Selke Selections

Similar to the Vezina, there are a handful of candidates that are worthy of Selke honors this season. Its a very debatable award, considering what merits the qualification of a "forward who demonstrates the most skill in the defensive component of the game." There's the work in the faceoff circle (or not), ice time against the best lines of the competition, penalty killing, takeaways, you name it and it probably garners some attention when thinking about who to select. I'm not a big stats guy, so I rely on watching these guys night in, night out, and which is why you should hold no accountability when I'm spewing unsubstaniated opinion.

Pavel Datsyuk is the reigning award winner for two years straight and its easy to see why when looking at his game. Almost on every shift, you can see the opposition heading up ice only to have Datsyuk backchecking hard, make a quick stickcheck and head back the other way, usually to dangle some poor unsuspecting defenseman, and flip it behind the goaltender. As offensively skilled as he is, he is solid in his own end as well, working in all special team situations, averaging 20:23 time on ice per game, the most for any forward on Detroit. He's tied for the lead with teammate Zetterberg with 23 goals on the Wings, 8 of them coming on the power play, and 60 points overall on the season. He's +14, the highest +/- for Wings forwards, with a 55.7% faceoff percentage proving that he can just about do it all.

Jonathan Toews was the unsung Canadian hero of the Olympics, making several crucial defensive plays throughout the tournament, while looking like a poised veteran and yet one of the youngest members of the team. He has been heralded as a tireless worker, attempting to improve any weak areas of his game as few as they may be. He leads all Blackhawk forwards in time on ice, and is good for third on the team with 59 points (22G, 37A) with 8 power play goals. He carries a +19, and has a 57.3 faceoff percentage, tops on the Hawks and in the top ten of the entire League.

Ryan Kesler was actually a 2009 Selke nominee who lost out to Datsyuk. Known for being a relentless, agitating forward, that stirs it up from the ice and the bench, his knack for disrupting the play often produces plenty of favorable turnovers. Kesler's having a career year with 68 points, (22G, 46A) and was handsomely rewarded by the Canucks with a new six year, $30million contract extension before entering restricted free agency. He leads all Vancouver forwards in ice time with an average of 19:52 with a 55.6 faceoff percentage, but a -1 will pull his voting down.


Mikko Koivu, captain of the Minnesota Wild is one of those names that could easily be tossed into the ring. He leads the Wild in points with 66, (20G, 46A), seven goals on the power play, one shorthanded, leads all forwards in time on ice (20:29), has a 56.9 faceoff percentage, but is only a +1 on a Minnesota club going through some growing pains.

With underrated speed and great hockey sense, Patrick Marleau is a beast on the penalty kill, potting four shortys this season. Add that to his 12 power play goals, and he's the leader in goals for the Sharks with 42, his career best. Second in points on the Sharks with 80, he leads all San Jose forwards in time on ice with a 21:12 average, good for 10th in the League among forwards.

Another strong penalty killer is Jordan Staal, who is cast in the shadows of a Pittsburgh team under Crosby and Malkin. He's third on the team in points with 48 (21G, 27A) behind those two, with two shorthanded goals on the year, and is third for forwards in time on ice (19:15) with the Penguins. Staal, more than likely doesn't have a realistic shot of getting a nomination, but I have no doubt that he will one day.

The first three mentioned are who I believe will be nominated for the Selke, but there's a good chance that Kesler could be replaced with Koivu or Marleau. For a while it seemed as if it was Toews to run away with, but lately he's hit a mild slump that has had a larger impact on that Chicago team. His Olympic performance was excellent, but since then he's been struggling. Award is voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers Association, so its always subject to the popular name being bantered about, for better or worse.

Jack and Coach

The candidates for this year's Jack Adams seem to be pretty cut and dry with the usual cast of characters coming from teams that everyone expected much less out of. Hence the reason for the award, the coach "adjudged to have contributed the most to his team's success." Getting more out of less, shouldn't it then be called the Barry Trotz? (The structural instability of putting a Barry Trotz replica or even a photo was deemed unsafe due to the high loadbearing weight at the top of the trophy.) And sadly that man's name doesn't appear anywhere on the trophy.

And it doesn't look to have a chance this year, as I'd probably put him fourth behind Dave Tippett, Joe Sacco, and Cory Clouston. Nashville's just not flashy enough to get the votes, I guess.

I, for one, did not expect Ottawa to have the success and competitiveness that they've shown this year. With the Heatley dilemma and the low return Bryan Murray got when the trade finally came to pass, not to mention the lack of a bonafide #1 goaltender with Leclaire's issues, it just didn't seem like Ottawa would be in the hunt, let alone be challenging for the Northeast Division lead. But Cory Clouston has done it, now with the elephant out of the room he's got command of it, and the Senators have listened, getting balanced scoring, and a buy-in to his attacking offensive strategy. But I've still got to rank Mr. Clouston third behind the two "feel good" stories.

The first of which being Joe Sacco and the Colorado Avalanche. Sacco was also involved in somewhat of an awkward situation when Patrick Roy was originally offered the head coaching job before the then current coach, Tony Granato had even been fired. Roy passed on the offer, Granato still got the axe, and Sacco was named head coach the following day. Promoted from the AHL farm team, the Lake Erie Monsters, he was credited for his work in grooming the younger players into NHL-caliber which fit perfectly with the youth that was filling the Colorado lineup. He's inspired that group to challenge for the Northwest Division lead when almost all experts picked Colorado to finish in the bottom of the standings. With the changing of the guard taking place on the Avs from veteran to youth, Sacco has made that transition appear seamless.

Dave Tippett was unceremoniously dumped and used as one of a few scapegoats for Dallas' miserable injury-plagued season of 2008-09. But Phoenix couldn't hire him as the new coach until Gretzky officially stepped down. Once that occurred on September 24th of last year, halfway through the preseason and nearing the start of the regular season, Tippett was officially hired just a few hours later. The situation in Phoenix was a constant distraction in the years prior with court precedings, low attendance, and the constant bashing by Canadian media to bring the team back north. Now that the League has officially taken over the team, the grumblings have quieted, but in some cases still remain. And that has allowed Tippett to guide this group into the postseason with a 40-22-5 record. There's no chance of challenging for the Division lead with a 10 point cushion for San Jose, but they all but have a playoff berth locked up for the first time since the 2001-02 season. This playoff appearance might be the evidence that the greater Phoenix area needs to prove to the rest of the League that the Coyotes belong there. On the other hand, it could prove the exact opposite if the City does not get behind the team in a playoff run.

In any case, it is a huge victory for the franchise thanks to the patience of Don Maloney, and the leadership of Dave Tippett, this year's 'Cinderella' story and my pick for the Jack Adams.