Ouellet’s progress and Drozg’s points. Week 24 top imports
Ouellet gets weekly award, Drozg helps the Dragons in their playoff push. KHL.ru presents the best players from each country.
Canada
D, Dinamo Minsk, 4 G, 3 (0+3) points, +4
For the first time in his career, Xavier Ouellet of Dinamo Minsk has been honored as the league’s Best Defenseman. Over four games last week, Ouellet tallied three assists, concluding the week with a plus-4 rating. In particular, he had a pair of assists in the Bison’s win over Vityaz on Monday (4:2), and had another helper in Dinamo Minsk’s away victory against Dynamo Moscow (5:0), collecting a plus-2 rating in both games. His defensive contributions were notable, with seven blocked shots, seven hits, one intercepted pass, and four takeaways.
Dinamo Minsk is currently one of the league's hottest teams, demonstrating strong form as they prepare for the upcoming playoffs. Moreover, Ouellet has signed a new contract with the Bison for the next two seasons.
US
D, Traktor, 3 G, 2 (0+2) points, +4
Another North American defenseman who’s having a strong showing of late is Traktor’s Logan Day. The blueliner, who joined the Chelyabinsk side near the deadline, posted a helper in both Traktor’s wins last week, against Lada (4:1) and Amur (5:2), posting a plus-2 rating in each match. He was left out of the scoresheet in Traktor’s losing effort to Neftekhimik (1:3) on Sunday. Earlier, Day was on a four-match scoring streak, with the Black-and-Whites winning in three of these games. The American defenseman is yet to record his first goal in the league, but if he keeps on getting points at this pace, it will surely come. Traktor is currently leading the Eastern Conference’s table and is likely to retain the top spot until the end of the regular season. Day has just renewed his ties with Traktor for a further season.
Slovenia
F, Kunlun Red Star 2 G, 2 (1+1) points, +2
After a rocky start with Amur, the Slovenian forward moved to Kunlun Red Star, where he finally returned to being his own self and an offensive threat on the ice. Last week, Drozg was excellent for the Dragons scoring points in both games, with an assist in Kunlun Red Star’s losing effort against Lokomotiv and his fifth goal with his new team as the Dragons defeated SKA in St. Petersburg. He gained a plus-1 rating in both games and confirmed to be an important player for the Dragons’ playoff push. The franchise has a seven-point gap from Torpedo, but there is still time.
Slovakia
F, Spartak, 2 G, 2 (1+1) points, even
The Slovakian forward had a striking performance in Spartak’s win over Sibir on Thursday (6:2). Ruzicka, at his debut season in the league, assisted Mikhail Maltsev’s goal in the first period and netted his twenty-fifth goal in the season in the middle frame. The large-framed forward is currently in seventh place for goals scored in the league, trailing Severstal’s Kirill Pilipenko and Salavat Yulaev’s Sheldon Rempal, tied in fifth position, by just two tallies. The Red-and-Whites are currently the second seed in the Western Conference and Ruzicka’s offensive performance will be key for Spartak.
