The NHL has officially unveiled Patrice Bergeron, Nico Hischier and Mitch Marner as the finalists for the Frank J. Selke Trophy.
It's officially NHL award season, folks.
The NHL unveiled the three finalists for the Frank J. Selke Trophy on Tuesday evening, awarded annually to the player who "demonstrates the most skill in the defensive component of the game."
This year's finalists come in the form of Boston's Patrice Bergeron, New Jersey's Nico Hischier, and Toronto's Mitch Marner.
As the reigning Selke winner, Bergeron certainly has the inside track for a repeat performance this season after putting up his typically dominant numbers in all areas of the game. In 78 games this season, Bergeron racked up an impressive 27 goals and 31 assists for 58 points while averaging 17:24 in nightly ice time and winning 61.1 percent of his faceoffs. Bergeron was once again the defensive staple for an elite Bruins' forward corps and handled the toughest assignments his position allowed. With 2022-23 potentially being his final season, Bergeron could skate into the sunset with yet another Selke.
On the flip side, both Hischier and Marner are first-time finalists for this prestigious award, representing the next wave of elite two-way forwards making their way into the NHL.
Hischier tackled the toughest defensive responsibilities for the Devils this past season while also balancing a strong offensive performance, setting career-highs in goals, assists and points while also winning 53.9 percent of his draws.
As for Marner, he becomes one of the rare wingers to receive a Selke nod in quite some time, as the 25-year-old flourished as one of the league's elite penalty-killers this season while also nearly topping the 100-point mark for the first time in his career.
Regardless of who takes home the hardware, each finalist is undoubtedly worthy of recognition.