By Nick Obergan We last looked at the league’s crop of rookies a month and a half into the season, so we are long overdue to check back in on their progress and the race to the Calder Trophy this season. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins continues to top our list, but the player previously tied with him at the top has slid way down. Rankings as of mid-November are in brackets. Don’t sleep on: Carl Hagelin, NYR (16 points, +13 in 29 games), Raphael Diaz, MTL (15 points, -1, 84 blocked shots). Falling: Luke Adam, BUF (4th), Ryan Johansen, CBJ (10th) 10. Colin Greening, Ottawa Senators (NR) The Ottawa Senators are surprising in every aspect; their team was expected to be near the basement of the league and instead is currently sitting in a playoff position. One of the surprising within their lineup is this 25-year-old rookie who has 26 points (tied for 6th among rookies) and a -5 rating. Greening was always a decent player, but a seventh round pick is not expected to contribute this well, this early. 9. Jake Gardiner, Toronto Maple Leafs (9) While his numbers may not be flashy (1-13-14, +4), he is third among rookies in ice time at 20:52 per game. While his giveaway numbers are a bit troubling (43 against 18 takeaways), it is largely because Gardiner always seems to have the puck when he is on the ice. He may not be a big time offensive contributor yet, but his smooth skating and smooth hands look like he is capable. It is partly because of his play that Toronto has the depth on the blueline to trade for an upgrade at forward. 8. Craig Smith, Nashville Predators (Tied-1) In the previous rankings, Smith was tied for the rookie scoring lead with 14 points in 17 games. Since his hot start, he has only put up 15 points in 31 games and is a -5 over that span. His 29 points still have him tied for fourth in rookie scoring, and he is still a bright spot for a very strong Nashville team. Smith’s 6 power play goals lead all rookies. 7. Sean Couturier, Philadelphia Flyers (6) Couturier’s all-around game is impressive for a rookie. He may only have 19 points in 44 games, but he is tied for the rookie lead with a +13 rating. His faceoff number (46%) is also considered good for a rookie, and he has 23 takeaways against only 11 giveaways. He has size, speed, and intelligence, and looks like a real good acquisition in the Jeff Carter trade. 6. Gabriel Landeskog, Colorado Avalanche (5) Landeskog does just about everything. He leads all rookies with 39 takeaways (against 20 giveaways), has the most hits among forwards (129), has blocked 33 shots, has 26 points and a +12 rating, and has the most shots on net (145) by almost 20. 5. Adam Larsson, New Jersey Devils (8) The big Swede continues to log major minutes (21:46, second most among rookies) and is tied for the scoring lead among rookie defensemen (15 points). But it is hard to accurately portray how good he is with stats, you really need to watch him to see how smooth and intelligent he is, and why he was compared to fellow countryman Nicklas Lidstrom. 4. Cody Hodgson, Vancouver Canucks (NR) Remember when it seemed the organization was infuriated with Hodgson when they kept sending him to junior or the AHL? Those days are long gone, and Hodgson is showing why he was drafted 10th overall. He is tied for fourth with 29 points and has a tidy +7 rating, while sitting second in power play goals (5), despite getting merely 18 shifts and 12 minutes per game. 3. Matt Read, Philadelphia Flyers (3) Read continues to impress on a talented Flyers squad. His 31 points ranks him third among rookies, and he has the second-best plus/minus mark of +12. He even has the third-highest takeaway total (25, against 16 giveaways), but has won less than 40% of his 207 faceoffs. The trust his coaching staff has in him is shown by his 2:44 of power play ice time and 2:33 of short handed ice time per game. Oh, and he leads all rookies with 15 goals, kind of an important stat. 2. Adam Henrique, New Jersey Devils (7) Henrique seems to be getting better and better as the year progresses. Now centering the top line with Kovalchuk and Parise, Henrique is second in rookie scoring with 34 points in 43 games and has a +6 rating. More impressive, is that he is tied for the NHL lead with four short handed goals and has three game winners. Thanks to playing on the top line, Henrique leads all rookie forwards in ice time with 18:24 per game, and has the second most takeaways (28, against 14 giveaways). 1. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Edmonton Oilers (Tied-1) Unfortunately he is injured right now, because The Nuge was on pace to have maybe the best rookie season since Evgeni Malkin. He was flirting with point-per-game status (13-22-35 in 38 games), and was scoring on 16.3% of his shots (best among any rookie with more than 30 shots on net). Heck, that he still leads all rookies in assists and points, despite missing 11 games, says all you need to know. Nick is RealGM’s NHL Feature Writer. You can reach him by email [email protected] or on twitter @NickObergan