At the bottom of the page, you will find a list of the best young defensive defensemen in NHL 22. His best skills outside of his speed are with the puck as he has a 94 in hand-eye and a 93 in deking, passing, and puck control. His skating skills are a little better, but none are more than 76. Ranking the NHL's top 20 defensemen for the 2022-23 season from Cale Makar to Brent Burns | Sporting News Canada BUF BOS 4:00p NSH FLA 4:00p PIT TB Fehervarys hand-eye is only 71 with his other puck skills all at 77. Mike Matheson, MTL44. The Oilers can stick him on the left side of their second pair, where he can help eat some tough minutes and lighten the load on Darnell Nurse, and forget about him. During the 2019-2020 season with the Calgary Hitmen, he had 39 assists and seven goals across 64 games. First, goals allowed is the big one. Victor Hedman Tampa By Lightning. Thanks to his powerful shot, he sits fourth among all rearguards with 94 total goals. His puck-moving abilities and offensive instincts make him among the league's top rearguards. He has a 93 in deking, passing, and puck control, though his hand-eye is lacking a bit (but still good) at 86. Press J to jump to the feed. Winner of the James Norris Memorial Trophy in 2019-20, Nashville Predators captain Roman Josi is among the NHL's best defensemen. Now, speed is not the only necessary skill a team needs, but it certainly helps bridge any gap or widen it for successful teams. Here's everything we know, The paths of KD and Kyrie: How one month changed three franchises and two superstar legacies. The Def. Two more had him 28. He had three game-winning goals and four power play goals. . Shawn enjoys discovering engaging stories, whether they be from movies, video games, books, or any other form in which they may be told. When the other team is in your zone and running a tight triangle just spinning and waiting for u to make a mistake if u just hold your poke check out and wag your stick around the added height makes your stick longer and having 96 poke check u just wag your stick back and forth till u get good at swatting away pass attempts. 0.92 PPG. On offense, Kuznetsov is a dangerous foe. Unlike Kukkonen, Montgomery is just 18. That led to Miro Heiskanen becoming Lindell's partner. Injuries, however, have hampered the 31-year-old since joining the Sharks in 2018-19, dropping hispoint-per-game average(0.57) to 21st overall during that period. Kucherovs biggest area of improvement in-game should be the physical side. Fox is a talented all-around defenseman, logging ateam-leading24:42 of ice time per game and 102blocked shotswhile finishing second with 38 takeaways last season. Yes, he has a big contract that goes for a while and hes up there in age, but McDavid doesnt care, its about winning right now in Edmonton. His aggressiveness and strength are 72 and body checking 70. 2) Victor Hedman, Lightning 2020-21 Stats: 9 G, 36 A in 54 GP Hedman has been one of the league's top defensemen, particularly from an offensive standpoint, for After Jamie Oleksiak's offseason departure to the Seattle Kraken in the expansion draft, he also leads them in hits over that period with 134. He's fifth in total points (94) over the, and has yet to reach his playing prime. In just four NHL campaigns, Heiskanen has established himself as a talented offensive rearguard. It will also decrease the player's Wrist Shot Power and Puck Control by 4 and 2 points. Potential is not all that he possesses, though. Where he could improve is on the defensive end, particularly since he plays a defensive position. While Kukkonen does have good durability (85) and shot power (82 for both), he is a prospect in every sense of the word in that he needs plenty of time to develop. Over 10 NHL seasons, Tyson Barrie has proved himself as a reliable point-producing defenseman. John Klingberg wasted little time establishing himself among the NHL's scoring defensemen, tallying 40 points in 65 games in 2014-15. Awareness, 95 Wrist Shot Accuracy, 96 Deking, 96 Puck Control, 96 Off. Letang is approaching the period in his career when his offensive output could start to decline. Is Evan Bouchard the PP1 guy now, or does Ekholm run the top group? Since 2014-15, the Tampa Bay Lightning have been the NHL's top franchise. Winner of the Calder Memorial Trophy in 2014-15, the 6'4", 215-pound Ekblad sits fourth among Panthers scorers in points (241) since his NHL debut. He's also the leader in power-play points (106) during that period. He has a 93 in deking, passing, and