Seattle Kraken Unofficial Award Winners At All-Star Break
The home office in Toronto has asked each of its team site editors to bestow mid-season awards, based on the hardware the NHL distributes each season.
So dust off your tuxes and evening gowns - or, this being Seattle, your cleanest t-shirts and jeans - walk the red carpet, and settle in for the 1st annual Kraky Awards.
We'll see you at the after-party at Dick's Drive In.
ART ROSS: Oliver Bjorkstrand, 40 points in 50 games
Bjorkstrand will be the third-ever native of Denmark to play in an All-Star game. He’s already within two assists of his career high (29). Bjorkstrand secured his place in Kraken history by scoring both goals in Game 7 of Seattle’s playoff upset of the Colorado Avalanche.
ROCKET RICHARD: Jared McCann, 20 goals in 49 games
McCann, who scored a career-high 40 goals to lead the Kraken last season, has once again found his goal-scoring touch. He’s got six goals in his past nine games, and is on pace (13 shy) to become the first Kraken player to score 100 goals. Speaking of career highs, McCann tallied at least one point in six straight January games.
HART: Joey Daccord
The Kraken, mired in a losing skid, were in danger of seeing their playoff hopes disappear. Daccord rode to the rescue when #1 goalie Philipp Grubauer got hurt playing the puck Dec. 9 against Tampa Bay. He won eight of the nine games in Seattle’s club-record winning streak. More on Daccord in the Vezina category.
NORRIS: Vince Dunn
Look beyond Dunn’s offense from the blueline – although eight goals and 37 points in 46 games will do nicely, thank you. He won praise for taking on Columbus’ Cole Sillinger, after Sillinger boarded Matty Beniers. His top-pairing defense has backed up the four year, $29.4 million contract he signed over the summer.
We're taking a two-hour break until we resume with the rest of the Kraky Awards in our next story. Seat-fillers are available to sit at your computer if you'd like to get up and mingle. Just be back in time for the "In Memoriam" segment, where we fondly remember those teams who didn't make it to last year's playoffs.