Rookie

A rookie is a player who is in his first season in a professional league and has very little or no professional experience. This term is mainly North American.

In the National Hockey League, a player is considered a rookie (and, incidentally, is eligible for the Calder Memorial Trophy) for his whole first full season in the league, as long as he "has played less than 25 games in any single preceding season nor in six or more games in each of any two preceding seasons in any major professional league. The player must not be older than 26 years before September 15 of the season in which he is eligible" (1).