Should Anze Kopitar get some consideration for the Selke Trophy? My LAKings.com feature for this week takes a look at Kopitar’s defensive improvement since he joined the NHL. Thanks for reading…
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Plus Kopi probably makes better pancakes while rocking Bart Simpson slippers than Daniel Sedin…
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Paul G Reply:
March 23rd, 2011 at 12:59 pm
@Shakes, Ohhhh baby those r beauties LMAO…and Daniel Sedin is NOT a legit two way forward I’d what people say
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Kopi deserves to score more goals get it to 40 Kopi
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One of the Versus commentators discussed this last week I think. So it’s getting some national attention.
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Hell Yeah!
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I think Kopitar’s main competition for getting a nomination is Johnathan Toews. Same position, similar stats. Plus the Canadian media loves tooting Toews’ horn and the Original 6 bias works for him as well. To break through, the Kings need to finish ahead of the Hawks and Kopi needs the same or better stats than Toews.
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NOW IMPRESSED Reply:
March 23rd, 2011 at 1:15 pm
@BringBackTheShieldJersey, The best way for Kopitar to get the recognition he deserves is for the Kings to face Chicago in the first round of the playoffs and have Kopitar shut down Toews, while the Kings beat Chicago of course.
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outsider Reply:
March 23rd, 2011 at 1:17 pm
@BringBackTheShieldJersey, That should not be the problem!!! We’ll do it!!! GKG, Go Kopi!!!
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KC23 Reply:
March 23rd, 2011 at 1:24 pm
@BringBackTheShieldJersey, Knowing how the NHL thinks I actually think they’d give the nod to Kopitar. Why? There is a lot more to gain my giving LA the attention than Chicago. Chicago is already sold. LA isn’t perceived in the same light by a long shot.
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Kostamojen Reply:
March 23rd, 2011 at 1:42 pm
@KC23, except the NHL doesn’t award the trophy. The winner is selected by the Professional Hockey Writers Association (i.e. popularity contest).
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Shotongoal Reply:
March 23rd, 2011 at 1:48 pm
@BringBackTheShieldJersey, Toews is a legit candidate but it seems like Datsyuk always gets nominated. Hopefully with the injuries he’s has this season there won’t be such a strong desire to nominate him. Even so Kopi is an absolute legit nominee. I said this here a couple weeks ago but we will see if that East Coast-Canadien bias creeps in!!
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mrbrett7 Reply:
March 23rd, 2011 at 2:25 pm
@Shotongoal, All three are damn good defensive forwards.
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Shotongoal Reply:
March 23rd, 2011 at 2:26 pm
@mrbrett7, absolutely!! I wouldn’t kick any of them out of bed!!!
No chance…on a west coast team. But totally deserves it.
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tantrum4 Reply:
March 23rd, 2011 at 1:15 pm
@blueliner,
Agreed
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Definitely! Get the Kings going on an extended playoff run and he’ll get some national attention for sure.
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Definitely deserved….
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I don’t know… don’t get me wrong, Kopitar’s my favorite player, and he’s improved remarkably defensively over the years… but he still doesn’t take his own faceoffs if Handzus or Stoll are on the ice.
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BrokeKingsFan Reply:
March 23rd, 2011 at 1:23 pm
@cjms, thats a moot point if you ask me. Zues and especially Stoll are face off mosters and If we can have them take the faceoff then thats what is going to happen. Plus if thats the only thing that could be said about Kopi in a negative light then the guy is SOLID!
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cjms Reply:
March 23rd, 2011 at 1:30 pm
@BrokeKingsFan, But I do think it’ll hold him back when they compare him to Toews and Kes.
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BrokeKingsFan Reply:
March 23rd, 2011 at 2:59 pm
@cjms, Not for the Selke though i dont think. Unless winning faceoffs is considered defensive hockey? Im no analyst or coach or anything so maybe, not sure though.
fsd1 Reply:
March 23rd, 2011 at 2:02 pm
@cjms, he is getting better, was he not 8 out of 10 at one point in the last game? I thought i heard that, but he does need more work in that area.
