Kopitar and Doughty Bring Home Three Awards
By Ryan Whitehead
Fresh off his introduction as the new captain of the Los Angeles Kings, forward Anze Kopitar brought home two awards; the Selke Trophy for best defensive forward and the Lady Byng trophy for exhibiting sportsmanship and conduct.
Defenseman Drew Doughty also came home with a big prize; the Norris Trophy for the NHL’s best defenseman.
Kopitar had been a runner-up in the past two seasons for the Selke as he led the league in ice time as far as forwards and averaged around 20 minutes of playing time each game. Kopitar also ranked fifth in the league in the number of face offs and seventh in the number of face offs won.
Kopitar placed third in the voting last season for the Lady Byng, and was the first Kings player since Wayne Gretzky to win the trophy this season.
Doughty’s earning of the Norris Trophy was the first of his career, who ranked third in ice-time this season with little over 28 minutes per game. Doughty’s plus-24 rating this season was a career high for the defenseman, who finished with 14 goals, 37 assists, and 51 points this season.
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