By Nick Obergan Last season it was Tyler Myers of the Sabres. In 2009, Steve Mason took home the hardware. Patrick Kane won the award in 2008, two seasons before helping the Blackahawks win the Stanley Cup. This year's crop for the Calder Trophy is strong and below are the top-10 candidates. 10. Jeff Skinner ? Carolina Hurricanes After just two years in the OHL playing for the Kitchener Rangers, the 18-year-old Skinner (who won?t turn 19 until May), is looking to crack an NHL roster in the same year he was chosen seventh overall by Carolina. Typically a player of his age and size (5?10?, 180-190lbs) will be sent back to junior for another year while his body continues to mature, but with Carolina rebuilding and Skinner?s offensive prowess, he should get real good shot at sticking in the NHL for the year to gain experience. Last year in Kitchener, Skinner put together maybe the most impressive season in junior, more impressive than even Taylor Hall or Tyler Seguin. In 64 regular season games, he notched 50 goals which was second in the league, and more than both Hall and Seguin; his 90 points was 7th in the league. Then in the playoffs he scored 20 goals in 20 games, finishing the year with 70 goals in 84 games. While I don?t expect a 50-goal season from the rookie, he should get enough opportunities in a second line role to put up in the neighbourhood of 20 goals and 15-20 assists. 9. Sergei Bobrovsky ? Philadelphia Flyers Philadelphia signed the undrafted Russian out of the KHL, and the 22-year-old netminder started the first game of the season for the reigning Eastern Conference champs. With Philly always having a question mark in goal, and last year?s #1 goalie Michael Leighton undergoing surgery, Bobrovsky will get plenty of opportunities to assert himself in his first campaign in North America. While he had a losing record in the KHL, he did sport a nice .923 save percentage and a 2.63 goals against average. In his NHL debut he allowed 2 goals and stopped 29 shots in beating the highly skilled Pittsburgh Penguins. Only a series of standout performances from Brian Boucher seems to stand in the way of Bobrovsky getting the majority of starts for the Flyers. 8. Tyler Ennis ? Buffalo Sabres The diminutive center (5?9?) was taken 26th overall in 2008 and had a successful 4-year WHL career, scoring 86 goals and 176 points in his last two seasons (131 games). He spent the majority of last season in the AHL, picking up 65 points in 69 games in his first season of professional hockey. The soon-to-be 21-year-old also had a brief cameo in the NHL last season, and it was very successful; he had three goals and six assists in ten regular season games, and added four points in six games in the playoffs. He should get an opportunity to play the entire season in the NHL in a scoring role, and could contribute 40-50 points. 7. Tyler Seguin ? Boston Bruins Seguin undoubtedly has the talent to be one of the top players in this rookie class when his prime hits, but as of now it isn?t easy to see just how many opportunities he will be given in his first professional season. He started the season as the fourth-best center on the team?s depth chart (behind Patrice Bergeron, Marc Savard and David Krejci), so he will play mainly on the wing to start the season, with some opportunities at center created by Marc Savard?s lingering concussion problems. The 18-year-old is coming off of an MVP season in the OHL where he scored 48 goals and added 58 assists, for 106 points in 63 games. He may see some secondary power play time, looks like a sure bet for 50-55 points. 6. Michal Neuvirth ? Washington Capitals The 22-year-old Czech goalie was selected 34th overall in 2006, and was slotted in as the backup goalie to start the season in Washington until Sergei Varlamov was put on injury reserve to start the season. He spent most of the last two years in the AHL, where he had a 24-11-2 record. He also played 25 games over the previous two seasons in Washington (25 being the cut-off, so he barely qualifies) where he went 11-5 with a save percentage over .910. He started the first two games this season, and is currently 1-1 with 6 goals allowed and a .906 save percentage. He should see nearly all of the playing time until Varlamov gets back, and if Neuvirth is successful he could succeed him as the team?s #1 goalie. 