Boston Bruins News: Patrice Bergeron Named As Selke Finalist.
Even though the season is over for the Boston Bruins, one of their own has been recognized for his excellence in hockey. Yesterday, Bruins alternate captain Patrice Bergeron was nominated for the Frank J. Selke Award. This is the fourth straight year that the Bruins center has been nominated for the award. Bergeron won the Selke in 2012 and 2014.
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The Professional Hockey Writers nominate the players, and they’re being pretty consistent. Once again he’ll be going up against Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews and Los Angeles Kings forward Anze Kopitar. Last year, they finished Bergeron-Toews-Kopitar. There’s a good chance that the voting will end up the same way this year.
Bergeron finished the 2014-15 regular season as the leader in the faceoff circle. His 60.2 win percentage was the best in the league. It’s the second time in three seasons Bergy has been number one percentage wise in faceoff wins. This is also his second straight year having the most amount of faceoff wins. He came out the victor in 1,175 faceoffs this year.
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Bergeron set a season record with the most faceoff wins in a single game this year (thirty-one against the Vancouver Canucks). It’s the most ever recorded by a member of the Black and Gold since the stat was recorded by the NHL in 1998.
Bergeron has been the complete package player for the Black and Gold these last few seasons. This year, he was the team’s leading scorer. He was the only fifty-plus point scorer on the team this season. He was tied with the most assists (thirty-two, with Dougie Hamilton), and second in goals with twenty-three(only Brad Marchand had more with twenty-four). Bergeron was one of the few consistent bright spots for a team that failed to the make the playoffs for the first time in eight seasons.
He was also the team leader for shots on goal with 234.
Bergeron is the kind of player that makes everyone around him better. He worked wonders with a young rookie line back in 2011. Brad Marchand and Tyler Seguin improved their games under Bergeron’s steady and unassuming leadership. He’s helped turn Reilly Smith from an AHL-quality player to someone who can make their presence known in the NHL.
The winner will be announced Wednesday, June 24, during the 2015 NHL Awards from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.