Elitserien's Top Rookie: Hedman, + More

Although Markström came up short in the rookie of the year, he was certainly one of the players that received consideration. The honour went instead to MODO's Victor Hedman.

Hedman had 21 points this season and could still be selected first overall in this summer's entry draft. Here's a bit of what he said:

I have always thought that Jacob would win that title, but of course I am very satisfied and pleased.

Anyway, last week, the Amerks finally snapped an eight game losing streak by beating Syracuse and then followed up a few days later with a win against Albany. Since then, Rochester has dropped two straight, with David Shantz playing in the latter of the two having been recalled from Dayton a few hours earlier.

Shantz, on the short-notice call-up, arrived less than an hour before gametime and only managed to get suited up in the minutes leading up to the start. He went on to stop 50 of 52 Binghamton shots. Rochester piled on 37 of their own, but the B-Sens won comfortably in the shootout, scoring on all three opportunities. Rochester sent out Parnham, Sprukts and Brine, each to no avail.

If you want to read the whole crazy story about Shantz's day, you can find it here.

Lastly, Panthers' prospects gunning for a national championship will have to try again next season. Of the four teams that made the tournament with at least one Cats' prospect on the roster, only New Hampshire made it past the first round.

Ohio State was routed by Boston University, 8-3. Defenseman Matt Bartkowski scored for the Buckeyes, however, and with 41 games under his belt in his rookie season, he finished with five goals and fifteen assists. Not too shabby for a seventh round selection.

North Dakota, playing without Derrick Lapoint, who broke his tibia and fibula in a game last month, took on New Hampshire in the opening round. For the UNH Wildcats, goaltender Brian Foster stopped 40 of 45 shots in a back-and-forth thriller that needed extra time to settle. Ultimately, New Hampshire came away with the win.

They advanced to the second round but fell to Boston University, 2-1. Foster stopped 21 of 23. On the season, the Panthers' fifth round pick from 2005 finished up 19-11-4 with three shutouts, a goals against average of 2.68 and a .910 save percentage.

Heading back to the first round, you'll see that the Denver Pioneers were eliminated by the Miami Redhawks (Ohio). The shot count favored Miami 29-18 and with it, the goals favoured the Redhawks as well. Denver goaltender Marc Cheverie surrendered four goals and freshman defenseman John Lee was a -1. The final score, 4-2.

Cheverie, like Foster, had been playing his first season as a starter. While Foster is now a junior, Cheverie is a sophomore. A seventh round pick in 2006, "Chevy" racked up a 23-12-5 record, along with a 2.34 GAA and a .921% save percentage. Lee, a fifth round pick in '07 and the younger brother of Ottawa Senators' defenseman Brian Lee, posted five assists as a freshman.