The Selke Trophy is awarded to the forward who excels in the defensive aspects of the game.
He is the first Kings forward to ever win the Selke Trophy. Kopitar was also selected as a finalist/top-vote-getter (Top 5) for the Selke in 2015, 2014 and 2013.
Kopitar is set to begin his 11th season with the Kings, and he’s served as an assistant captain for the team since 2008.
This past season, he led the Kings in scoring for a record-setting ninth consecutive season, totaling 74 points (25-49=74) in 81 regular season games. He added an additional four points (2-2=4) in five post-season games during the recently completed 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Kopitar signed an eight-year contract extension with the Kings on January 16, 2016. The contract extension begins with the 2016-17 season and runs through the 2023-24 season. Kopitar is a two-time Stanley Cup winner (2012 and 2014), and he ranks sixth on the Kings career scoring list with 684 points (243-441=684) in 764 career regular season games. On the Kings career post-season scoring list, Kopitar ranks third all-time with 64 points (20-44=64) in 75 career post-season games. Kopitar is a 28-year-old native of Jesenice, Slovenia. He was drafted by the Kings in the first-round (11th overall) of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft and he made his Kings/NHL debut during the 2006-07 season.
