Travis Dermott Holding His Own Against The League's Best Young D

[Terrible GM]

Dermott is very very good
my other takeaway is that McAvoy is elite. he's going to be great for Boston and might end up being one of the best dmen in the league

Dermott has had a total of about 2 minutes of PP time over 20 games. McAvoy averages about 2 minutes of PP time in one game. Over 60 games. Offensively Dermott MIGHT be superior, defensively I have no complaints about Dermotts game for a rookie, and I just haven't seen enough for McAvoy to compare defensive abilities, but I give the edge to McAvoy only because of match ups.

Just because McAvoy gets slotted into the 1st pairing with Chara doesn't make him elite right now. Boston had a need because they have a weak right side, and he was clearly more talented than the others (Carlo, Miller). He needs to put up great numbers consistently. None of the D men listed on that list are elite....yet. D men need to be great on both sides of the puck year over year (like Hedman). IMO

All of those players listed above are very likely going to be very good, but equal ice time and opportunities makes it a more accurate comparison. For Dermott the big test will be when he moves up in the pairings, but everything I have seen from him from the OHL, AHL. and now says he will be very good.

 

[Thread The Needle]

Yeah he is good, if you have time how many ES goals against has Polak been on vs Carrick.

Can't count past infinity.

 

[613Leafer]

Yeah he is good, if you have time how many ES goals against has Polak been on vs Carrick.

Polak is 26 even strength goals against and 8 PP goals against in 40 games.

Carrick is 21 ES goals against in 38 games.

So yea, both solidly above Dermott

 

[lifelonghockeyfan]

I don't know why so many Leaf fans assume that Leafs would selected Konecky at 24. Quite an assumption and apparently false. Leafs traded down from 24, because they thought Larsson would be available later. Ducks surprised Leafs by picking Larsson at 27. Leafs then traded down again for an extra pick.
Dermot sure looked like a potential NHLer with the Marlies and has continued his fine play.

Remember when Bozo Burke ranted about how much players hated playing in Toronto. Yea, Toronto boys Marner, Brown, Dermot, Hyman really seem to crumbling under the pressure. Yea, looks like Matthew, and Nylander hate it in Toronto too.
It was Burke who couldn't handle the pressure of being an NHL GM in a big NHL city, not the players.

 

[thewave]

Polak is 26 even strength goals against and 8 PP goals against in 40 games.

Carrick is 21 ES goals against in 38 games.

So yea, both solidly above Dermott

Thanks. That seems far better than either. No matter the stat you pull up, the usage of Polak becomes stranger and stranger.

 

[PuckMagi]

To be honest, I thought he had a decent camp, but didn't look anywhere near the guy we called up mid season.I think that stint being the 1D on the Marlies earlier this year was important, the confidence and poise he showed when he came up created a new paradigm for Dermott. Development isn't static, and I think we played it right again with this player. Yes he could have made the team, but he's better now for the experience in the intermediary in my view.

Ya... that's fair.

If other posters had said stuff like "Dermott was better than Rosen, Bogman, Carrick, etc., but it's better for him to be on the Marlies and play top pairing for a while.". ... that would have been fine. But the Babcock defenders were saying that he wasn't good enough to make the Leafs.

There were a lot of posts about "where are we going to get a top 4 defender?". And I constantly pointed out that we already had a top 4 defender in Dermott. Many posters didn't acknowledge this fact. There were so many "how can we improve our defense" type of posts yet Dermott was never mentioned.

 

[PuckMagi]

Here's a post I wrote on Dec 9th, 2017:

http://hfboards.mandatory.com/threads/leafs-penguins-7pm-cbc.2421121/page-3#post-138851087

Another posted commented:

Jaysus effing C we need another top 4 dman in the worst way. Friggin Polak again.

Go Leafs Go

I replied:

We have one. His name is Travis Dermott.

His reply was typical of most posters:

I'm very hopeful for him but let's not get crazy here.

 

[A1LeafNation]

How many top 4 dman do we have?

Rielly Zaitsev Gardiner Dermott Hainsey?

The problem when you don't have a true #1, you need like 6 of them..

 

[saltming]

@The CyNick I seem to remember you throwing around a lot of Percy and Finn comparisons several months ago.

You have a lot of faith in Babcock and Co., it's OK to put a little faith in Hunter and our player development crew.

Guys like JVR and Bozak are going to move on, but it will be ok, we have talent in our system.

When you really think about its pretty unrealistic to have the exact same top 9 for several years, right?

There were a few others too that brought up those comparables hahaha
And yes I don't know why people discount or forget we have one of the best development teams in hockey.
Go shanahan!

 

[saltming]

Ya... that's fair.

If other posters had said stuff like "Dermott was better than Rosen, Bogman, Carrick, etc., but it's better for him to be on the Marlies and play top pairing for a while.". ... that would have been fine. But the Babcock defenders were saying that he wasn't good enough to make the Leafs.

There were a lot of posts about "where are we going to get a top 4 defender?". And I constantly pointed out that we already had a top 4 defender in Dermott. Many posters didn't acknowledge this fact. There were so many "how can we improve our defense" type of posts yet Dermott was never mentioned.

