Most underrated defenseman on your team

[stl76]

We paid him to play first pair with our captain, he can't do that, and has been awful defensively.

In a PP specialist role, he's great, tied for second on the team in points, but he would qualify for probably the most overrated defensemen on the Rangers, although Brendan Smith might take that category right now.

Well you shouldn't have done that lol. He is never going to be great in his own zone, but he is 100% a net positive.

Regardless, I still think he is underrated league-wide due to taking the blame for a lot of Brooks Orpik mistakes last year in the playoffs.

 

[Yarice]

Brandon Davidson. Some people view him as a 7D, some as an AHL player, but I think he is a pretty good bottom pairing D.

 

[Machinehead]

We paid him to play first pair with our captain, he can't do that, and has been awful defensively

AV broke them up in the second game and hasn't tried it since.

Don't make things up to fit your narrative, you're smarter than that.

 

[Kraken Jokes]

I know I'm in the minority on this one but I've been really impressed with Jordie Benn since he came to the Habs. He's a really smart player, calm under pressure. Good skater, underrated straight ahead speed. Looks comfortable joining the play too, even though he's not used on the PP and it hasn't translated into points on the board.

I keep seeing the word "declining" attached to Weber's name on these boards too. There is absolutely no sign of him declining or slowing down in any way. Still easily amongst the top-10 d-men in the league, maybe top-5.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

AV broke them up in the second game and hasn't tried it since.

Don't make things up to fit your narrative, you're smarter than that.

Because it wasn't working. Shattenkirk can't defend top forwards.

 

[firstemperor]

Really don't know if a Flames D can be underrated....

 

[Machinehead]

Because it wasn't working. Shattenkirk can't defend top forwards.

It was working and he can if he's with McDonagh.

Quality of Teammates beats Quality of Competition within an inch of its life and takes its lunch money.

 

[KlefDown]

Darnell Nurse for sure.
Lots was said about him being a “bust” and “not smart enough” “goon” etc etc
Not much is being said about his great play right now. Granted it’s still very early and small sample size but he’s been playing great.

 

[CupofOil]

As mentioned, Nurse for the Oilers although I need a bigger sample size to be convinced that he has "arrived". Even though he has had a few brain farts this season, Larsson is underrated even by his own fanbase.

Klefbom was/is very overrated. Some talk.this off-season of him emerging into a #1 Dman was laughably premature. Larsson is the one who carried that pairing most of last season and has had to babysit him again this season. I don't ever see him emerging as a #1, doesn't think the game well enough.

 

[saxonmiller]

Erik Johnson
Josh Morrissey

 

[LeafFever]

Morgan Rielly. Terribly underrated on HF.

 

[VoluntaryDom]

Good god, yes, we know, you love Jake Dotchin with your heart and soul, you plan to sacrifice your first born at an alter you’ve created in his name, etc etc, as evidenced by the myriad of lopsided polls you created this summer in the hopes of finding someone else who is a true believer like you. But don’t do Joakim Ryan the disservice of being compared to that dirty blight on the league.

Lol. I'm no longer the Dotchin fanboy I (admittedly) was last season. He is just a solid dman, and a great partner for a star OFD. Sounds like what Ryan is, no?

And I listed half of our D because our D group as a whole is underrated. For some reason we have the reputation of an offensive team when I think of us more as a defensive one.[/QUOTE]

 

[dmj616]

Underrated by sane Blues fans: Gunnarsson.

Underrated by zombie horde Blues fans: Bouwmeester.

Underrated by hockey fans in general: Bortuzzo.

This is actually very accurate, I hardly ever agree with Blues fans on here. They have a tendency to grossly overvalue certain players.

That being said the Blues are loaded on defense as usual, even without Shattenkirk now. Vince Dunn will be making a name for himself in the NHL sooner than later. I've always thought Gunnarsson has been underrated by Blues fans, but Bortuzzo has been the big surprise for me. He has been playing all out this season, giving it everything. Not sure who will sit when J-Bo comes back. They still have Schmaltz in the AHL, has 7 points in 8 games. With Walman waiting in the wings too.

 

[Igor Shestyorkin]

Anthony DeAngelo, and he's not even on the Rangers.

 

[dmj616]

I always think EJ is underrated on here because people keep on calling Barrie our best defenseman. Other than that, our defense is mostly rookies, and those guys are up and down. They’re deserving of their anonymity for now.

I used to think EJ was as bit underrated, but I've realized how much great D talent their is around the league. He's not a stud #1 by any means. He also only has 2 goals in his last 66 games. He's usually properly ranked around HF.

 

[Juxtaposer]

Lol. I'm no longer the Dotchin fanboy I (admittedly) was last season. He is just a solid dman, and a great partner for a star OFD. Sounds like what Ryan is, no?

