Pals, the 2025-26 National Hockey League season was my eighth as a member of the Professional Hockey Writers Association. For the fifth consecutive year, I had the privilege of voting for the year-end NHL awards.<\/p>\n
As I\u2019ve been doing every year since receiving a ballot, and in keeping with our organization\u2019s commitment to transparency in our voting, here\u2019s how I voted and my thought process behind each decision I made.<\/p>\n
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy<\/p>\n
Presented annually \u201cto the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.\u201d<\/p>\n
1. Rasmus Dahlin [Buffalo]
2. Gabriel Landeskog [Colorado]
3. Linus Ullmark [Ottawa]<\/p>\n
Winner: Gabriel Landeskog<\/p>\n
This is one of the toughest awards to vote on each year, but Dahlin\u2019s year \u2013 playing at an extremely high level while his wife went through some really scary health challenges \u2013 really resonated with me. I also respected the heck out of how Landeskog battled back from a really significant injury to play at a high level, and how Ullmark navigated a really challenging season.<\/p>\n
Frank J. Selke Trophy<\/p>\n
Presented annually \u201cto the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
1. Nick Suzuki [Montreal]
2. Nico Hischier [New Jersey]
3. Joel Eriksson Ek [Minnesota]
4. Dylan Larkin [Detroit]
5. Ryan O\u2019Reilly [Nashville]<\/p>\n
Winner: Nick Suzuki<\/p>\n
For this award, I rely upon Dobber\u2019s Player Usage Charts and Natural Stat Trick\u2019s possession metrics. My question is usually: who played the most against top opposition, got the least help from offensive zone starts, and managed to have good underlying numbers despite all of that? Suzuki was my answer. If a forward doesn\u2019t face first-line opposition, it\u2019s tough for me to have them high on my list.<\/p>\n