Anze Kopitar is hockey's best defensive forward.
The Los Angeles Kings center won the Selke Trophy on Wednesday night at the NHL Awards. It was his sixth time nominated, and the first time he won. He finished second in Selke voting in 2014, and third last year.
Selke voting: pic.twitter.com/Io6dN9zUMM
— James Mirtle (@mirtle) June 23, 2016
After a slow start to his season offensively, Kopitar found his groove and finished with 74 points, his most since the 2011-12 season.
The 28-year-old led all NHL forwards in ice time, averaging almost 21 minutes a game. He took the fifth-most faceoffs, and ranked seventh in the league in faceoff wins. He finished with a beastly 56.6 percent Corsi For rating, according to Hockey Reference.
Kopitar was named the Kings' 14th captain in franchise history last week, taking over for teammate Dustin Brown. The Slovenian is the first Kings forward to ever win the Selke.