puck control, though his hand-eye is lacking a bit (but still good) at 86. Shayne Gostisbehere, D, CAR, John Carlson, WSHZach Werenski, CBJ (out for season). He is good in the skating and physical departments (mostly) with an 85 in durability and balance, 84 in strength, 81 in acceleration and speed, and 80 in agility. They make mistakes. Sean Durzi, LAK50. Spurgeon also gets listed as underrated by players, hard player to get by despite being 5'7". Whether you are rebuilding or retooling, finding your defensive stalwart of the future only bodes well for your franchise. He should remain among the league's high-scoring defensemen while skating with superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. He had a quick stint with New Jersey last season for seven games (two assists). You will need patience, but it will pay off. Those abilities would make him the top defenseman in this year's NHL free-agent market, earning him a seven-year,$63 million contractwith the New Jersey Devils. , Hughes will be a significant contributor to the Canucks' offensive punch. Choosing NHL 22s best young defensive defensemen. If not, oh well youve got to ice a full lineup. We are the premier subreddit to talk everything hockey! All of which is a long preamble into why when Ekholm was finally traded after 719 career games in a Nashville uniform it was just another in a long line of complicated financial transactions that required some jockeying on the part of both clubs to make the dollars work. Nashville, who are in rebuild mode now, gets a strong prospect, a first-round pick and capitalized on Ekholm while he has great value, and Edmonton gets a key piece it needs for the next few playoff runs. The Lead Editor at OG, Bruce has been an avid gamer since childhood, owning the NES, SNES, N64, PS one, PS2, PS3, PS4, PS5, Xbox, Game Boy, GBC, GBA, DS, 3DS, and Switch throughout his life. He has an 80 in aggressiveness, body checking, and durability, though he does have an 87 in endurance and 86 in strength. His awareness is only a 77, and both shot blocking and stick checking are 80. Montgomery did not appear for the London Knights last season, but during 2019-2020, he had two assists in 33 games. Amid a breakout season with the Flyers It's his offensive prowess, however, that draws the most attention. He might not be posting 70- or 80-point seasons anymore, but Erik Age: 29Rating: 86Position: CenterType: PlaymakerTeam: Washington CapitalsShoots: LeftBest Attributes: 93 Acceleration, 93 Agility, 93 Speed. He's fifth in total points (94) over thepast two seasonsand has yet to reach his playing prime. The Colorado Avalanche began this season with Devon Toews sidelined by offseason shoulder surgery. His puck skills range from 66-69. The previous season, he split time between the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada and the Sherbrooke Phoenix. While Hedman is no doubt the beneficiary of having an incredible assemblage of offensive talent around him, he's also an integral part of that offense with his puck-rushing and passing skills. That said, hes certainly worse than Ekholm and only a year younger, and the Oilers needed to send out money to make the deal work. Winner of the James Norris Memorial Trophy in 2016-17, Burns enjoyed five straight 60-plus point campaigns from 2014-15 to 2018-19, including a career-best 83-point effort. Signed in July by the Oilers to athree-year contract, Barrie's production should remain among the league's best. Also like Gaudreau, he excels in other areas. Moritz Seider, DET26. Mattias Ekholm, EDM (NEW)38. Ryan Graves, NJD48. With his team off to stumbling start to this season, New York Islanders head coach Barry Trotz separated his top defensive pairing of Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock by moving the latter to the second pairing to skate alongside Zdeno Chara. Jett Woo, former second round pick of Vancouver, finds himself atop this list thanks to his Top 4 D Med potential grade. The 2019-20 Rookie of the Year is entering his third season, but has already made an impact in his first two. Today is all that matters. He had a longer runway than other young players," Lidstrom told me recently, "but boy, did he ever take off, in every aspect of his game.". Hes able to score from the dots and around the net. Dougie Hamilton's offensive skills were apparent early in his NHL career with the Boston Bruins, exceeding 40 points for the first time in 2014-15. The Golden Knights' patience in developing Theodore's game is paying