From the Slam! Sports blog...

We've been talking about Howard as a candidate for the Calder Trophy as the season's top rookie ever since he caught fire earlier this year.  Well, the whispers have been starting to turn into serious discussions.  And the talks have reached Jimmy's ears...

"I'm not going to lie -- I hear those things, but I try to let it go in one ear and out the other.  not worried about it. First and foremost, we've got to make the playoffs."--Jimmy Howard

Jimmy has been property of the Detroit Red Wings ever since they drafted him in the second round of the draft back in the summer of 2003.  Almost seven years later, the soon-to-be 26 year old is finally getting his chance.  Patience on both sides (Jimmy and the organ-i-zation) have paid off big time.

"It was a long-time coming.  But I'm very thankful for that. I was able to iron out a lot of wrinkles in my game and learn a lot by playing every single night.  I'm thankful they were patient with me. It allowed me to mature, not only as a person but also as a professional. It was a good situation for me.  Being a young, dumb college kid from the University of Maine, I had a lot to learn.  Every situation is different for every player. I would have loved to crack the lineup earlier in my career, but it's not the way it worked out for me.  My path was to stay down there and learn."

And learn he did.  Hopefully, he has learned a little more about longevity than fellow goaltender Steve Mason, who won the Calder Trophy last year and has had a disastrous season after getting schooled in the first round of the play-offs last year by Detroit.

Oh and if you watched Wingspan yesterday on FSD, you saw that Jimmy only let in one out of ten in his segment of "Trev Takes On".  Just another accolade to add to his resume...or maybe you'd want to leave that one off.

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