F Xavier Doom @JKortesi81
16-23-39, -52, 22 PIMs, 7 PPP, 155 SOG, 84 hits, 110 SB

Tied for rookie lead in scoring, had to carry a heavy load on a very weak team. Doom did admirably in his premiere.

G Mat Smith @Matteo
54 GP, 38-14-2, 2.35 GAA, .905 SV%, 3 SO

The only rookie goalie, Smith stepped into a pretty cushy opportunity with the Syndicate’s stout team defense. He was tied for the 5th most games played, 3rd most wins, 8th in GAA (4th among starters). Can you separate the team from the goalie? Not really, but regardless of the chicken or the egg, Smith deserves a nomination for top rookie.

F Vaseline Podcalzone
17-19-36, +6, 0 PPP, 131 SOG, 107 hits

The cult of the BEEG Yoshi has been heard! Podcalzone, after a solid career with Newfoundland, jumped onto the scene to finish 3rd in rookie scoring, 1st in goals, while playing a less prominent role than either player ahead of him in the scoring race. He provided effective depth scoring for the young Argonauts.

D Evangelos Giannopoulos @JSS
8-31-39, +71, 187 SOG, 18:10 TOI (0:38 special teams), 14 TkA, 61 SB, 49 hits, 71 CF%/71.1 FF%

Could this man have had any nicer an opportunity as a rookie? Giannopoulos was penciled into the top pairing at 5-on-5, playing extensively with the record setting top forward line and Stevens finalist Hugh Jazz. This allowed him a lot of opportunities to put up great numbers throughout the season, without being relied on for special teams situations. His 39 points tied Doom for the highest among rookies, and was the best among rookie defensemen by 14. No other defenseman was in the top 10 rookie scorers. Love them or hate them, Hamilton knows how to set up their rookies to succeed.