The KHL held its yearly awards ceremony today, celebrating the best players of all the Russian leagues. At the top of the heap was Sergei Mozyakin once again, who won his fourth Golden Stick award as the league’s MVP in the last five years. The 36-year old forward is one of the greatest players to never play in the NHL, and had his best season this year with 48 goals and 85 points—both KHL all-time records—in 60 games for Magnitogorsk.
Mozyakin was actually drafted by the Columbus Blue Jackets back in 2002, his final year of eligibility, but never signed with the team or even attempted to come to the NHL. The legendary Russian forward has won almost every award in the KHL, six World Championship medals and two Gagarin Cups. His career is one of the greatest unknowns to North American fans, never seeing him but for a four game stint with Val d’Or of the QMJHL when he was 17-years old. He captained the Russian team at the most recent World Championships, though exited the tournament after being slew-footed by Germany’s Patrick Hager.
One of the more interesting notes from the awards was Artyom Manukyan winning the Junior Player of the Year, just a month before he’s once again eligible for the NHL Entry Draft. The tiny forward—who stands at just 5’7″ 139-lbs—set a league record with 105 points this season for Omskie Yastreby of the MHL. Passed over a year ago, Manukyan will turn 19 this June and be eligible once again for selection should anyone want to take a chance on him.
Anna Shokhina was named the MVP of the Russian Women’s League, after she scored 81 points in 36 games. Shokhina is just 19-years old but scored 17 more points than anyone else in the league. The powerful winger is basically unstoppable at her level, as she showed against Team Canada at the World University Games back in 2015. She will return to Tornado Dmitrov next season to see if she can repeat her MVP performance.