Kantserov, Nabokov, and Silayev finalists for Rookie of the Year

KHL.ru presents the finalists for the Alexei Cherepanov award, whose recipient is the top rookie of the 2023-2024 season.

The Alexei Cherepanov award recipient is determined by a vote among all the Kontinental Hockey League head coaches. Metallurg’s Roman Kantserov and Ilya Nabokov, and Torpedo’s Anton Silayev are the three finalists for the 2022-2023 edition.

Roman Kantserov (Metallurg)

78 GP, 28 (12+16) points, +6

19-year-old Kantserov, alongside other players of Magnitka, became one of the team’s heroes in the Gagarin Cup playoffs. Kantserov ranked as the seventh top scorer in the current elimination stage, scoring 13 points. He also scored three game-winning goals – one in the series against Spartak, and two in the first round against Amur.

Ilya Nabokov (Metallurg)

66 GP, 39 W, 93.4%, GAA 2.03, 7 SO

This is already the second nomination for the Most Valuable Player of the playoffs for the 2023-2024 season at the closing ceremony. Earlier, Nabokov made it to the top three goaltenders in the coaches’ voting. Will he be able to take two awards at once?

Anton Silayev (Torpedo)

68 GP, 13 (3+10) points, -8

Silaev had an impressive start to the season, grabbing the top Rookie award for September. He also became the youngest goal scorer for Torpedo in the KHL and only the third defenseman in the league’s history to score at the age of under 18.

Ilya Proskuryakov, Anatoly Nikontsev, Pavel Zdunov, Dmitry Lugin, Valery Nichushkin, Andrei Vasilevsky, Maxim Mamin, Artem Alyayev, Vladimir Tkachyov, Vitaly Kravtsov, Ilya Konovalov, Artyom Galimov, Yegor Chinakhov, Arseny Gritsyuk, and Nikita Grebyonkin have won this award in the past.

The Closing Ceremony for the 2023-2024 season will be held on May 13, 2024.