Couturier finally back among Selke finalists
It’s easy to say it was completely expected that Sean Couturier would be named one of three finalists for the NHL’s Selke Trophy, which honors the league’s best defensive forward.
It was also easy to say that Couturier deserved to be a finalist in this category when he wasn’t one at least a few times before.
The award is voted on by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association. Maybe they didn’t notice the low-key Couturier as much as they should have in past years.
Or, despite the award’s stated mission of honoring defensive forwards, Couturier was an afterthought until he started to score goals with regularity the past few seasons. He has rounded into the Flyers’ top-line center and one of the best two-way players in the game.
“There’s no doubt that Coots is one of the best two-way players in the league,” Flyers coach Alain Vigneault said. “He plays a full 200-foot game; he’s earned the nomination as one of the best. ... Real happy for him. As we said all year, anybody who plays with Coots seems to play well. Good for him and well-deserved.”
Couturier was finally given a finalist nod in this category in 2018, finishing second behind winner Anze Kopitar of the L.A. Kings. After being bypassed last year, Couturier was an obvious finalist this year, named along
with the perennial Patrice Bergeron of Boston and Ryan O’Reilly of St. Louis.
Neither is new to this award: Bergeron is a four-time winner, and O’Reilly won it a year ago.
So ... maybe just be happy with the nomination?
“It’s a great honor,” Couturier said Monday. “I think it just reflects the year that I had and the team as well. I think we had a great year overall and I’m just excited to get back into it and make a playoff run here.”
Even if it’s his second finalist nod, it’s overdue. Couturier has been a standout defensive forward dating to early in his nine-year career when he was skilled at shadowing the likes of Sidney Crosby.
But as he looks at this nomination, it’s hard not to pay homage to another player he’s faced off against all too frequently.
“He’s definitely a great role model for any young player or any young guy trying to learn the game and to play the right way,” the 27-year-old Couturier said of Bergeron, 34. “He does all the little things right, barely makes any mistakes, plays the right way and he’s responsible. He’s definitely a player that any young guy can look up to and learn from. It was no different for me coming into the league. He was already established and a solid player.
“I definitely looked up to guys like him, Kopitar, (Jonathan) Toews, Jordan Staal ... those guys are really reliable and play the game the right way. It’s definitely an honor to be mentioned in the same conversation as those guys.”
Add O’Reilly, 29, to the mix, a contemporary who also seems to be getting better with age and experience.
“I think it’s attention to detail,” Couturier said when asked about his steady improvement. “It’s trying to do the right things all the time on the right side of the puck, being reliable in all aspects of the game. I take pride in that.”
Couturier is the third member of the team named a finalist for a major award this year, joining Jack Adams Award nominee Vigneault and Masterton Memorial Trophy nominee Oskar Lindblom.