Although he missed out on both the Art Ross and Rocket Richard trophies, Washington Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin will not be going home empty-handed this year after he was named the recipient of the Kharlamov Trophy on Wednesday.
The award, named after Russian great Valeri Kharlamov, is awarded annually to the player judged to be the best Russian player in the NHL as voted on by all the league's Russian players. This is the fifth time that Ovechkin has captured the award.
Ovechkin received 17 votes while Detroit Red Wings' forward Pavel Datsyuk and Phoenix Coyotes' netminder Ilya Bryzgalov finished in a tie for second with three votes each. The Devils' Ilya Kovalchuk received two votes while Ovechkin's Capitals teammated Semeyon Varlamov received one.
Interestingly, reigning Conn Smythe Trophy winner and Penguins' sniper Evgeni Malkin was shut out.
Ovechkin finished in a tie for second in scoring this season with 109 points while leading the Capitals to the franchise's first ever Presidents' Trophy.
The Capitals begin their first round playoff series with the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday starting at 7pm et/4pm pt on TSN and TSNHD.
