Best Players of the 2022-2023 sixteenth week

The Kontinental Hockey League’s commission has determined the best players of the Regular Season’s sixteenth week in four categories.

Last week, the League’s teams played 33 games, with 545 players (42 goalies, 181 defensemen, and 322 forwards) taking part in the action. The scoring was at 4.76 goals per game.

- Best goalie for the first time in his career was Ivan Kulbakov (Torpedo), who won three games from three last week. Kulbakov faced 91 shots, or 30.3 per night, posting a saves percentage of 96.70% and a goals-against average of 0.98. The Torpedo netminder recorded a shutout in his team’s 4:0 win over Vityaz.

- Best defenseman for the first time in his career was Andrei Mironov (Dynamo Moscow), who scored 4 (3+1) points in three games last week. The d-man ended no game with a negative rating, finishing with a plus-4 differential. Mironov potted game-winners in the games against Dinamo Minsk and Traktor. He also recorded four hits, blocked five shots, and had one takeaway.

- Best forward for the second time in his career was Marat Khairullin (SKA), who scored 4 (4+0) points in three games last week. The SKA forward ended no game with a negative rating, finishing with a plus-4 differential. Khairullin had doubles against Vityaz and Spartak, with one game-winning goal. He also blocked two shots.

- Best rookie for the first time this season was forward Vladislav Firstov (Torpedo), who scored 3 (1+2) points in three games last week. In the game against Vityaz, Firstov potted the game-winner, and he also recorded five hits and blocked one shot. Firstov is the fifth Torpedo’s player to be awarded Rookie of the Week honors this season.