Each season, the NHL awards the Frank J. Selke Trophy to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game.
The award was first handed out at the end of the 1977-78 season, with Montreal Canadiens left wing Bob Gainey named the winner for four consecutive years. No once since has won it as often, though active players Pavel Datsyuk and Patrice Bergeron each has three Selkes on his trophy shelf.
The winner of the award is determined through a vote by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association, who rank their top five candidates in order. In recent years, their preference has been to honour top centers with Stanley Cup success who can put up points, match up well against opponents' top lines, win key faceoffs and successfully kill penalties.
Only a small group of players can do all of those things at an elite level, so the names that come up for Selke consideration haven't been changing much from year to year.
A few fresh faces, including one excellent winger, have made some noise as possible Selke candidates this season. Click through to take a look. Do you think a new face will take home the trophy at t ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Carol Schram
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