The Calder Trophy voting for rookie of the year next spring looms as one of those elections with all the suspense of a congressional incumbent running unopposed in a district that hasn’t elected anyone from the opposite party since before the Titanic sank.
Going into Saturday’s game at San Jose, Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin had six goals in his first six games after getting into the lineup following a preseason shoulder injury, and there’s no reason to believe he can’t continue to tear it up as the Penguins reap the benefits of those high draft choices over the past few years.
(Of course, given the Penguins’ shaky status in Pittsburgh, it all might end up benefiting the hockey fans of Hamilton, Ontario, or Kansas City, or wherever else the Penguins could end up. But that’s another story.)
Malkin, 20, spoke with reporters on a league conference call last week, but it was stipulated that he wouldn’t talk about the Russian hockey federation’s continuing legal battle over his departure from a Russian team to the Penguins.
He did talk about adjusting to switching to play wing, on a line with the Penguins’ other prized young skater, Sidney Crosby.
“He had a great view on the ice,” Malkin said. “He’s always going to find you with his great passes. It’s still a little bit difficult because I’m not used to playing on the wing. … Of course, it’s a little bit hard for me to play defense when I’m on the left wing because I’m not used to it.”
Malkin said playing for Russia in the Olympics in Turin this year convinced him he was ready for the NHL. Still, he added, “I didn’t know what kind of game they played here when I tried to come to North America. Of course, it’s difficult. I have to make some adjustments. It’s not that easy for me, but I’m trying very hard. I think I’m (moving) in the right direction.”
Malkin’s former Russian team, Metallurg Magnitogorosk, has sued the NHL and the Penguins in U.S. District Court in New York. Malkin left the Russian team’s training camp in Finland in August and ended up joining the Penguins. He maintains that though his Metallurg Magnitogorosk contract has a year remaining, Russian contract law stipulates that he could get out of it by giving two weeks’ notice.
