NEW YORK, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- Ilya Kovalchuk of the Atlanta Trashers has the NHL Rookie of the Month Award all to himself.
After sharing the honor with teammate Dany Heatley in December, the 18-year-old right wing on Thursday was named the league's top first-year player for January.
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The initial player selected in last June's draft, Kovalchuk led all rookies in scoring with 10 goals and five assists in 15 games this month.
The Russian had his first overtime goal in a 4-3 win over Ottawa on Jan. 9 and had the game-winner in a 4-2 decision over New Jersey on Jan.24.
Kovalchuk leads all NHL rookies with 26 goals and 47 points.
Detroit Red Wings center Pavel Datsyuk was the runner-up for the award.
