To mark the end of the fourth full month's play of the tenth season of the Championship, the Kontinental Hockey League has named the best players of January in four categories.

– Best goaltender was Pavel Francouz (Traktor), who helped the Chelyabinsk team win five of their eight matches, including two shutout wins on the road. The 27-year-old Czech achieved a save percentage of 95.64, a goals against average of 1.57, and a shutout series of 128 minutes 49 seconds;

Pavel Francouz, What would I regard as a successful season? Being the champion!

– Best defenseman was Philip Larsen (Salavat Yulaev). The 28-year-old also celebrated five wins in eight games, scoring 7 (1+6) points, recording 26 shots and 7 hits, and averaging 24 minutes 41 seconds on the ice. The Danish D-man did not receive a single negative rating in all January, earning a +6 for the month;

Larsen: I can't spurn the chance to play for Westerlund again

– Best forward was Alexander Khokhlachyov (Spartak), who in eight games tallied 14 (6+8) points, the best total of any player in the League. The 24-year-old Russian notched points in seven games, scored goals in four, hit a hat-trick against Severstal and struck the game-winner in the Moscow derby against Dynamo;

– Best rookie was 20-year-old Neftekhimik forward Rafael Bikmullin, who was given 7 outings in January, for which his account reads 4 (2+2) points, an average ice time of 11 minutes 11 seconds, no negative ratings and a +4 for the month. In the game against Torpedo in Nizhny Novgorod the youngster struck the first goal of his KHL career, and his goal against Vityaz was the game-winner.