The Selke goes out to the top defensive forward in the NHL. Usually this also carries with it the burden of being somewhat of an offensive player as well. Not so with the Blue Jackets nominees, as we nominated guys from the top of the lineup to the bottom (as it should be). Read on to see who this year’s Union Blue Selke winner is…
Brandon Dubinsky
The Coach (1): “The league standard for this award is for the best faceoff guy with the most takeaway numbers (who also contributes offensively). Dubinsky finished 5th in the NHL in faceoffs and was among the Jackets leaders in takeaways per game. He’s the best candidate under those parameters. But those are dumb parameters. What I want from my Selke winner is a guy who can shut down the opponents best players, push play from the defensive zone to the offensive zone, win faceoffs, kill penalties, and generally keep the opposition off the scoresheet. No player fits that better than Dubi. Let’s handle these in reverse order. At 5v5, Dubi finished 2nd among CBJ forwards in +/- On/60 (basically the number of goals allowed per 60 minutes minus the number scored per 60 minutes). Every Jackets forward who allowed less goals against per 60 minutes also saw Bobrovsky save an inordinately high number of shots, while the CBJ goalies stopped only .922 with Dubi (six players above him were from .933 to .974). Dubi led Jackets forwards in PK time, and even finished 16th in the NHL in PK time on ice per game. He was good at it too, with only Mark Letestu allowing a lower GA/60 on the PK. I hit faceoffs already, as Dubi was top 5 in the NHL. For the rest of it, I point your attention to this player usage chart.
The top left corner is tougher minutes, players in blue pushed the play forward and the bigger the circle the higher the number (aka big blue is really good, big red is really bad). So Dubinsky played pretty tough minutes for the Jackets and was a monster.”
AlisonL (1): “The great uptick in CBJ play coupled with what we heard Rangers’ fans say they lost is exemplified in Dubi’s play. While not putting up a lot of points, which is what people seem to consider first, #17 ensured that the Jackets were in the game regardless of what end of the ice we were on. His relentless pursuit of the the puck and physical style challenged opponents – I can’t wait to see Dubi in a full season campaign and what he will bring to the CBJ.”
Canadan (2): “While Dubi has a 20 goal season to his name, it seems as though he has really embraced the role of a defensive forward, stymying opposition while being a contributor offensively, mostly in the assist column. I would chalk that up to puck luck this year, shooting at only 4%.
The two-way style, if it can be contagious at all, may be the best thing Arty and Dubi bring to this team. They exemplify what it takes to win hard nosed hockey, and are both fitting in this category. It should have come as no surprise that two of New York’s previous year bests in the defensive aspect of the game would make their presence visible in union blue.”
Matt Calvert
CBJProspects (2): “Calvert was the only other Jacket with a shorthanded goal and was the team’s top forechecker before suffering an injury.”
The Coach (2): “Calvert was arguably the Blue Jackets second best penalty killing forward. He played arguably the toughest minutes of anyone who finished the year in a Jackets uniform. Despite that, he was unreal at pushing the puck forward. Calvert started 46% of his shifts in the defensive zone, yet finished 55% of them in the offensive zone. That was by far the biggest difference among CBJ forwards. Also, take a look at the chart in the Dubinsky section and notice Calvert’s large blue circle located on the far left side. That is very very good.”
AlisonL (2): “If there was a scramble to be seen this season, you can be sure that if Calvert was on the ice, he was involved. Many a play that might otherwise have been left for dead was pursued by Matty Hustle and often ended up in a change of possession in favor of the CBJ. His relentless energy and grit made him dangerous on both sides of the ice this season.”
Canadan (3): “While his success with the Blue Jackets has been prone to low points at times, Calvert made his presence known every game he played with Columbus this season. Absolutely relentless on and off the puck, he was the type of honest, hard working player that was often put on the ice in difficult situations, leaving more often than not when the play was blown dead in the opposing end. Calvert’s tenacity was positively visible on both ends of the ice, often throwing the body, knocking the puck free, and generating scoring chances for Columbus.”
Mark Letestu
CBJProspects (1): “Letestu led the team in shorthanded goals and was one of many that made the CBJ’s PK so dangerous for most of the season.”
The Coach (3): “Letestu finishes here primarily for his prowess on the penalty kill. He was fine on faceoffs, taking a lot and finishing over 50%. He started a lot of shifts in the defensive zone, and finished a lot more in the offensive zone. But shorthanded, he was awesome. My favorite stat to use for judging play on the PK is +/- on/60 (number of goals allowed on the PK minus shorthanded goals per 60 minutes). It’s not perfect, but it’s the best available metric for the PK. Letestu was tops among Jackets forwards, and even finished 3rd in the NHL (among players with at least 1:30 per game SHTOI). That is an awesome number, and something that really helped push the CBJ PK towards the top of the league.”
Derek Mackenzie
CBJProspects (3): “DMac was one of the Jacket’s hardest workers and led the team in faceoff winning percentage(of guys that took more than 5)”
Editors Note: Mackenzie led the team in faceoff winning percentage among those who took more than a few faceoffs, but he did not take enough to qualify for the NHL leaderboard. Dubinsky finished 5th in the NHL, and had DMac qualified, he would have finished 4th.
Artem Anisimov
Canadan (1) “Artem plays at both ends of the ice, and seems to sacrifice himself for the good of the team at any given moment of a hockey game. Certainly a tough season for the guy, fighting concussions and other injuries that all seemed to be ‘unfortunate’ in nature, but each and every time on the ice, he was a similar speed going both ways, strong on and off the puck.”
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