And I listed half of our D because our D group as a whole is underrated. For some reason we have the reputation of an offensive team when I think of us more as a defensive one.

It also sounds like a quarter of the league. "solid dman, great partner for a star OFD"? Really, really vague.

Everyone thinks their defense is underrated. I think the Sharks have the best defense in the league. I'm obviously biased because I watch them more than any other team and root for them.

The reason people see Tampa as an offense team is that Stamkos and Kucherov are scoring almost 2PPG and we're already through 15% of the season. The Bolts are not a defensive team. They're a good team at both ends but are ridiculously good offensively.

 

[LeafFever]

I really hate these threads. Everyone has a different criteria for underrated and overrated. it really depends where you get your hockey news.

 

[VoluntaryDom]

It also sounds like a quarter of the league. "solid dman, great partner for a star OFD"? Really, really vague.

Everyone thinks their defense is underrated. I think the Sharks have the best defense in the league. I'm obviously biased because I watch them more than any other team and root for them.

The reason people see Tampa as an offense team is that Stamkos and Kucherov are scoring almost 2PPG and we're already through 15% of the season. The Bolts are not a defensive team. They're a good team at both ends but are ridiculously good offensively.

we have 6 actual NHL level forwards (at least offensively), 7 if you count killorn. we are a one line team but that one line is amazing so yay

defensively we have 6 decent nhl dmen. 3 solid pairs.

 

[Juxtaposer]

we have 6 actual NHL level forwards (at least offensively), 7 if you count killorn. we are a one line team but that one line is amazing so yay

defensively we have 6 decent nhl dmen. 3 solid pairs.

Good thing star power matters more than depth.

(Seriously. It's much more important to have a stud top line than it is to have 4 solid lines.)

 

[Machinehead]

we have 6 actual NHL level forwards (at least offensively), 7 if you count killorn. we are a one line team but that one line is amazing so yay

defensively we have 6 decent nhl dmen. 3 solid pairs.

Did Girardi finally retire?

 

[CanadienShark]

Always been Andy Greene.

If you've never heard of Greene, you should probably start watching hockey or admit you don't.

 

[thedustman]

This is actually very accurate, I hardly ever agree with Blues fans on here. They have a tendency to grossly overvalue certain players.

That being said the Blues are loaded on defense as usual, even without Shattenkirk now. Vince Dunn will be making a name for himself in the NHL sooner than later. I've always thought Gunnarsson has been underrated by Blues fans, but Bortuzzo has been the big surprise for me. He has been playing all out this season, giving it everything. Not sure who will sit when J-Bo comes back. They still have Schmaltz in the AHL, has 7 points in 8 games. With Walman waiting in the wings too.

Gunnar is playing well as of late, but he has been properly rated: gets praised when he plays well, doesn't get horribly knocked on unless he is directly responsible for a goal against.

Bouwmeester definitely gets underrated by "zombie horde" blues fans as other poster said, often times for not being physical enough or for being a good skater.

Bortuzzo is giving it 200% this year, which is funny half the time.

I would argue that Pietrbngelo is the most underrated blues d man league wide, while J-Bo would be the most consistently underrated d man by blues fans.

 

[jetsforever]

I would argue that Pietrbngelo is the most underrated blues d man league wide, while J-Bo would be the most consistently underrated d man by blues fans.

Interesting contrast between Blues fans and non-Blues fans.
For non-Jets fans, probably Josh Morrissey (or Enstrom although he's declining a bit). For Jets fans, I might have to go with Byfuglien. He gets criticised a lot.

 

[TheAngryHank]

Dahlin...

 

[rumrokh]

Interesting contrast between Blues fans and non-Blues fans.
For non-Jets fans, probably Josh Morrissey (or Enstrom although he's declining a bit). For Jets fans, I might have to go with Byfuglien. He gets criticised a lot.

The deal with a certain contingent of Blues fans hating Bouwmeester seems to be the tendency of St. Louis sports fans (this applies to baseball, too) to love scrappy players no matter how mediocre they are. If you don't score a lot (and often even if you do), you had better look like you're working as hard as possible. That means big players have to hit like a truck on every shift and small players have to scramble and thrash around. Bouwmeester doesn't score, and even though he blocks a ton of shots, he's a big guy who doesn't hit a lot, so he's doomed.

It's a Midwestern blue collar inferiority complex thing. One of the most active threads on the Blues' subforum right now is a sarcastic thread about lack of respect for the Blues around the league because of an erroneous belief that they're an over-the-hill team whose window is closing.

The other source is the belief that Bouwmeester's contract has prevented the Blues from acquiring a #1 center.