Best players of December

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

In December, the League’s teams played 99 games, with 624 players (52 goalies, 207 defensemen, and 365 forwards) taking part in the action. The scoring was at 5.69 goals per game.

- Best goalie for the third time in his career was Vasily Demchenko (Admiral/Dinamo Minsk), who won five games from six last month. The goalie faced 143 shots, or 23.8 per night, posting a saves percentage of 95.80% and a goals-against average of 1.00. Demchenko posted a shutout in Dinamo Minsk’s win against Dynamo Moscow on Dec. 27 (1:0). Demchenko was awarded the Best goalie in November 2017 representing Traktor and in December 2022 representing Avangard.

- Best defenseman for the first time in his career was Nikita Lyamkin (Ak Bars), who scored 11 (2+9) points in nine November games. The Kazan blueliner ended the month with a plus-9 differential. In his team’s victory over Dynamo Moscow on Dec. 23 (6:5), Lyamkin potted the game-winning goal. Telegin made two hits, blocked 16 shots, made one pass interception and had five takeaways.

- Best forward for the first time in his career was Danil Aimurzin (Severstal), who scored 12 (8+4) points in ten December games. The Severstal forward ended the month with a plus-3 differential. Aimurzin posted game-winning goals in his team’s wins over Traktor (2:1), HC Sochi (2:1), Avtomobilist (3:2), and Ak Bars (3:2).

- Best rookie for the second time in his career was forward Ivan Demidov (SKA), who scored 6 (4+2) points in seven December games, ending the month with a plus-4 differential. The young forward potted the game-winning goal in his team’s win over Torpedo on Dec. 19 (6:4). He also recorded one hit, blocked one shot, made two pass interceptions, and had five takeaways.