This is the reason why the "Babcock supporters" argument is illogical and quite childish because in the Hyman thread you call me a Babcock supporter and thus not able to properly see what's going on yet here I've always been a Dermott supporter. From the moment we drafted the kid.
Hell last year I was saying he will make Gardiner expendable and should have been on the team. @Walshy7 and @Kiwi leafs fan at least can verify that last year I posted my Marlies GDT and raved and drooled about Dermott. When he didnt make the team out of camp I screamed injustice as he outplayed Borgman and Rosen.
Yes you summarily dismiss mine and others evaluations on any player that goes against yours because they are "Babcock supporters"!
I hope you see the flaw on that logic. You and all the other posters that use that pathetic thought train as a means of debate

 

[The Caveman]

If he continues to progress like this, I agree Saltming, he does make Gardiner a possible trade chip. I like Gards a lot, but there must be a team out there that needs an offensive PP quaretrback LHD and would trade a top 4, solid RHD.
Reilly-XXX
Dermott- Zaitsev/Hainsey
Borgman/Rosen- Zaitsev/Hainsey

 

[Daisy Jane]

I just wish. that we had Dermott and that Larsson kid that Anaheim drafted. we were in a good position to have both.

blegh.

 

[saltming]

If he continues to progress like this, I agree Saltming, he does make Gardiner a possible trade chip. I like Gards a lot, but there must be a team out there that needs an offensive PP quaretrback LHD and would trade a top 4, solid RHD.
Reilly-XXX
Dermott- Zaitsev/Hainsey
Borgman/Rosen- Zaitsev/Hainsey

Those are my thoughts too.
If we trade him for a dfd we might get something thrown in the too!

 

[Walshy7]

This is the reason why the "Babcock supporters" argument is illogical and quite childish because in the Hyman thread you call me a Babcock supporter and thus not able to properly see what's going on yet here I've always been a Dermott supporter. From the moment we drafted the kid.
Hell last year I was saying he will make Gardiner expendable and should have been on the team. @Walshy7 and @Kiwi leafs fan at least can verify that last year I posted my Marlies GDT and raved and drooled about Dermott. When he didnt make the team out of camp I screamed injustice as he outplayed Borgman and Rosen.
Yes you summarily dismiss mine and others evaluations on any player that goes against yours because they are "Babcock supporters"!
I hope you see the flaw on that logic. You and all the other posters that use that pathetic thought train as a means of debate

Can 100% confirm salt was very very high on dermott. I was too he was a great player for the marlies last and this year and has been one of our better defenders (in terms of defending not necessarily best dman) for about a month now for the leafs.

 

[Walshy7]

I just wish. that we had Dermott and that Larsson kid that Anaheim drafted. we were in a good position to have both.

blegh.

,mwe traded back after the Larsson pick by Anaheim and took dermott. It was very much one or the other. The thinking was we traded back in order to pick Larsson but Anaheim took him just before and the leafs knew that dermott was next on their list and could trade back a little bit More. If I remember correctly

 

[drewjenks]

Travis Dermott has gotten off to an excellent start to his NHL career, and is quickly emerging as one of the top young D to be taken in the last few drafts. He is stacking up pretty well so far against his peers. His offensive output has also been quite good considering he sees no PP time and his TOI/GP is significantly lower than some of the other top young D that have a higher PPG on the table below.
*You have to slide the scroll bar to see the rest of the table.

Name	GP	G	A	PTS	5V5 PTS	5V5 PTS%	PPG	5V5 CF%	5V5 FF%	5V5 SCF%	5V5 HDCF%	5V5 PDO	5V5 OZF%	+/-	TOI/GP
Dermott	23	1	7	8	8	100.00	0.35	51.71	50.81	54.17	51.77	1.039	51.09	+9	16:33
Chabot	43	5	11	16	11	68.75	0.37	48.91	47.01	48.62	49.25	0.996	63.79	-5	16:24
Provorov	64	11	18	29	17	58.62	0.45	49.50	49.68	48.55	49.62	1.014	46.60	+11	24:17
Werenski	60	11	16	27	15	55.56	0.45	55.90	57.30	52.92	53.86	0.994	60.33	+2	23:14
Hanifin	64	8	19	27	19	70.37	0.42	56.38	55.28	57.78	57.04	0.969	63.14	-15	18:43
McAvoy	58	7	25	32	22	68.75	0.55	55.73	55.53	56.70	53.06	1.030	55.06	+26	22:29
Sergachyov	63	8	23	31	16	51.61	0.49	53.51	52.96	53.64	52.63	1.022	70.10	+9	15:35
Chychrun	33	2	9	11	7	63.64	0.33	46.36	45.89	46.17	46.09	0.996	53.12	-6	20:29

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

I'd like to see a few more stats included to make the comparisons more easily understandable:

1) Points per 60 Minutes
2) 5v5 Points per Game
2) 5v5 Points per 60 Minutes

The G / A / PTS columns don't provide much info without being normalized to the same Games Played & the same TOI.

