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Patrice Bergeron might win the 2011-12 Selke Trophy

Patrice Bergeron

A year ago, Boston’s Patrice Bergeron was just shy of being nominated as one of the three Selke Trophy finalists, which goes to the NHL’s top defensive forward. This time around, Bergeron might nab the award.

The contest for the Selke Trophy is a bit unique in the sense that the statistics associated with success defensively are a bit more obscure and, in some cases, in dispute. For example, the value of a player’s plus/minus rating is open to debate. With that in mind, a forward’s reputation for doing all the little things necessary to help his team win is important. That’s something Bergeron has working for him.

In addition to finishing fourth in voting last season, Bergeron is having a great season both with and without the puck. He leads the league in faceoff wins and has a stunning 59.5% success rate on the draw. On top of that he has 61 points in 79 games, which might not directly factor into the award, but it does help him get the voters’ attention in the first place.

“With our system there’s no blowout out of the zone or cheating. He’s often the last one of the defensive zone, or the second-to-last one out,” said teammate Chris Kelly. “But he still manages to create a lot of offense in the system. It’s a lot of skating. He’s working every single night. It’s not like there are easy nights where he’s cheating like some other guys in the league do that recognized a little more for their offensive numbers.”

It’s also worth noting that two of last season’s three finalists, Jonathan Toews and Pavel Datsyuk, have missed a significant amount of time due to injuries this season. Meanwhile, 2010-11 award winner, Ryan Kesler, is having something of an off season by his standards. There are other worthy candidates, but Bergeron certainly seems to be in a good position to claim the award.