The Frank J. Selke Trophy is awarded at the end of every season to the NHL player who performs and demonstrates the highest level of skill in the defensive aspects of the game. It is named after Frank J. Selke, who was at one time a general manger for the Toronto maple Leafs as well as the Montreal Candiens. Generally, it is seen as recognition as to which player is the best in the league, in any given year, when it comes to "two way" performance. Two way performance can be defined loosely as being just as good with the puck as without it, being defensively capable and still capable of scoring. Abilities that would be an asset to winning the Selke Award would be strong face off ability, forechecking and penalty killing ability, as well as being able to contribute to offense. Perseverance is perhaps the biggest asset to two way playing ability, as it is an attribute that is usually the domain of players who are willing to go to the "tough areas" (example: the corner boards) to retrieve the puck. Being able to take the puck away from the opposition generally leads to scoring chances, as such, many two way players are also very adept playmakers when on the offensive.
The Selke Award was first implemented in the 1977 -1978 season and since that time it has been awarded 32 times to a total of 20 different players. The very first winner was Bob Gainey of the Montreal Canadiens, his performance that season not only ensured his winning the award, in many ways his performance that season became the standard against which all future Selke winners would be compared. Fittingly, Gainey went on to win the Selke the following three season to win it a total of four times in a row, a record that still stands today. The aforementioned Pavel Datsyuk, as well as Jere Lehtinen, Guy Carbonneau have all won the award three times. The Montreal Canadiens and Detroit Red Wings have each won the award a total of seven times apiece. The Detroit Redwings especially have been quite active as current (Pavel Datsyuk) or former players (Sergei Federov, Kris Draper, and Steve Yzerman) have combined to win the award seven times since 1994. Last season's winner was Pavel Datsyuk of the Detroit Red Wings. It is his third consecutive time winning the award.
While it may seem as though the Selke is awarded for player defensive responsibility, it is important to note that defensive acumen is what helps to generate offense in hockey. Most of the recipients over the years have all had solid offensive numbers and statistics to complement their defensive ability. A good example would be 1992-93 winner Doug Gilmour, who posted spectacular offensive stats to go along with his defensive play that season by scoring 32 times, and tallying 95 assists for a total of 127 points. Another trend amongst Selke winners is almost all of them have been above average in their face off ability. Wining the majority of your face offs in a game definitely helps your team with puck possession, and the more you have the puck than your opposition the more likely it is that your team will generate more scoring chances, thus increasing their chances of winning the game. This is another reason why Selke winners are also such good penalty killers; winning the majority of your face offs, especially when shorthanded, is a great way to stay in possession and take away the man advantage.
The Hart Trophy or the Art Ross Trophy is usually associated with offensive, dynamic players, but the Selke has many all-star names on its winners list. Indeed, many of the NHL's most dynamic players have won the Selke Trophy over the years; Bobby Clarke, Sergei Federov, Steve Yzerman to name a few.
Finalists for this year include last year's winner, Pavel Datsyuk, Chicago's Jonathan Toews and Vancouver's Ryan Kesler.
The Selke Award was first implemented in the 1977 -1978 season and since that time it has been awarded 32 times to a total of 20 different players. The very first winner was Bob Gainey of the Montreal Canadiens, his performance that season not only ensured his winning the award, in many ways his performance that season became the standard against which all future Selke winners would be compared. Fittingly, Gainey went on to win the Selke the following three season to win it a total of four times in a row, a record that still stands today. The aforementioned Pavel Datsyuk, as well as Jere Lehtinen, Guy Carbonneau have all won the award three times. The Montreal Canadiens and Detroit Red Wings have each won the award a total of seven times apiece. The Detroit Redwings especially have been quite active as current (Pavel Datsyuk) or former players (Sergei Federov, Kris Draper, and Steve Yzerman) have combined to win the award seven times since 1994. Last season's winner was Pavel Datsyuk of the Detroit Red Wings. It is his third consecutive time winning the award.
While it may seem as though the Selke is awarded for player defensive responsibility, it is important to note that defensive acumen is what helps to generate offense in hockey. Most of the recipients over the years have all had solid offensive numbers and statistics to complement their defensive ability. A good example would be 1992-93 winner Doug Gilmour, who posted spectacular offensive stats to go along with his defensive play that season by scoring 32 times, and tallying 95 assists for a total of 127 points. Another trend amongst Selke winners is almost all of them have been above average in their face off ability. Wining the majority of your face offs in a game definitely helps your team with puck possession, and the more you have the puck than your opposition the more likely it is that your team will generate more scoring chances, thus increasing their chances of winning the game. This is another reason why Selke winners are also such good penalty killers; winning the majority of your face offs, especially when shorthanded, is a great way to stay in possession and take away the man advantage.
The Hart Trophy or the Art Ross Trophy is usually associated with offensive, dynamic players, but the Selke has many all-star names on its winners list. Indeed, many of the NHL's most dynamic players have won the Selke Trophy over the years; Bobby Clarke, Sergei Federov, Steve Yzerman to name a few.
Finalists for this year include last year's winner, Pavel Datsyuk, Chicago's Jonathan Toews and Vancouver's Ryan Kesler.
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From this blog post: http://zulukingdom.blogspot.com/2011/06/history-of-nhl-awards-frank-j-selke.html
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