Staal named Selke finalist

Thunder Bay’s Jordan Staal on Tuesday was named one of three finalists for the NHL’s best defensive forward award.

The Pittsburgh Penguins forward will compete for the Frank J. Selke Award against two-time defending winner Pavel Datsyuk and Vancouver forward Ryan Kesler.

Staal, 21, had a plus-19 rating, the best of his career, nailed the opposition 121 times, blocked 41 shots and had 41 takeaways while leading all Pittsburgh forwards with 3:20 of shorthanded time per game.

“I think that to be successful you’ve got to have different types of players and Jordan’s strength is his responsibility in his own end,” teammate Matt Cooke told NHL.com. “He can score goals and he’s proven that. But I think that part of the way we are able to have success is, if we’re playing againtt a top line, to force them to play in their own end.”

Staal had 21 goals and 28 assists in 82 games, increasing his consecutive games played streak to 302, 11 shy of the franchise record held by Ron Schock.

It’s his first Selke Trophy nomination.

Kesler, a finalist for the second straight year, had 25 goals and 50 assists, and had 83 takeaways, second to Datsyuk, and won 772 faceoffs, ninth most in the NHL. He finished third behind Datsyuk and Kenora’s Mike Richards a year ago.

Datsyuk offensive numbers slipped in 2009-10, falling 27 points, but his defensive game remained top notch. He led the NHL with 132 takeaways, finished plus-17 and had 89 hits.

The NHL awards are scheduled for Las Vegas on June 23.