Best players of September
The Kontinental Hockey League’s commission has determined the best players of the Regular Season’s first month in four categories.
In September, the League’s teams played 136 games, with 668 players (53 goalies, 218 defensemen, and 397 forwards) taking part in the action. The scoring was at 5.33 goals per game, while the average attendance was at 6,161 spectators per night.
- Best goalie for the first time in his career was Vladislav Podyapolsky (Lada), who won six from eleven games last month. The Togliatti goalie faced 332 shots, or 30.2 per night, posting a saves percentage of 95.18% and a goals-against average of 1.49. Podyapolsky was Lada’s first goalie and second player to be awarded the best of month honors, following top rookie Stepan Zakharchuk in February 2009.
- Best defenseman for the first time in his career was David Sklenicka (Barys), who scored 14 (1+13) points in ten games. He posted a plus-4 differential, and is on a seven-game scoring streak. He also recorded ten hits, blocked 15 shots, had two interceptions and one takeaway. Sklenicka was Barys’ fifth defenseman to be awarded the best of the month honors, with three awards for Kevin Dallman, two for Darren Dietz, and one each for Viktor Hedman and Viktor Svedberg.
- Best forward for the first time in his career was Nikolai Goldobin (Spartak), who scored 17 (9+8) points in 13 games. Goldobin posted a hat-trick, recorded three hits, blocked five shots, had one interception and five takeaways. In the game against Barys, Goldobin became the ninth KHL player to have at least five assists in one match. Goldobin was Spartak’s third forward to be awarded the best of month honors, following Alexander Khokhlachyov and Kirill Knyazev.
- Best rookie for the first time in his career was defenseman Anton Silayev (Torpedo), who scored 6 (1+5) points in 12 games. The defenseman logged an average of 17 minutes and 33 seconds a night, and had 29 shots, 19 hits, 18 blocked shots, four interceptions, and two takeaways. Silayev was Torpedo’s fifth rookie to be awarded the best of month honors, following Vasily Atanasov, Ivan Chekhovich (twice), Dmitry Shulenin, and Yury Sergiyenko.
