Defensemen who peaked very young?

[blood gin]

Oleg Tverdovsky

Had his best season at age 20. Had a few more very good ones at 23-24. Started to decline at 25. Washed out of the league at 30.

 

[whatname]

Berard. Niinimaa. Ryan Whitney

 

[Hockey Outsider]

In 1982 (at age 22), Craig Hartsburg scored 77 points - good for 3rd among defensemen. He finished 4th in Norris voting (behind Wilson, Bourque, and just a single point behind Coffey). He never again scored close to a point per game, earned just a single third-pace Norris vote the rest of his career, and played his last game in 1989 at age 29.

 

[Sticks and Pucks]

Berard. Niinimaa. Ryan Whitney

I think Ryan Whitney's 06-07 season was a product of the system, playing alongside Crosby, Malkin, and Gonchar.

 

[Big Phil]

Green is a good name for sure, first one I thought of. How many of us thought he was a lock cinch on Team Canada in 2010? I know I did. I personally had no issue with the guys who made the team though but my list at the time had Green on and Seabrook off. It turned out that Seabrook was the steadier pick. Canada already had a stacked team on defense with offensive guys.

Drew Doughty was a 2nd team all-star when he was 20. Obviously he's kept that pace and even better.

Wade Redden might come to mind as well. Never really had that "peak" but was probably as good in his early 20s as he ever got.

There was a time when Phaneuf finished 2nd in Norris voting to Lidstrom, and no one thought it was weird. He also scored as many goals as Coffey in his first two years. There was a push to put him on the Olympic team in 2006 over someone like McCabe. There were the punishing hits and the adoration. Here is an example. After the 2006 season GMs across the league were asked who they would start their franchise with, Ovechkin, Crosby or Phaneuf. I remember one GM distinctively saying that every part of his body is screaming out to have a defenseman that is elite but that he has to go with Ovechkin. Can you believe that this was actually a discussion?

 

[Big Phil]

In 1982 (at age 22), Craig Hartsburg scored 77 points - good for 3rd among defensemen. He finished 4th in Norris voting (behind Wilson, Bourque, and just a single point behind Coffey). He never again scored close to a point per game, earned just a single third-pace Norris vote the rest of his career, and played his last game in 1989 at age 29.

Yes, a very bizarre career. Played on the 1981 and 1987 Canada Cup teams and to be honest he wasn't out of place. Strange that the thing I might remember about him the most was how he was able to get wrist shots on net through a crowd.

 

[Howie Hodge]

Yes, a very bizarre career. Played on the 1981 and 1987 Canada Cup teams and to be honest he wasn't out of place. Strange that the thing I might remember about him the most was how he was able to get wrist shots on net through a crowd.

Hartsburg was productive when healthy. A bad back allowed him to only have six seasons of over 70 games, and he was productive in all of them.

He and Rob Ramage were something as underage players together with Birmingham of The WHA......

 

[BenchBrawl]

Maybe not 18-23, but Red Kelly peaked rather young around 23-27 where he should have won 4 Norris in a row before Harvey started his run.

 

[leftwinger37]

What about Jay Bouwmeester? He recorded his best offensive seasons before the age of 27. Weird one, though. Hard to really judge that way.

This was probably more symptomatic of those bad mid-2000s Panthers teams. You had 3 or 4 guys carrying the mail on some bad teams playing in a bad division. Bouwmeester, David Booth, Stephen Weiss, and to a lesser extent Nathan Horton were guys who thrived with increased opportunity in FLA but were unable to duplicate their success elsewhere.

 

[weaponomega]

Glen Wesley

 

[MVP of West Hollywd]

It's been said, but Phaneuf all the way here

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

I think Ryan Whitney's 06-07 season was a product of the system, playing alongside Crosby, Malkin, and Gonchar.

there was a brief spell where ryan whitney was playing fringe norris votes-level hockey and looking like the bona fide all-situations number one he was drafted to become. he was 27. then he destroyed his ankle and that was that for him.

one guy who peaked not super young but very early in his career was alex edler. he not only never improved, but in fact got worse. and unlike ohlund, who he was supposed be the reincarnation of, it wasn’t physical or injury-related; he just completely lost the confidence that early on he would harness in smallish bursts.

 

[Sticks and Pucks]

there was a brief spell where ryan whitney was playing fringe norris votes-level hockey and looking like the bona fide all-situations number one he was drafted to become. he was 27. then he destroyed his ankle and that was that for him.

one guy who peaked not super young but very early in his career was alex edler. he not only never improved, but in fact got worse. and unlike ohlund, who he was supposed be the reincarnation of, it wasn’t physical or injury-related; he just completely lost the confidence that early on he would harness in smallish bursts.

