Calder Trophy hopes dashed

Last night, when Edmonton Oiler star rookie Taylor Hall left the game with an ankle injury after his involvement in a scrap against the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets, reports today surfaced that Hall will be out for the remainder of the season.

The fact of the matter is this: Taylor Hall, in his first season in the NHL, will be, in just a couple of years, likely one of the biggest stars and a franchise player with Edmonton, and alongside his fellow youngsters, might just have what it takes to turn the slumping Oilers squad into a star-studded lineup bound for a Cup -- or at least be in position to make a run for it.

There is plenty of arguing as to whether Hall should be dropping his gloves or not. Hockey is a rough game. Someone hits someone and his teammates think it was a dirty hit, they want to retaliate. Or, star players get slashed, hacked, whacked and otherwise slowed down ... with little done to the offending players. Sidney Crosby (erm when he was still in the lineup at least) was constantly a victim of this, and even The Kid has been known to drop his mitts on rare occasion.

Hall has defended his actions -- it needed to be done -- but at the same time, perhaps the youngster should leave the fighting to his more experienced teammates? While players don't often tend to endure ankle injuries during a scrap, there is liklihood of a player sustaining an injury, especially when it is a player like Hall who is less accustomed to fighting.

And then there's the old "respect in the room" -- one of my Terrier rookies dropped his gloves this season during a game against the Blues. Wasn't much of a fight, but the boys sure were excited to see his gloves hit the ice.

But can't a player like Hall command respect with his offensive prowess and play-making and goal-scoring?

Would that be enough to earn the respect of his teammates?

Now all we know is that Hall's hopes of earning the league's rookie of the year honours are all but gone. The injury, which will take about eight weeks to heal, will leave Hall out for the remainder of the year, and with the Oilers' current spot in the West division basement, they won't be making a post-season appearance. And unfortunately for one of the league's brightest up and coming stars, he won't be making a trip to the podium this June to collect the Calder trophy for his efforts either.