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Auston Matthews wins Calder Trophy

Jerry Lai / USA Today Sports

Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs has won the Calder Trophy, awarded to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the NHL.

This award was expected to come down to Matthews and Winnipeg's Patrik Laine, but in the end, the vote wasn't particularly close.

Matthews was selected first overall at the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, and made an immediate impact for the Maple Leafs, scoring a record four goals in his regular-season debut.

Not only did Matthews score the most goals by a rookie (40), he finished in a tie for second among all NHL players, four behind Sidney Crosby.

Matthews' 69 points put him five ahead of Laine, albeit with nine more games played. Overall, he finished 20th in league scoring.

The 19-year-old was Toronto’s first Calder Trophy finalist since 1992-93 (Felix Potvin) and he's the first Maple Leaf to win the award since 1965-66 (Brit Selby).

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