Very young and very best. Valery Nichushkin is KHL’s MVP in February
Joint project of KHL and championat.com that determines the league’s best
players is in full swing. MVPs are determined on the basis of a multi-level
voting. Each voter could choose three players irrespective of their position on
the ice; thus each mention gets one point in the voting for all three.
Fans at championat.com have the opportunity to cast their votes too. Three players who will get the most votes will constitute the pedestal, so to speak; the winner of this poll gets three points, the runner-up gets two, the bronze medalist – one. In addition to that, KHL’s opinion is taken into consideration; each player mentioned in KHL’s monthly MVPs list gets two points. So, without further ado, here are the results for the month of February.
HOCKEY EXPERTS
Sergey Gimayev, Honored Coach of Russia: Mikhail Varnakov, Rastislav Stana, Yakov Rylov.
Aleksey Dementyev, hockey agent: Ivan Kasutin, Vasily Koshechkin, Nikita Zaytsev.
Aleksandr Kozhevnikov, 2-time Olympic champion: Aleksandr Radulov, Valery Nichushkin, Staffan Kronwall.
HOCKEY REPORTERS
Vladimir Dehtyaryov, hockey reporter for Radio Sport: Stanislav Galimov, Yakov Rylov, Mikhail Varnakov.
Sergey Fedotov, commentator for KHL TV: Nigel Dawes, Jakub Petruzalek, Jeff Glass.
Aleksey Lebedev, editor of sports column for Moskovskiy Komsomolets newspaper: Vasily Koshechkin, Aleksandr Radulov, Jakub Petruzalek.
Igor Bragin, deputy editor of hockey section at championat.com: Valery Nichushkin, Jeff Glass, Yakov Rylov.
Andrey Yurtayev, reporter for KHL TV: Nigel Dawes, Valery Nichushkin, Staffan Kronwall.
Maksim Lebedev, head of hockey section at championat.com: Nigel Dawes, Mikhail Varnakov, Valery Nichushkin.
Best KHL players in February:
– best goaltender – Vasily Koshechkin (Severstal); GAA 1.79, 93.8% shots saved, 1 shutout;
– best defenseman – Yakov Rylov (CSKA); 4 G (including 2 game-winning goals), 4 A, +1 in 7 games;
– best forward – Mikhail Varnakov (SKA); 5 G, 4 A, +10 in 9 games;
– best rookie – Valery Nichushkin (Traktor); 3 G, 1 A, +5 in 5 games.
Results of championat.com’s fans poll:
Vasily Koshechkin – 3346 votes (26.6% of the votes).
Valery Nichushkin – 2217 votes (17.6%).
Konstantin Barulin – 1320 votes (10.5%).
Final results:
Valery Nichushkin — 8
Vasily Koshechkin — 7
Yakov Rylov — 5
Mikhail Varnakov — 5
Nigel Dawes — 4
Aleksandr Radulov — 2
Jeff Glass — 2
Jakub Petruzalek — 2
Konstantin Barulin — 2
Rastislav Stana — 1
Ivan Kasutin — 1
Nikita Zaytsev — 1
Stanislav Galimov — 1
Staffan Kronwall — 1.
Stability is a sign of greatness; this saying applies perfectly to this poll. For the second straight month ValeryNichushkin and Vasily Koshechkin are two best players in the league according to the results. Severstal’s goaltender was January’s MVP; this time it is Traktor’s Wonder Kid who is the best.
U-20 World Championships became a turning point in Nichushkin’s career. Traktor fans did not doubt their young prodigy while other hockey fans unaware of Valery’s talent were amazed with Nichushkin's abilities. Upon his return to Traktor Valery became one of the team’s leaders. Young, powerful and intelligent on the ice, Valery is bound to be enamored by many. In the first round against Barys he garnered three points (2 G, 1 A).
Nichushkin is undoubtedly the youngest and the brightest star on hockey horizons today. With 2013 NHL draft looming large, we could once again see a Russian player take down the #1 spot. Valery has recently celebrated his 18th birthday; therefore this award could be a modest present for a talent that deserves it so much. We would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate Valery on his birthday and wish him professional success, immunity to star sickness and of course, to stay the same great guy that is acclaimed by many for the second month in a row.