 

[drewjenks]

Said this in the new year before his call-up and honestly, I don't think it's out of the question that he's the team's best defender including Rielly after a couple of years. Also, no slight to Liljegren but Dermott is easily the best young defender in the system right now and I would 100% take him over Lilly gun to my head.

This kid is just so steady in every aspect; there isn't a single visible weakness in his game. Some of the most uniquely good edge work in the league and a rare level of IQ that is going to make him an impact player for a long time. Sky is the limit.

Liljegren is 2 years younger & their performance in the Marlies was fairly close this year (not based on stats - I actually watched them play).

Dermott is obviously steadier at the moment but Liljegren will make a play that blows your mind every once in a while. The kids still only 18 looks more than capable of top-4 duty in the AHL. Next year, when most of the D in his draft class are AHL rookies, I see him being one of the top-5 defensemen in the AHL.

 

[stickty111]

This is the reason why the "Babcock supporters" argument is illogical and quite childish because in the Hyman thread you call me a Babcock supporter and thus not able to properly see what's going on yet here I've always been a Dermott supporter. From the moment we drafted the kid.
Hell last year I was saying he will make Gardiner expendable and should have been on the team. @Walshy7 and @Kiwi leafs fan at least can verify that last year I posted my Marlies GDT and raved and drooled about Dermott. When he didnt make the team out of camp I screamed injustice as he outplayed Borgman and Rosen.
Yes you summarily dismiss mine and others evaluations on any player that goes against yours because they are "Babcock supporters"!
I hope you see the flaw on that logic. You and all the other posters that use that pathetic thought train as a means of debate

A post that has reason something other posters cant do except for comments like "Babcock supporters".

 

[zeke]

Liljegren is 2 years younger
.

3yrs younger.

 

[Man Bear Pig]

I'll totally admit that I hated the trade when it happened. Loved Konecny and still do. Once I started watching Dermott I got why the trade was made. It was clear early on that he was a first round talent, I just didn't know much about him. Bracco is just the cherry on top at this point. I'm not sure Bracco ever makes it but he's looked good in the AHL and will get a few games in next year when there's injuries. I actually expect him to be a PPG player next season.

 

[Apotheosis]

Gun to my head I do that trade again and again. Dermott has a 1D type ceiling. His production is right in line with his PP time (or lack there of), he's a great possession D, moves the puck well, solid defensively, great gap control etc. Just so good at everything. Honestly, I could see Dermott - Liljegren (assuming he acclimates well when called up) as the top pairing in the future. Steady LD and offensive RD ala Methot - Karlsson.

 

[Dough72]

so far he's looked better than gardiner and reilly

 

[WTFMAN99]

Travis Dermott has gotten off to an excellent start to his NHL career, and is quickly emerging as one of the top young D to be taken in the last few drafts. He is stacking up pretty well so far against his peers. His offensive output has also been quite good considering he sees no PP time and his TOI/GP is significantly lower than some of the other top young D that have a higher PPG on the table below.
*You have to slide the scroll bar to see the rest of the table.

Name	GP	G	A	PTS	5V5 PTS	5V5 PTS%	PPG	5V5 CF%	5V5 FF%	5V5 SCF%	5V5 HDCF%	5V5 PDO	5V5 OZF%	+/-	TOI/GP
Dermott	23	1	7	8	8	100.00	0.35	51.71	50.81	54.17	51.77	1.039	51.09	+9	16:33
Chabot	43	5	11	16	11	68.75	0.37	48.91	47.01	48.62	49.25	0.996	63.79	-5	16:24
Provorov	64	11	18	29	17	58.62	0.45	49.50	49.68	48.55	49.62	1.014	46.60	+11	24:17
Werenski	60	11	16	27	15	55.56	0.45	55.90	57.30	52.92	53.86	0.994	60.33	+2	23:14
Hanifin	64	8	19	27	19	70.37	0.42	56.38	55.28	57.78	57.04	0.969	63.14	-15	18:43
McAvoy	58	7	25	32	22	68.75	0.55	55.73	55.53	56.70	53.06	1.030	55.06	+26	22:29
Sergachyov	63	8	23	31	16	51.61	0.49	53.51	52.96	53.64	52.63	1.022	70.10	+9	15:35
Chychrun	33	2	9	11	7	63.64	0.33	46.36	45.89	46.17	46.09	0.996	53.12	-6	20:29

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Nice post. Crazy thing is you see how protected Sergachev and Hanifin are in comparison to Dermott. Dermott seems like he's deployed "normally" he can be put out OZ, DZ, NZ. No PP points compared to the rest of these guys that get PP time.

 

[Morgs]

true but I think if given the chance Dermott can handle that role just fine.

Too soon. One of his biggest fans, but the difference between 3rd pairing and 1st pairing comp is gigantic.

 

[Morgs]

I've repeatedly said here, that leafs fans would have been offering Konecny for a dman like Dermott in a trade. The last thing we needed was another (small) winger. We needed to draft a top 4 dman, and sure the Bracco and Dzerkels pick hasn't worked out, but I like the logic. If it was 2011, we would have walked away with the likes of Rakell, Saad, Gibson, etc

Bracco has been very very good after a slow start to the season (due to Mono) in his first year in the AHL. Expect big things next year.