October’s finest: Salak, Pashnin, Dawes and Zub
To mark the end of the second month’s play of the eighth season of the Championship, The Kontinental Hockey League has named the best players of the month in four categories.
– Best goaltender was Alexander Salak (Sibir), who played in eleven games, helping his team to win seven and take points from the remaining four. Salak recorded 2 shutouts, a goals against average of 1.41 and a save percentage of 95.47;
– Best defenseman was Mikhail Pashnin (Lokomotiv), with 2 points (1+1) from 12 outings, ten of which were victories. Pashnin enjoyed 40 hits and took a neutral or positive plus/minus in every game, ending the month with a +11;
– Best forward was Nigel Dawes (Barys), with 18 points (12+6) from 13 appearances and a +5 for the month. The Canadian’s mighty scoring spree included one hat-trick, three doubles and two game-winners;
– Best rookie was 20-year-old Amur defenseman Artyom Zub, who featured in 12 games, producing 2 points (1+1), 12 hits, 14 blocks and enjoying an average ice time of 17 minutes 56 seconds. Zub ended the month at a +3 and his solitary goal sealed victory for his team.