5. Taylor Hall ? Edmonton Oilers You know it?s a strong rookie class when the 1st overall pick in the 2010 draft is only number five on the list. Hall had an incredible OHL career, winning the OHL and CHL Rookie of the Year award in 2007-08 with 45 goals and 84 points in 63 games. As a sophomore he had 38-52-90 in the regular season, then 16-20-36 in 20 playoff games as Windsor won the OHL Championship and later the Memorial Cup, where he was named MVP. Last year he had 40-66-106 to tie for the league lead in points with Seguin, and put up 17-18-35 in the playoffs, earning back-to-back Memorial Cup MVP awards ? the first player ever to do so. The big winger, who will be 19-years-old next month, will get plenty of opportunities to contribute for the rebuilding Oilers. He, along with two other rookies on the squad, will see a lot of minutes as a top-six forward and on the power play. While he draws many comparisons to Jerome Iginla, it is probably a stretch to expect a 30-goal season as a rookie, but a 25-25 year is certainly possible. 4. Magnus Paajarvi ? Edmonton Oilers Though Paajarvi is only 19-years-old, the Swede has already played three professional seasons in Sweden, so playing among men that are more mature physically will be nothing new for him. In 134 games over those three seasons, Paajarvi had 20 goals and 29 assists. The 10th overall pick in 2009 really put his name on the map with his World Junior performances, where he had 17 points in 13 games in 2009 and 2010. Paajarvi is capable of two or three highlight reel plays every game, and made a statement early with a hat trick in his first preseason game. I wouldn?t be surprised if he netted 15-20 goals with 30-40 assists as a rookie. 3. P.K. Subban ? Montreal Canadiens The 21-year-old Subban tops most charts on Calder predictions, and it wouldn?t be a surprise if he did indeed take the trophy home at the end of the season. He only played two regular season games last season, but had two assists. He then played 14 games in the playoffs and showed very little signs of nervousness, contributing a goal and seven assists in helping Montreal reach the Conference Finals in improbable fashion. He uses his quick hands and tremendous speed as well as any veteran, but at times can be guilty of ?hot-dogging? it a little too much. He will get plenty of opportunities in even strength and power play situations, and averaged over 23 minutes a game in the first two contests this year due to injuries on the Habs? back end. Subban won two golds for Canada at the World Junior tournaments, and is coming off of a very successful AHL season, where he had 18-35-53 in 77 games, stellar production from a defenseman. 2. John Carlson ? Washington Capitals Carlson, 20-years-old, has a combination of size (6?3?, 208lbs) and skill that every coach dreams about in young defenseman. He was used sparingly for the President?s Trophy winners last year, averaging only 15 minutes of action in 22 games (6 points). This year he is already averaging close to 17 minutes, and that should continue to increase as the season wears on and he gains more and more experience. In the first two games he has a goal and two assists. In 2008-09 with the London Knights of the OHL, he was the team?s MVP as a rookie after he had 60 assists and 76 points in 59 games. For the AHL?s Hersey Bears last season, Carlson showed his precision passing with 35 helpers in 48 games. In the playoffs, he was Washington?s best defenseman with 4 points in seven games. 1. Jordan Eberle ? Edmonton Oilers While Eberle?s teammate Hall may have a bigger upside, Eberle is more ready to succeed now. He was taken 22nd overall in 2008 after scoring 42 goals in 70 games in the WHL. He followed that up with 35-39-74 in 61 games before winning CHL Players of the Year last season with 50-56-106 in only 57 games. Over the last two years, he has also played in 20 AHL games once his WHL seasons ended, and found immediate success with 9-14-23. Eberle played in two World Junior Championships with Canada, winning gold in 2009 and silver in 2010. In 12 games, he had 14 goals and 12 assists, and is Canada?s all-time leading scorer in the tournament?s history. It wasn?t just the number of goals that stood out, but the timing. On more than one occasion he scored clutch tying or winning goals late in games, as well as shootout winners. Though only 5?10? and around 175lbs, Eberle plays with as much passion and smarts as anyone in the league, and has absolutely zero fear or doubt in his game. In his NHL debut, he scored a remarkable highlight reel goal short-handed, while adding a power play assist. He will get as much, if not more opportunity than any other rookie because of his ability to play solid defensively as well as offensively. The responsible two-way forward is my pick for the 2010-11 Calder Trophy as the league?s top rookie. Nick can be reached via email [email protected] or on twitter @NickObergan