The NHL announced the recipient of an award on Monday morning. Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov is the winner of the 2024-25 Frank J. Selke Trophy.
The Selke award is an award that is given to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game, as selected by the Professional Hockey Writers Association. Barkov won it last year as well.
Wild forward Marcus Foligno finished 16th in voting and even got a first place vote.
Not only did Foligno get some votes, but Wild center Joel Eriksson Ek did as well. It was the fourth time in his career, Eriksson Ek got votes and the fourth straight season. He finished fourth in voting during the 2020-21 season, seventh the next year, ninth the following and tenth in 2023-24.
Eriksson Ek, 28, had 14 goals, 15 assists, 29 points, 82 hits and was a plus-nine in 46 games this year. He was injured on a few different occasions.
This year, Eriksson Ek got a third place vote and a fourth place vote. If he plays a full season next year, there is no doubt he will get back into the Selke conversation as the game's best defensive forward.