SatansDevils Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 The Selke trophy finalists have been announced today and they are Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk, Vancouver's Ryan Kesler and Philadelphia's Mike Richards. IMO, Pavel Datsyuk loses the Lady Bing to Parise, but wins the Selke trophy for the 2nd straight year. Right now on NHL.com, Detroit's pavel Datsyuk is in the lead for votes but it is rather close. http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=420456 Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings -- It's one thing for a Brian Leetch, Sidney Crosby or Wayne Gretzky to carry the puck the length of the rink while using head and foot fakes to shed checkers, after all, they know where they're going. It's a whole 'nother thing for Datsyuk to strip those guys of the puck because he knows where they're going. Datsyuk was third in the NHL with a plus-34 rating, an important measure of defensive responsibility. He was ninth in winning in 56 percent of his faceoffs, important in keeping the puck out of the rival's hands. Datsyuk does his defensive mastery without a strong physical presence. He had only 33 blocked shots, 116th in the NHL, and 76 hits, which ranked 174th. Ryan Kesler, Vancouver Canucks -- Kesler is a very physical and emotional player who often brings out the anger in opponents. You know you've been in a hockey game after tussling all night with Kesler. Kesler was plus-8 and had two shorthanded goals. He won a valuable 54 percent of his faceoffs and ranked seventh among NHL forwards with 70 blocked shots. He tied for seventh with 74 takeaways. Mike Richards, Philadelphia Flyers -- Richards quickly became the leader on the Flyers' roster. He was named an alternate captain last season and was promoted to captain before the 2008-09 season. He led the Flyers in assists, takeaways and faceoff percentage. He had a career year with 30 goals and 50 assists and was plus-22. Richards tied Chris Drury for the NHL lead among forwards with 90 blocked shots and finished 33rd with 147 hits. He was third among NHL forwards with 83 takeaways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshall Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 Hard to argue with Dats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MantaRay Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 Zubrus for shutting down Elias and Gionta. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshall Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 Zubrus for shutting down Elias and Gionta. :giggle: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msweet Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 Zubrus for shutting down Elias and Gionta. POD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prucenterrules Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 I picked datsyuk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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