Seider hopes winning Calder Trophy start of brighter days for Red Wings

TAMPA -- Moritz Seider is looking forward to the offseason break that will help him digest being named the winner of the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year Tuesday.

The Detroit Red Wings defenseman had 50 points (seven goals, 43 assists) in 82 games this season and led rookies in assists, power-play points (21) and time on ice per game (23:02).
"It's crazy. Sometimes you've got to flinch to realize that. Pinch yourself," Seider said after the 2022 NHL Awards at Armature Works. "I'll definitely have some time to reflect, and I will probably do that when I'm home with my parents, just sit outside and have some great talks. For now, everything is going really fast."
The 21-year-old from Zell, Germany, said he was thrilled to be taking some hardware home to show his parents, who were unable to attend the ceremony. They had just returned from a vacation in Croatia and had to go back to work, Seider said.
"Overall, very excited just to share that moment with my significant others and my agency and just very, very grateful for everything that happened tonight," he said. "[My parents] just got back from vacation and they scheduled their vacation different so there was just not any more days to escape from home. They definitely watched. Very happy and very proud to bring something back."
Seider was an impact player for the Red Wings from the start of the season. He had two assists in his NHL debut, a 7-6 overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the season opener Oct. 14, and scored his first NHL goal in overtime to give Detroit a 4-3 win at the Buffalo Sabres on Nov. 6.
Two rookie defensemen since 1992-93 have had more points in a season: Quinn Hughes of the Vancouver Canucks, who had 53 points (eight goals, 45 assists) in 68 games in 2019-20, and Vladimir Malakhov of the New York Islanders, who had 52 points (14 goals, 38 assists) in 64 games in 1992-93.
Seider, who was also named to the NHL All-Rookie Team on Tuesday, said he believes he's only getting started in the League.
"It's still a long road and you're just hitting the highway," he said. "I'm very looking forward to, not just myself but the whole Detroit organization, I think we have a very bright future. I'm just excited."

Seider said he hopes to help the Red Wings climb higher in the standings and back to contender status in the near future. Detroit (32-40-10) finished sixth in the Atlantic Division this season, 26 points out of a Stanley Cup Playoff spot, and missed the postseason for a sixth straight season.
"I think we want to aim for that [playoff] spot 100 percent but you always have to be realistic," he said. "Don't look too far ahead but other than that, what it comes to is just proving people wrong. A lot of people are doubting us and that's what keeps us motivated."
Seider also said he was proud to be among the growing number of Germany-born players in the NHL. There were nine this season, compared to seven in 2016-17.
"It's cool. It's great," he said. "I think there are coming more and more good players and great people from Germany. I think not [only] Hockeytown is excited but I think I'm speaking for all of Germany fans. We're performing every single year at the [World Championship] and proving people wrong, and we're just going to get better."
Seider got 1,853 points in the voting, receiving 170 of 195 first-place votes by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association, and was fourth or higher on all ballots.
Anaheim Ducks forward Trevor Zegras was the runner-up with 1,191 points, including 15 first-place votes, and Toronto Maple Leafs forward Michael Bunting was third with 877 points, including seven first-place votes.