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Kingstane9 Reply:
March 23rd, 2011 at 2:23 pm
@fsd1,almost, 9 of 10 to be exact and 10 of 11 I gzesss as well…
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Kingstane9 Reply:
March 23rd, 2011 at 2:24 pm
@Kingstane9, lol, guess
mrbrett7 Reply:
March 23rd, 2011 at 2:25 pm
@cjms, Yes, he does. Who takes the faceoff is determined by what side it is on.
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Whether he wins it or not, he definitely deserves to be in the running. That is good enough for me. He is the one guy on the Kings who always makes me think that good things are going to happen when he is on the ice.
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World class! Rich you made my day! Thank you.
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Kings fans should share this article as often as possible. Send it to every major media outlet you can think of. If we create enough buzz, the rest of the hockey media will need to pay attention.
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I like everyone saying he needs deep playoff run when awards are voted on before the playoffs. Plain and simple he deserves to be a finalist.
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I actually think the NHL would like to see Kopitar win this. The LA is one big huge media hub and the more influence they have here the better for the league. Toews is also in the running, but Chicago’s market doesn’t need the press what so ever.
I like Kopitar’s chances.
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kinginsaltlake Reply:
March 23rd, 2011 at 1:54 pm
@KC23, Kc your not coming to greenroom night?
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KC23 Reply:
March 23rd, 2011 at 3:45 pm
@kinginsaltlake, I sure want to, but that price tag is out of my league. The previous one was like 75, this is almost double. I think they priced a lot of us right out of that special night.
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hey has anyone heard anything about the greenroom night tickets. I bought 2 tickets last night, but haven’t received a e-mail. I got a conformation# , but I thought I would get something confirming my sale. I’m picking tickets up via will call, so I hope they are there when I arrive. Hope to see some of you bloggers there vs Phx. It will be a great time. Me and a good friend will be there come hell or high water.
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Honestly,kopitar is not one of the best defensive forwards in the league. Pavel Datsyuk is the gold standard and on the kings Williams is probably the more competent defensive player. Kopitar certainly gives the effort in terms of covering ground but he is not a threat to strip the puck or lock up another center’s stick.
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fsd1 Reply:
March 23rd, 2011 at 2:04 pm
@greg, Disagree, one of the top 5 defensive centers in hockey.
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mrbrett7 Reply:
March 23rd, 2011 at 2:27 pm
@greg, Disagree wholeheartedly…in fact, Williams wouldn’t even place in the top 10 of defensive forwards on the Kings roster.
Kopitar, Brown, Simmonds, Handzus, Stoll, Richardson, Lewis, Ponikarovsky and Clifford are all on another level, defensively over Williams.
All you need to do is look at who kills penalties.
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Kingstane9 Reply:
March 23rd, 2011 at 2:30 pm
@greg, disagree 100%, top 3 i’d say…
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puddle Reply:
March 23rd, 2011 at 3:09 pm
@greg, Totally way off. What are you basing this on? Kopi’s defensive stats (dGVT) are outstanding and lead the league by a significant margin.
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KC23 Reply:
March 23rd, 2011 at 3:48 pm
@greg, Also disagree. Kopitar is a far better defenseman than Williams and in the top 5 in the league. You don’t get to be the 2nd best +/- forward (especially without being in the top 5 offensively) without being outstanding defensively.
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HockeyNerd Reply:
March 23rd, 2011 at 4:41 pm
@greg, He very well may not be “a threat to strip the puck or lock up another center’s stick”.
Defense == Are goals frequently surrendered when that player is on the ice?
Answer for Kopitar: NO
Therefore, he warrants consideration for the Selke……
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Kopitar will definitely win a few of these in his long career, hopefully all as a King. However I do not see him winning it until Datsyuk is retired, or has an off year, or a short year due to injury. Datsyuk is the premiere 2-way player in the league at the moment, and has been for quite some time. Kopitar will definitely start being nominated in the very near future (probably this year), and subsequently for years after that.
