Selke Trophy Predictions: April 8
The Selke Trophy is awarded to the best defensive forward in the NHL and has frequently gone to a center throughout its history.
Aleksander Barkov won last year’s award while Boston Bruins center Patrice Bergeron has won four in the past ten years.
Bergeron is on track to win yet another Selke this year as he owns a plus/minus of plus 20, 30 takeaways and 39 blocked shots on the season.
He is also putting up good offensive numbers with 19 goals and 35 points in 62 games.
L.A. Kings center Anze Kopitar has also won a Selke in the past, but this season he has a plus and minus of -7 on the year. He makes up for it with 42 takeaways and 62 blocked shots.
He has played ten more games than Bergeron and has 18 goals with 43 assists.
Elias Lindholm has an impressive +48 on the season witg 49 takeaways and 43 blocked shots on the year in a breakout campaign for the Flames.
Lindholm also has 71 points while centering Calgary’s top line.
St. Louis Blues captain Ryan O’Reilly has always been one of the stellar defensive forwards in the league and has also blocked 33 shots on the season
He has not had the offensive production of the past this season, but still has 17 goals on the year.
Last year’s winner Aleksander Barkov has battled through an injury this season and has still been able to play at a very high level.
He has 53 takeaways and is plus 31 on the season in just 57 games and has blocked 38 shots on the year. Barkov is also having a tremendous offensive season with 34 goals and 42 assists on the season.
An underrated but very important piece of the Tampa Bay Lightning roster is forward Anthony Cirelli, who can play up and down the lineup at any forward position.
Cirelli has 46 takeaways and a surprising 60 blocked shots this season which is among the best defensive numbers for a forward this season.
On offense, he does not have the same effect, but does have 15 goals on the season.
Alex Iafallo is the first winger on the list with 51 blocked shots and 41 takeaways on the season.
Blue Jackets forward Oliver Bjorkstrand can also play right wing and has 49 takeaways this season, but a plus/minus of -31 is very bad. He does have 50 points on the season on a struggling Columbus team, though.
Nick Suzuki also plays on a very bad team in the Canadiens, but he has made improvements to his game despite the team. Suzuki owns 53 blocked shots and 46 takeaways this year while also totaling 33 assists on offense.
This year’s race is a very close one but expect Elias Lindholm to have a narrow victory over Aleksander Barkov with Anthony Cirelli coming in third.
James Morrison is a sophomore majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email jpm6920@psu.edu.
