In the modern era, Ryan Kesler is one of the top defensive forwards, having not only won the Frank J. Selke Trophy in 2011, but finishing in the top three four other times.

The American debuted in the NHL in 2003 with the Vancouver Canucks, the team he played for over a decade.  Kesler had back-to-back 70-plus Point Seasons (2009-10 & 2010-11) with Vancouver, the team he won the Selke with.  Notably, Kesler was eighth in Hart Trophy voting that year.

Kesler played the last five years of his career with the Ducks, and overall had 573 Points in 1,001 NHL Games.  He would represent the United States numerous times, peaking with a Silver Medal in the 2010 Olympics.

Jason Pominville played most of his career with the Buffalo Sabres, the organization that drafted him in 2001.  

Playing at Right Wing, Pominville became a strong two-way player, scoring at least 50 Points from 2006-07 to 2011-12, with a peak of 80 in 2007-08.  Pominville never won an individual award over his career, but the 2012 All-Star would receive Lady Byng votes in ten of his seasons, and Frank J. Selke votes in four of them.

Pominville was traded to Minnesota in 2012, giving them a pair of 50-Point seasons, but returned to the Sabres to 2017 to play two more years.  He would finish his NHL career with 727 Points in 1,060 Games.

The first few seasons of Dion Phaneuf made it look like the Defenseman would be a future Hockey Hall of Fame inductee.  It likely won’t happen, but Phaneuf’s career is worth a solid look.

Phaneuf debuted in the NHL with Calgary in 2005, where he was an All-Rookie, was third in Calder voting and eighth in Norris balloting.  The Canadian had his first 50-Point year as a sophomore, and in his third year, Phaneuf was a top Norris Trophy contender, finishing second for the award, and posting a career-high 60 Points.  Phaneuf, who was an All-Star in 2007, was so again in 2008, but this time he was a First Team All-Star.  After another good year with the Flames, Phaneuf was traded to Toronto, but he never captured the magic he did in Calgary.

Pheneuf began to suffer from injury after injury, but he was considered to be a locker room leader, and morphed into a character player, rather than superstar.  He went to his third All-Star Game in 2012, and he continued his career with stints in Ottawa and Los Angeles before retiring with 494 Points in 1,048 Games.

For a state as far north as Alaska, there are not a lot of hockey players that come from this region.  Brandon Dubinsky is one such player.

Dubinsky split his pro career (13 years) with the New York Rangers and the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Center accumulated 438 Points over his career.  A solid two-way player, Dubinsky had four years where he received (although not many) votes for the Frank J. Selke Award.  He also represented the United States three times Internationally.