Kopitar is on the brink of super-stardom and ready to be tossed in with the likes of Crosby and Ovechkin. All that’s missing for him is that good playoff run to get him the experience and exposure he needs to elevate his game that final step. He already excels at playing against the best players in the league and shutting them down, all while producing against them offensively.
As far as I know, no awards are based on playoff performance, save for the Conn Smythe. I believe that all voting is done before the playoffs are even over, Rich can you clarify?
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PRMan Reply:
March 24th, 2011 at 5:02 am
@Newf, All that’s missing for him is that good playoff run…and playing in the Eastern Conference.
FTFY
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Definatly a worthy candidate! Love how his zone game has come around. He is such a stud with the puck on offense, i love watching D-men bounce off. And what has become very impressive is his ability to separate forwards from pucks along the boards without taking many penalties. Totally dig it! KOPITAR FOR PRESIDENT!
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I think Toews will win it, but Kopitar will probably be nominated, along with Ryan Kesler. I think even Kesler might win it over Kopitar, especially when you look at faceoff percentage. But Kopitar definitely should be nominated, if people are talking about Toews and Kesler being nominated. Kopi has lots of very similar statistics.
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Toews, Kessler, Dastyuk…those will be your finalists. Does Kopitar deserve to be there? I think so, and he is only getting better.
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DLB Reply:
March 23rd, 2011 at 3:26 pm
@mrbrett7, yet Kessler had a lot of his defensive/shutdown role taken over by Malhotra this year. You think he still gets it? Sometimes the writers are slow to pick up on things like that and vote off of reputation.
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WOW!…Matt Duchene was just interviewed on XM-Home Ice…mentioned that the Kings were the black horse to take the west and said that Kopi was highly under-rated as a 2-way player!
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Stuart Reply:
March 23rd, 2011 at 2:51 pm
@CupRun2011, I think you meant DARK horse… LOL
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DLB Reply:
March 23rd, 2011 at 3:10 pm
@CupRun2011, Man, I knew I loved that guy. Now it’s tripled.
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http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Video-Jonathan-Quick-may-in-fact-control-puck?urn=nhl-wp888
Ha!
Kelly Hrudy says Quick for Vez talk, today on HNiC.
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Newf Reply:
March 23rd, 2011 at 3:27 pm
@Jamesonafterawin, link for that Hrudey one?
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KC23 Reply:
March 23rd, 2011 at 3:52 pm
@Jamesonafterawin, Nah. Quick doesn’t deserve it … yet. Linquest of the Rangers perhaps or Boston’s goalie.
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Kopitar deserves to be recognized for his two-way game. I think he takes pride in being that type of player game-in and game-out. I hope he does win the award. Kopitar, your are the Man! Go Kings!!!
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ziggyfan Reply:
March 23rd, 2011 at 5:02 pm
@Markcmann, yes and yes. Kopitar is exceptional and he is going to get better and better. Not only for considerations for Selke but he is an ironman- passed Dion and counting.
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I agree with others that he deserves to be mentioned/considered. But he won’t be, or if he is, he won’t win because he’s playing for the Kings in the West. That’s too bad because he’s definitely among the top when it comes to 2-way forwards.
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How about the Lady Bing
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PRMan Reply:
March 24th, 2011 at 5:03 am
@Fuzzerson, He is indeed a gentleman.
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Highly unlikely, I feel he is the best candidate for the trophy but when is the last time a King was even given a chance at winning anything? I love his work ethic and his heart. I don’t know if it is TM that has him believing in himself but his improvement has been great for the team and the city.
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Kingstane9 Reply:
March 23rd, 2011 at 10:44 pm
@JW, just another reason for the league or players to nominate him or one of the kings for any award.
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no
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