The Kharlamov Trophy is an ice hockey award given to the best Russian player of the previous season.
The current winner, for the 2024–25 season is Alexander Ovechkin.
History The Trophy was established by Sovetsky Sport in 2002, and is named after the legendary Soviet ice hockey player Valeri Kharlamov. Presentation of the award and the ceremony are held by Sovetsky Sport every summer in Moscow.
2002–2015: Best Russian Player in the NHL Between 2002 and 2015 only players from the NHL were eligible for the award. Voting took place at the conclusion of each season. Every Russian player, who'd played at least one game in the NHL during that season, would be allowed to name his top 3 candidates in a 1st-2nd-3rd format. Players could not vote for themselves.
The award was a de facto, Best Russian NHL player award.
2016–present: Best Russian Player in the World Starting with the 2016 award, the voting participation as well as eligibility rules were greatly modified.
Eligibility was expanded, to any Russian player from the National Hockey League or the Kontinental Hockey League. As the KHL is a predominantly Russian league, the number of potential contenders for the award is now in the hundreds.
With the number of candidates heavily increased, the voting process was revamped as well. With the 2016 award onward, a shortlist of the 20 best players from the NHL and KHL is compiled. It is then voted on by a selection committee composed of five groups of experts, each consisting of 13 individuals, plus the past award winners.
The trophy was not awarded between 2019 and 2024. In 2025, the first winner after the hiatus was Alexander Ovechkin, who had beaten the NHL's regular season goals record previously that year.
Voting membership Committee of the Russian Hall of Fame Russian hockey veterans/legends Group of KHL general managers Russian hockey press/writers Television commentators Past winners of the award
List of winners
+Kharlamov Trophy winners Season Winner Team League Win # 2003 Detroit Red Wings NHL 01 2004 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 01 2005 — — — — 2006 Washington Capitals NHL 01 2007 Washington Capitals NHL 02 2008 Washington Capitals NHL 03 2009 Washington Capitals NHL 04 2010 Washington Capitals NHL 05 2011 Detroit Red Wings NHL 01 2012 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 01 2013 Detroit Red Wings NHL 02 2014 Washington Capitals NHL 06 2015 Washington Capitals NHL 07 2016 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 01 2017 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 02 2018 Washington Capitals NHL 08 2019 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 01 2025 Washington Capitals NHL 09
See also Viking Award
References