The NHL announced the three finalists for the 2013 Frank J. Selke award, which is given to the forward who excels in the defensive aspects of the game. The award is voted upon by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association.
Frank J. Selke award 2013: Jonathan Toews, Patrice Beregeron, Pavel Datsyuk named as finalists
The NHL announced the three finalists for the Frank J. Selke Award for the forward who excels in the defensive aspects of the game.
Bruce Bennett
Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks, Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins and Pavel Datsyuk of the Detroit Red Wings have been named the three finalists for the award.
Bergeron won the award last season, while Datsyuk won the award for three-consecutive seasons from 2007-'08 through '09-'10. Toews finished as a runner-up to Vancouver Canucks forward Ryan Kesler in 2011.
The NHL acknowledged analytics from BehindtheNet.ca as support for why Bergeron and Datsyuk were nominated as defensive specialists. Bergeron began 57.6 percent of his shifts in the defensive zone, but ended 47.2 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone. Datsyuk’s Corsi rating of 1.340 was supplied as an example of the quality of the competition he faced in combination with his plus-21 rating.
Toews goal scoring and plus-minus rating was the support used in his nomination.
The winner of the award is expected to be announced sometime during the Stanley Cup Final.
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