NHL season 22/23 just started a couple of weeks ago, and there already are a lot of predictions about which team will win and who will score the most goals or overall points. Every player’s dream is to win the Stanley Cup with the team, and that is a fact. At the same time, most players also want to win some individual trophies and awards.
One of the most valued personal trophies is the Art Ross Trophy. It is an annual award given to the player who leads the NHL in scoring points at the end of the regular season. The first Art Ross trophy winner was Elmer Lach, who won it in season 1947-1948 while playing for Montreal Canadiens.
The Art Ross Trophy has been awarded 70 times to 29 players since the 1947-1948 season. The record holder of the most Art Ross Trophies won is Wayne Gretzky, who won the trophy ten times during his career. That includes Gretzky winning it in seven consecutive seasons between 1980 and 1987.
Even though there have been 29 different players winning the Art Ross Trophy, a Finnish player has never won it. Now, for the first time in many years, there are speculations if the Colorado Avalanche right winger Mikko Rantanen could be able to win the trophy. There is some truth behind these speculations. Rantanen has been playing better and better each season. He also has a significant role in the Colorado Avalanche’s team, which is known to be one of the best teams in the NHL this season.
Last season Rantanen had the 14th most points in the whole NHL. He managed to get 36 goals while also giving out 56 assists. The season before that was even better for him. During that season, he managed to get 6th most points in the NHL.
The season that just started is also looking promising for Rantanen. In just four games, he has already scored three and assisted six. It means that he currently has the second most points this season. Of course, it has only been four games, and it’s impossible to draw any conclusions yet, but so far, it looks promising for Rantanen.
All the hockey experts know how good Rantanen is, but people don’t usually see him as a point-getting machine. Even Finnish betting experts from Vedonlyontisivustoni.com don’t think Rantanen can do it, at least this season. According to them, Rantanen can get lots of points and even be in the top five, but it’s going to be hard for him to win it. It might not even be because Rantanen is not good enough. It is more about how good the competitors are.
If the question is: Can Mikko Rantanen become the first Finnish Art Ross Trophy winner? Then the answer is: There is a chance that it could happen, but it’s not going to happen this season.
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