Best players of October

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

In October, the League’s teams played 122 games, with 625 players (52 goalies, 207 defensemen, and 366 forwards) taking part in the action. The scoring was at 5.52 goals per game.

- Best goalie for the first time in his career was Alexander Samoilov (Severstal), who won seven games from ten last month. The Cherepovets goalie faced 232 shots, or 23.2 per night, posting a saves percentage of 91.38% and a goals-against average of 1.99. Samoilov posted shutouts in Severstal’s wins over HC Sochi on Oct. 9 (3:0) and Avtomobilist on Oct. 15 (2:0). His longest shutout streak was recorded at 134 minutes and 55 seconds.

- Best defenseman for the first time in his career was Mitchell Miller (Ak Bars), who scored 12 (3+9) points in eleven October games. The Kazan blueliner posted no negative ratings in the month, ending October with a plus-9 differential. Miller netted the game-winning goal in Ak Bars’ away win over Sibir on Oct. 16. He also delivered five hits, blocked six shots, made five pass interceptions, and had five takeaways.

- Best forward for the first time in his career was Konstantin Okulov (Avangard), who scored 15 (5+10) points in eleven October games, with a plus-2 differential. The Omsk forward netted game-winning goals in Avangard’s wins over Admiral on Oct. 1 (6:1) and Avtomobilist on Oct. 19 (3:2 OT). He also recorded two hits, blocked eight shots, made four three interceptions and had four takeaways.

- Best rookie for the first time in his career was forward Alexander Zharovsky (Salavat Yulaev), who scored 12 (4+8) points in twelve October games, with a plus-3 differential. He also delivered two hits, blocked six shots, made five pass interceptions, and had ten takeaways.