Washington Capitals Forwards Shine in 2025 Selke Trophy Voting

ICARO Media Group
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03/06/2025 04h58

### Capitals Forwards Get Recognition in 2025 Selke Trophy Voting

Aliaksei Protas, Pierre-Luc Dubois, and Nic Dowd, three talented forwards from the Washington Capitals, received votes for the 2025 Selke Trophy, an award given to the NHL's best defensive forward. This accomplishment comes after a strong 2024-25 season where the Capitals topped the Eastern Conference standings.

Aliaksei Protas stood out the most among the Capitals trio, finishing 22nd in the voting. The 24-year-old had a breakout season, tallying 66 points with 30 goals and 36 assists across 76 games. Notably, Protas excelled on the penalty-kill unit and had minimal ice time on the power play, a testament to his defensive contributions.

Pierre-Luc Dubois also made his mark by finishing 23rd in the voting. Dubois, a 26-year-old center, was pivotal as a shutdown player for head coach Spencer Carbery. He played tough minutes against the top players from opposing teams. The Capitals dominated during his five-on-five ice time, controlling 52.8% of shot attempts, 54.9% of expected goals, 55.8% of scoring chances, and 57.2% of high-danger chances.

Nic Dowd, the veteran among the three at 35 years old, finished 36th in the voting. Dowd achieved career highs with 14 goals and 27 points despite starting just 11.6% of his shifts in the offensive zone. His defensive prowess was evident as no other NHL player with a minimum of 500 minutes of five-on-five ice time had a smaller percentage of shifts starting in the offensive zone.

Florida Panthers' center Aleksander Barkov won the Selke Trophy for the third time, earning the award for the second consecutive year. Barkov appeared on 173 of 191 ballots and was the first choice on 96, accumulating 1,363 voting points. This year, the Selke Trophy voting also featured a historic finish, with Barkov's teammate Sam Reinhart finishing second.

Barkov and Reinhart's performances for the Panthers highlighted their defensive strengths. Barkov helped his team rank among the top 10 in several key defensive metrics, including goals-against per game, penalty-killing percentage, and shots-against per game.

Overall, this year's Selke Trophy voting spotlighted the defensive capabilities of both the Capitals and Panthers, signaling the importance of two-way play in the modern NHL.

The views expressed in this article do not reflect the opinion of ICARO, or any of its affiliates.

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