Myers Up For Calder
r By Warren Henderson – Kelowna Capital News
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r Tyler Myers was hard to miss during his rookie season in the National Hockey League.
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r And it wasn’t simply because of his imposing 6-foot-8 frame.
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r The former Kelowna Rockets defenceman has been named one of three finalists for the 2010 Calder Trophy as the NHL’s rookie-of-the-year.
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r The other finalists are Colorado forward Matt Duchene and Detroit goaltender Jimmy Howard.
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r Myers, who cracked the Buffalo Sabres’ lineup as a 19-year-old, turned heads this season not only with his size and immense reach, but his uncanny skating ability, his shot, and his on-ice composure and maturity.
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r Myers, drafted 12th overall by Buffalo in 2008, posted the kinds of numbers in 2009-10 more befitting an NHL veteran.
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r He led all Sabres’ defenceman in ice time averaging 23 minutes 44 seconds per game.
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r Myers played in all 82 regular season games and was third overall in the NHL in rookie scoring with 11 goals and 37 assists for 48 points.
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r Sabres GM Darcy Regier agrees Myers is a rare and special talent, particularly when it comes to his skating ability.
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r “He's very fluid," Regier told USA today. "It's highly unusual to see someone this mobile at that size and age. I don't know who you would point to either in the past or present like that."
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r From Myers perspective, his rookie season in the NHL has unfolded even better than he could have hoped for.
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r “At the start of the year, I never expected to be in the position I am now, but as the year has gone on I have felt more and more comfortable and less surprised with the way I'm playing," Myers told NHL.com. "I think it's just that I'm figuring out that I'm able to not only play but contribute and produce at this level."
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r Myers, a native of Houston who moved to Calgary when he was 10, played three-plus season with the Kelowna Rockets, scoring 17 goals and adding 60 assists in 191 games.
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r In the spring of 2009, Myers was named the Western Hockey League’s playoff MVP en route to leading the Rockets to the WHL title and a berth in the Memorial Cup championship in Rimouski, Que.
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