Players of the Week 12: Kalnins, Gustafsson, Brule and Ivashov
To mark the end of the twelfth week’s play of the ninth season of the Championship, the Kontinental Hockey League has named the best players of the week in four categories.
– Best goaltender was Janis Kalnins (Dinamo Riga), who made two appearances and allowed just a solitary goal, ending the week with one shutout, a save percentage of 97.83 and a goals against average of 0.50;
– Best defenseman was Erik Gustafsson (Avangard), who celebrated three wins in three road matches. The Swede finished each game with a positive efficiency rating, earning a +5 for the week, fired 7 shots at the opposition goal and blocked 6 shots at his own.
– Best forward was Gilbert Brule (Neftekhimik), with a haul of 6 points (4+2) from two victorious matches. The Canadian received a positive rating in both games on his way to recording a +4, and his figures for the week include 9 shots, 5 hits, and – last but not least - a hat-trick at Lada which included the game-winner.
– Best rookie was 19-year-old Avtomobilist forward, Roman Ivashov, who enjoyed 3 outings on the road and helped his team win two of them. In the match at Severstal, Ivashov celebrated scoring his first ever KHL goal, and he was given an average 8 minutes 10 seconds of ice time.