off. Evaluating the top 10 defensemen in ESPN's 2021 NHL position-by-position rankings is a study in competing philosophies on how to properly evaluate the position. Interceptor will allow the user to not only intercept passes more effectively, but to get into position to make a good defensive play with the boost to Agility, as well. 1 power-play also was included in the deal. Gustav Forsling, FLA41. He netted 33 points during his 2018-19 NHL debut, 35 points 68 games as a sophomore and 27 points in 55 games last season. He combines those with his 92 in passing, puck control, and offensive awareness, making him a fulcrum of any offensive attack hence why he is a playmaker. WebBest 3s Defensive Build . All NHL logos and marks and NHL team logos and marks depicted herein are the property of the NHL and the respective teams and may not be reproduced without the prior written consent of NHL Enterprises, L.P. NHL 2023. Discuss the NHL, AHL, PHF, IIHF, KHL, and every other hockey league you can think of! Others, like the Colorado Avalanche's Cale Makar, excel on the attack. The 6'6", 241-pound Hedman is the complete package of size and overall skills. Jeff Petry, PIT49. His puck skills need a lot of work, too, but that can be saved for later. However, concerning was his drop in shot percentage from 17.2 during his award-winning season to 11.4 during the 2020-2021 season. Fox is the better known of the two. All Rights Reserved. Matt Grzelcyk, BOS42. Entering his third NHL season, the 21-year-old should continue to shine as one of the league's best-scoring defensemen. 0.97 PPG. Since last season, he's secondamong Rangers skaters in short-handed ice time per game (2:31) and inhits with 104. The 29-year-old became the Dallas Stars' highest-scoring blueliner over the, with 327 career points and is ninth overall among. The 23-year-old New York Rangers star took home the James Norris Memorial Trophy last season, joining Hall of Famer Bobby Orr as, Fox is a talented all-around defenseman, logging a, while finishing second with 38 takeaways last season. That includes tallying 68 points in 2017-18, 70 points in 2018-19 and 75 points in 2019-20. , Aaron Ekblad has five seasons with at least 36 points, including a career-best 41 points in 2019-20. Top 20 defensemen in the NHL for the 2022-23 season of the last four seasons with the exception being the shortened year in 2020-21. He struggled at times with his new club last season, finishing with 32 points. He's led. Age: 21Rating: 86Position: Left DefenseType: Offensive DefensemanTeam: Vancouver CanucksShoots: LeftBest Attributes: 93 Puck Control, 93 Offensive Awareness, 93 Speed. NHL trade deadline: Winners and losers, including the Bruins, Devils and Bruce Boudreau? His defensive skills are good with an 85 in both shot blocking and stick checking and an 81 in awareness. This page will look at the best young up-and-coming defensive defensemen in NHL 22, with names like It will also decrease the player's Wrist Shot Accuracy and Off. He's been a Norris Trophy finalist in four straight seasons, winning the award in 2017-18 for the first and only time. It will also decrease the player's Off. The linchpin of the Washington Capitals defense corps, John Carlson's smooth skating and offensive skills make him an invaluable part of their scoring attack too. Comment * document.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id", "ad8882951d244e308d463714f1cc5337" );document.getElementById("b90191b810").setAttribute( "id", "comment" ); Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. That was the beginning of seven straight seasons with 40-plus points, including a career-high 65 during his Norris Trophy campaign. Truth be told: The two guys in the top spots are really in a 1A Player stats (accurate as of Oct. 29) viaNHL.com. Yes that is true the poke checks are OP. He has good awareness with offense at 93 and defense at 90, and he is good at stick checking with a 92. Edmonton is trying to improve a defense that, improved numbers aside, doesnt pass the Cup contender sniff test. His hand-eye and slap shot accuracy are both 94. A skilled, young defenseman with considerable offensive ability, Quinn Hughes' 53-point performance in 2019-20 made him a finalist for theCalder Memorial Trophy. Another big defender at 6'3" and 205 pounds, Pelech tends to play a more defensive role. in 2020-21 with 42 assists while finishing second with 47 points. Maintaining an elite defensive pairing can mean the difference between a contender and a pretender.