It was a pretty good month for Carolina’s Jeff Skinner and now he gets to cap it off being named the NHL’s Rookie of the Month for January. Skinner finished the month with nine goals and five assists good for 14 points, edging out Boston’s Brad Marchand, Buffalo’s Tyler Ennis, New York’s Mats Zuccarello, and Flyers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky for the monthly honor.
Skinner was initially named to be one of the members of the rookie squad to participate in the NHL SuperSkills, but after injuries knocked out some of the All-Star Game’s players, Skinner got the call to join the game and become the youngest NHL All-Star of all time.
Skinner joins past honorees Washington goalie Michal Neuvirth, Bobrovsky, and San Jose’s Logan Couture as winners of the award this season. For Skinner at just 18 years-old it’s been a great month and with the Hurricanes threatening for a playoff spot in the East, bringing the team back to the playoffs would make for a nice credit to his hockey résumé this year.