Players of the Month: Sorokin, Lehtonen, Slepyshev, and Morozov

The Kontinental Hockey League’s commission has determined the best player of the fifth month of the Regular Season – January – in four categories.

- Best goalie was Ilya Sorokin (CSKA), who won six of eight games, including two shutouts, and suffering one SO loss. The Red Army netminder stopped 94.05% of the shots he faced, with a goals-against average of 1.37. Sorokin posted a shutout streak of 174 minutes and 47 seconds – the best result of January.

- Best defenseman was Mikko Lehtonen (Jokerit), who won nine of twelve games with his team, scoring 13 (5+8) points (best result of the month among defensemen) with a plus-4 rating. Lehtonen scored game-winning goals against Severstal, Vityaz (when he scored a double), and Kunlun Red Star. Lehtonen also had 28 shots on goal and 6 hits. The Jokerit defenseman is the best in his role for the third month in a row.

- Best forward was Anton Slepyshev (CSKA), who won nine of twelve games with his team, scoring 18 (10+8) points with a +13 rating (both figures are the best in the last month). The Red Army forward scored points in all games of the month and goals in seven matches. Slepyshev scored game-winning goals against Dynamo Moscow, Sibir, HC Sochi (when he scored a double), and Admiral. He also recorded nine hits and blocked eight shots from the opposition.

- Best rookie was forward Ivan Morozov (SKA), who won seven of eight games with his team, scoring 6 (4+2) points. The St. Petersburg forward posted no negative ratings, ending January plus-6. On Jan. 23, in a match against Barys, the 19-years-old forward scored his first goal in the KHL and posted a double on Jan. 28 against Dinamo Minsk. Morozov logged an average of 12 minutes a night.