said.
Yes, as advertised.
“He enjoys hockey, loves to play, wants to win,’’ GM Bill Zito said the night Florida drafted him 12th overall in 2020. “Without putting too much pressure on him … he’s the kind of player we want to bring into the Florida Panthers; someone who will do the little things, wants to play in all areas of the ice.”
Lundell had lofty expectations from the moment he signed his entry-level deal with Florida last summer.
And for good reason.
Playing in Finland’s top pro league as a 19-year-old, Lundell scored 25 points in 26 games — 16 of those points coming off goals.
In international play, he added another 10 points (six goals, four assists) in seven games during the IIHF World Junior Championship and seven points (four goals, three assists) in 10 games during the World Championship as he faced off against NHL players.
Upon arrival in South Florida last summer, he did not miss a beat.
He was thrust into action in his NHL debut against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Oct. 14, 2021.
The Panthers took nine penalties and the 20-year-old rookie was on the frontlines of killing them.
Lundell logged 5:26 of shorthanded time-on-ice and helped Florida hold Pittsbugh to 2-of-9 on the power play.
“He was awesome on the penalty kill with (Sasha Barkov) there, creating offense on the penalty kill with a great stick,” said Carter Verhaeghe.
“He was making plays. He came in and played well as a center in the NHL, so you can tell he’s going to be a special player.”
He showed all of the signs of becoming one early on.
By October’s end, Lundell had five points in five games, tied for third among rookies in scoring.
He also got his first taste of action on a third line consisting of himself, Mason Marchment and Sam Reinhart, with the trio combining for 10 points in a two-game stretch in late October.
An injury to Marchment on Nov. 8 forced the dominant line to split up and a later injury to Barkov pushed Lundell up a spot to Florida’s No. 2 center.
While his point production dropped during that stretch (he had five points in 14 games from when Barkov left the Panthers lineup on Nov. 16 to Florida’s extended Christmas break), his defensive abilities were still very much on display.
With Lundell’s help, the Panthers made it out of that stretch with an 8-5-1 record and were still holding on to the top spot in the Atlantic Division.
Raymond stood atop of the rookie race for points with 28 in 31 games — Zegras not far behind with 25 in 30 — but even sitting at 12 points in 25 games, Lundell had a comeback effort up his sleeve.
From Dec. 29 to Jan. 24, Lundell led all rookies in assists (eight) and points (12).
During that stretch, Lundell had a rotating cast of linemates with Jonathan Huberdeau and Anthony Duclair made an appearance on his wings when Sam Bennett served a three-game suspension from Jan. 4-8.
“He’s young, he’s such a smart player and he can play in every situation,” Huberdeau said when the two were paired up with each other. “He can make some plays and whatever we do is going to be interesting and fun.”
Lundell had two assists in those three games and helped the Panthers continue what was a nine-game winning streak.
But the best was still yet to come.
On Jan. 25, Brunette decided to reunite the third line that worked wonders for the Panthers in October.
Lundell was back with Marchment and Reinhart.
It helped them in the short term, with the trio scoring three goals in the first period of a 5-3 win over the Winnipeg Jets.
One of those goals belonged to Lundell, who finished the night with two points.
“We knew he was an extremely smart two-way player and he’s really feeling it offensively playing on a line that has a lot of chemistry,” Brunette said.
“We saw them together a little early in the year for a few games early in the year and they played really well, kind of reunited them as of late and they’re right back where they were before.”
That was just the beginning, however.
A five-assist performance against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Jan. 31 capped off a weeklong stretch that saw him net eight points in four games.
In full, his line accounted for six of Florida’s eight goals in an 8-4 win over Columbus.
Now, Lundell is comfortably sitting in a tie for second place in goals among rookies with Zegras, having 32 points each.
Zegras is the heavy favorite to win the Calder based on his highlight goals and strong play in Anaheim. He was even added to All-Star Weekend to show off his skills and he almost stole the show with his “Dodgeball” breakaway challenge goal scored while blindfolded.
But one thing Zegras, Raymond and the rest do not have going for them that Lundell does is that they do not play for the Panthers.
Lundell has shown how important he is on perhaps the best team in the NHL. His responsibilities have been noticed as his skill and high on-ice intelligence.
There is plenty of time for Lundell to continue moving up the rookie ranks and show off in his quest to try and join Huberdeau and Aaron Ekblad as Florida’s Calder Trophy winners.
“I think he’s a really good player, he has a very high hockey IQ, and he fits our mold of competitive smart players,” Brunette said after Lundell was announced as the Rookie of the Month.
“Really happy he was rewarded for it.”