Hmm was Edler really that good to begin with? I mean, his two seasons where he hit 40+ points he had a +/- of 0. The rest of the team had better +/-. It feels like in his early days he had guys like Ehrhoff, Hamhuis, and Bieksa helping pull the load. I remember in the 2011 playoffs, Bieksa and Hamhuis were talked about as the top d-pairing on the Canucks and Ehrhoff was seen as the best offensive defenceman. When Hamhuis went down in game 1, so did the rest of the team's defence.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

Hmm was Edler really that good to begin with? I mean, his two seasons where he hit 40+ points he had a +/- of 0. The rest of the team had better +/-. It feels like in his early days he had guys like Ehrhoff, Hamhuis, and Bieksa helping pull the load. I remember in the 2011 playoffs, Bieksa and Hamhuis were talked about as the top d-pairing on the Canucks and Ehrhoff was seen as the best offensive defenceman. When Hamhuis went down in game 1, so did the rest of the team's defence.

all of what you say is true. edler's defense was behind hamhuis (who carried bieksa), and his offense was behind ehrhoff. but i don't think it's necessarily a case of a young guy getting exposed with more responsibility as you seem to be suggesting.

it also depends what you mean by "that" good. the best edler was in the 2010 playoffs against LA. he was 23 and, as a late bloomer, in his third full season in the league. it was a level he would hit here and there over the next couple of years but which almost completely disappeared in vigneault's last season and was never to be seen again after the day he met one john tortorella.

that edler used his size and strength effectively, was a devastating hitter, moved the puck well, and had a good point shot on the PP. he was a credible high end #2 defenseman and looked primed to take a step and become a do-everything #1. later on, he was more of a low-to-mid-tier #2/good #3, who moves the puck okay, doesn't play his size, is hesitant defensively, and never ever ever gets his point shot through.

 

[Ferjo]

Bryan Berard's play was extremely underwhelming as it got closer to his catastrophic injury. Was out of the Leafs top 4 by the time of the injury and they had a similar styled young defenceman in Kaberle who was completely overshadowing Bryan. People look back and consider him a "what if?" he didn't get injured, but he was trending south leading up to it.

As for Dion, the guy was never as good as people talked him up in Calgary, and was never as bad as people talked him down in Toronto. What a weird career.

 

[IComeInPeace]

In the ‘Nucks inaugural season they picked Dale Tallon 2nd overall behind Perrault.

Tallon put up 56 points in 78 NHL games as a rookie. That seems like a great start by a young NHL d-man.

The next season he dropped to 44 points.
And the drop off continued:
56 points
44
37
34
15 in 35 games
62
24
21
29

He had the one 62 point season is Pittsburgh in his 6th season.

His rookie season could be argued as his best NHL season.

His first 2 seasons were definitely his 2 best consecutive seasons.

The next draft we went d-man early and picked Jocelyn Guevermont 3rd overall...

Guevermont put up 51 points in 75 games as a young rookie d-man.
Here’s what followed:
51 points as a rookie
42
32
52
38
35
...fades out as an NHL’er soon after

His 2 best consecutive seasons were his first 2 NHL seasons. Once again, his rookie season may be his best NHL season.

The Canucks got roasted by the local media for their poor draft history, but in the early years of the franchise this pattern would repeat itself too often.
Guys would step into the lineup as young rookies, show well, but then instead of improving they’d regress greatly.

Dennis Ververgaert, Jere Gillis and Rick Blight are some other guys that followed this pattern.

After that we just went with the ‘if they ain’t superstars right away, trade them ASAP’ approach to building a team.

 

[Sticks and Pucks]

all of what you say is true. edler's defense was behind hamhuis (who carried bieksa), and his offense was behind ehrhoff. but i don't think it's necessarily a case of a young guy getting exposed with more responsibility as you seem to be suggesting.

it also depends what you mean by "that" good. the best edler was in the 2010 playoffs against LA. he was 23 and, as a late bloomer, in his third full season in the league. it was a level he would hit here and there over the next couple of years but which almost completely disappeared in vigneault's last season and was never to be seen again after the day he met one john tortorella.

that edler used his size and strength effectively, was a devastating hitter, moved the puck well, and had a good point shot on the PP. he was a credible high end #2 defenseman and looked primed to take a step and become a do-everything #1. later on, he was more of a low-to-mid-tier #2/good #3, who moves the puck okay, doesn't play his size, is hesitant defensively, and never ever ever gets his point shot through.

Well, now that you mention it yes, I do remember now thinking that Edler would eventually become a do-everything #1 defenceman. In fact, I remember there was a time where I would have taken Edler top 5 in a 2004 re-draft (top 4 being Ovechkin, Malkin, Green, and Krejci). I think a lot of people including myself forget how good Edler was projected to become because 1) he never hit that level and 2) he was not a high draft pick. So people kind of just forget about him after he falls off the map.

 

[brachyrynchos]

Kenneth Arlington Morrow. The tall defensive defenseman played with Bowling Green State University (1975/76-78/79), winning both regular season and conference tournaments, CCHA player of the year (1979). Then goes on to be a part of the Miracle on Ice, winning an Olympic Gold Medal (1980), then directly joins the New York Islanders and immediately wins 4 cups, 1980-1983. Morrow had a Gold and a ring at age 24, and alot of hockey mileage on him already. A good, clean playing defenseman, and a good guy who's career was hampered by knee problems.

 

[MillanDynasty]

Sean Kelly, definitely.

 

[boyko10]

myers, phaneuf, and green are recent examples

I'd say Myers is closer to 'broke' early rather than peaked.

 

[Voight]

This was probably more symptomatic of those bad mid-2000s Panthers teams. You had 3 or 4 guys carrying the mail on some bad teams playing in a bad division. Bouwmeester, David Booth, Stephen Weiss, and to a lesser extent Nathan Horton were guys who thrived with increased opportunity in FLA but were unable to duplicate their success elsewhere.

Horton's Boston numbers weren't far off from his Florida ones, and he was doing alright in Columbus before his career ending injury.

 

[leftwinger37]

Horton's Boston numbers weren't far off from his Florida ones, and he was doing alright in Columbus before his career ending injury.

That's why I had to say "to a lesser extent" for Horton. Had he been afforded the opportunity to put together a greater body of work post FLA, I would exclude him from the group altogether.