The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) announced the winners of their league awards for ther 2019-20 season on Monday. Among the winners were former Capitals players, Dmitrij Jaskin and Alexander Semin.
Jaskin received the “Golden Stick” award which goes to the Most Valuable Player for the regular season.
Jaskin’s reaction to receiving his award, “It’s wonderful that such a prestigious award went to me. Moreover, this was my first season in the league. Could I play even better? There is no limit to perfection. We practice and play in order to get better, so that the fans come to the stands and enjoy the great hockey. There is a lot of work ahead. The new season will be difficult and from the start of next season, it will be necessary to prove to everyone that this past year’s achievements were not a fluke.”
Jaskin and his linemates, Andre Petersson and Vadim Shipachev, also received the “Top Troika” award for being the top forward line; i.e. the forward combination scoring the most goals.
Jaskin is the first native player from the Czech Republic to win the KHL MVP award. He scored 31 goals and totaled 63 points in 56 games, and signed a new two-year contract with Dynamo Moscow in April.
Alexander Semin won the “Sergei Gimaev” award which goes to the best player/mentor. The KHL created this award after the 2017-18 season as a tribute to former player, Sergei Gimaev, who had unexpectedly died of a heart attack
Semin’s reaction to receiving his award, “It is an honor to receive an award named after such a person as Sergey Gimaev, a person who, under any circumstances, only told the truth. Thanks to the League for appreciating my contribution to the team’s game. I felt great, do not feel my age and do my favorite thing, enjoying it. It’s a shame that the season ended the way it did, with my injury right before the playoffs [which caused him to miss the playoffs and required surgery] , the early elimination of Vityaz from the playoffs, and the remainder of the playoffs being cancelled. But people’s health is more valuable. I hope everything will be fine next season.”
Further Reading
KHL Award Winners from KHL Site
Press Release from HC Vityaz
Press Release from HC Dynamo Moscow
By Diane Doyle
