The Selke Trophy winner was announced for the 2024-25 season and it was awarded to the Florida Panthers' Aleksander Barkov. Players from 25 of the 32 teams received at least a fifth place vote or better this season and the Chicago Blackhawks had one player who was represented, Ilya Mikheyev.
He received one fifth place vote along with Quinton Byfield, Roope Hintz, Jordan Kyrou, Anton Lundell, Evan Rodrigues, and Pius Suter. They all finished tied for 37th in voting. For a player on the Blackhawks to receive any votes for a trophy like the Selke that is given to the best defensive forward is impressive considering where the team finished and how poor the team +/- was.
Mikheyev's contract was dumped to the Blackhawks from the Vancouver Canucks last offseason and it turned into a great pickup for Chicago. He finished the season with 20 goals and 34 points, averaged two minutes on the penalty kill per game, and was a +4 on the season. The Blackhawks were -70.
The three former Blackhawks who also finished this season with votes for the Selke include Brandon Hagel, Phillip Danault, and Suter. Hagel placed ninth and received three first place votes, Danault finished 17th and had one second place vote, and as mentioned above, Suter had one fifth place vote.
Mikheyev still has one more year left on his contract and there are a couple of other players who have the potential to play strong defense as forwards. We'll see what the Blackhawks are able to do next season and if certain players can contribute more defensively.
