NHL Awards Picks, Part Two

June 23rd, 2010 by Adam Davis Leave a reply »
6. Frank J. Selke Trophy: Best Defensive Forward Finalists

Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings

Ryan Kesler, Vancouver Canucks

Jordan Staal, Pittsburgh Penguins

When deciding my pick for this award, I didn't really take points into consideration. Anyone in the league can put up good scoring numbers if that's their focus, and we know that these three finalists are very capable of getting on the score sheet. However, for this award, my pick will be the player who did the most for his team in situations like a penalty kill or overtime.

Pick: Jordan Staal

Watching Staal play is watching a player care more about his opponents not scoring than what his team does offensively. Time and time again, Staal was sent out to kill penalties and did so in such a suffocating way that he frustrated the hell out of the team on the power play.

He managed to be a great second line player for the Penguins in their quest for a repeat Cup victory and finished the year with 49 points. What's impressive is Staal's plus-19 rating for the season, the highest of anyone on the Penguins.

He's a hard worki ...

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