Best Players of the 2023-2024 first week
The Kontinental Hockey League’s commission has determined the best players of the Regular Season’s first week in four categories.
The League’s teams played 44 games since the start of the new season, with 566 players (42 goalies, 189 defensemen, and 335 forwards) taking part in the action. The scoring was at 5.89 goals per game, while the average attendance was 5,378 spectators per night.
- Best goalie for the first time in his career was Jeremy Smith (Kunlun Red Star) who won three games from three last week. Berdin faced 123 shots, or 41 per night, posting a saves percentage of 95.93% and a goals-against average of 1.66. In the Kunlun’s 3:0 win over HC Sochi, Smith posted his first shutout of the season. The most recent time a Dragons’ goalie was awarded Best of week honors was in the 13th week of the 2019-2020 season, with Simon Hrubec getting the award.
- Best defenseman for the fourth time in his career was Alexander Nikishin (SKA), who scored 5 (2+3) points in four games last week. Nikishin posted no negative ratings, with a plus-3 differential. He also recorded ten hits, blocked nine shots, and had one takeaway. Nikishin was awarded Best of week honors three times in 2022-2023.
- Best forward for the second time in his career was Nikolai Goldobin (Spartak), who scored 7 (6+1) points in four games last week. The forward had at least a goal in each of last week’s contests, establishing a record for Spartak for the best goal scoring streak to start a season. Goldobin also potted a hat-trick in the Red-and-Whites’ 6:4 victory over Severstal. He also recorded one hit and blocked two shots. Goldobin was awarded Best of week honors for the first time in seventeenth week of the 2022-2023 season. The most recent Spartak forward to receive Best of Week honors was Alexander Khokhlachyov, in the 2017-2018 season’s 23rd week.
- Best rookie for the first time in his career was defenseman Anton Silayev (Torpedo), who scored 3 (0+3) points in three games last week. Silayev posted no negative ratings, ending the week with a plus-1 differential. He also recorded four hits and blocked six shots.
