KHL Best Players: January

The second last month of KHL’s regular season has been played and the league has determined and announced the league’s best players for the month of January.

The best goalie for the second time in the season was Edward Pasquale, who won seven of ten games in January, including one shutout. Pasquale faced 264 shots on goal, or 26.4 per night, posting a saves percentage of 92.42% and a goals-against-average of 1.98.

The best defenseman for the first time was Philip Holm (Metallurg), who won nine from ten games with his team in January. Holm had 8 (1+7) points in this span, including netting the game-winner in the 3-2 win over Salavat Yulaev. Only once did Holm finish a game with a negative rating, ending January being plus-10. Holm had 19 shots on goal, recorded one hit, and blocked two shots.

The best forward for the first time was Shane Prince (Dinamo Minsk), who won seven from twelve games with his team in January. Prince produced 16 (8+8) points for the Bisons, potting two doubles and scoring five game-winners. Prince posted only one negative rating, ending the month being plus-7. The forward had 48 shots on goal, recorded two hits, blocked two shots, and earned five powerplays for his team. Prince became the third Dinamo Minsk player to be awarded as the best forward of the month.

The best rookie for the first time was defenseman Alexander Alexeyev (Salavat Yulaev), who won eight of 11 games with his team in January. The D-man only recorded one negative rating in this span, ending January being plus-6. Alexeyev had 18 shots on goal, recorded seven hits, blocked nine shots, and logged an average time on ice of 18 minutes and 20 seconds. Alexeyev is the third Salavat Yulaev’s player to be recognized as the best rookie of the month.