Fans at championat.com have the opportunity to cast their votes too. Three players who will get the most votes will constitute the pedestal, so to speak; the winner of this poll gets three points, the runner-up gets two, the bronze medalist – one. In addition to that, KHL’s opinion is taken into consideration; each player mentioned in KHL’s monthly MVPs list gets two points. So, without further ado, here are the results for the month of February.
HOCKEY EXPERTS
Sergey Gimayev, Honored Coach of Russia: Mikhail Varnakov, Rastislav Stana, Yakov Rylov.
Aleksey Dementyev, hockey agent: Ivan Kasutin, Vasily Koshechkin, Nikita Zaytsev.
Aleksandr Kozhevnikov, 2-time Olympic champion: Aleksandr Radulov, Valery Nichushkin, Staffan Kronwall.
HOCKEY REPORTERS
Vladimir Dehtyaryov, hockey reporter for Radio Sport: Stanislav Galimov, Yakov Rylov, Mikhail Varnakov.
Sergey Fedotov, commentator for KHL TV: Nigel Dawes, Jakub Petruzalek, Jeff Glass.
Aleksey Lebedev, editor of sports column for Moskovskiy Komsomolets newspaper: Vasily Koshechkin, Aleksandr Radulov, Jakub Petruzalek.
Igor Bragin, deputy editor of hockey section at championat.com: Valery Nichushkin, Jeff Glass, Yakov Rylov.
Andrey Yurtayev, reporter for KHL TV: Nigel Dawes, Valery Nichushkin, Staffan Kronwall.
Maksim Lebedev, head of hockey section at championat.com: Nigel Dawes, Mikhail Varnakov, Valery Nichushkin.
Best KHL players in February:
– best goaltender – Vasily Koshechkin (Severstal); GAA 1.79, 93.8% shots saved, 1 shutout;
– best defenseman – Yakov Rylov (CSKA); 4 G (including 2 game-winning goals), 4 A, +1 in 7 games;
– best forward – Mikhail Varnakov (SKA); 5 G, 4 A, +10 in 9 games;
– best rookie – Valery Nichushkin (Traktor); 3 G, 1 A, +5 in 5 games.
Results of championat.com’s fans poll:
Vasily Koshechkin – 3346 votes (26.6% of the votes).
Valery Nichushkin – 2217 votes (17.6%).
Konstantin Barulin – 1320 votes (10.5%).
Final results:
Valery Nichushkin — 8
Vasily Koshechkin — 7
Yakov Rylov — 5
Mikhail Varnakov — 5
Nigel Dawes — 4
Aleksandr Radulov — 2
Jeff Glass — 2
Jakub Petruzalek — 2
Konstantin Barulin — 2
Rastislav Stana — 1
Ivan Kasutin — 1
Nikita Zaytsev — 1
Stanislav Galimov — 1
Staffan Kronwall — 1.
Stability is a sign of greatness; this saying applies perfectly to this poll. For the second straight month ValeryNichushkin and Vasily Koshechkin are two best players in the league according to the results. Severstal’s goaltender was January’s MVP; this time it is Traktor’s Wonder Kid who is the best.
U-20 World Championships became a turning point in Nichushkin’s career. Traktor fans did not doubt their young prodigy while other hockey fans unaware of Valery’s talent were amazed with Nichushkin's abilities. Upon his return to Traktor Valery became one of the team’s leaders. Young, powerful and intelligent on the ice, Valery is bound to be enamored by many. In the first round against Barys he garnered three points (2 G, 1 A).
Nichushkin is undoubtedly the youngest and the brightest star on hockey horizons today. With 2013 NHL draft looming large, we could once again see a Russian player take down the #1 spot. Valery has recently celebrated his 18th birthday; therefore this award could be a modest present for a talent that deserves it so much. We would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate Valery on his birthday and wish him professional success, immunity to star sickness and of course, to stay the same great guy that is acclaimed by many for the second month in a row.
