P. Kane defines the modern forward. Who defines the modern D?

We consistently hear prospects talking about how they modeled their game after watching Patrick Kane. Who is the equivalent D? Is it still Lidstrom? EK? Keith?

 

I'd say EK but he was a few years too late and his prime was too short lived.

 

With the way the game is played now, I would say it’s someone like Pietrangelo. Not looking for the big hit, great at stick checking, great positioning, knows when to slow things down and when to speed things up. Can rush the puck and has a great outlet pass. He won’t get named, because he isn’t flashy, but from what I’m seeing as a coach, this is what most young players on D are looking to be.

 

Id go with Josi

 

Years ago I would've said Subban. But Josi seems like the right choice now.

 

At this point, Karlsson would probably be the most common response from prospects. He won his first Norris in 2011-12, when most of the guys from the more recent drafts (2017-today) weren't yet teenagers. But, there's also guys like Keith, Hedman, Doughty and Josi in that same time frame, so who knows what answers you might end up getting.

 

My vote goes down to Victor Hedman or Alex Pietrangelo... solid two way defenseman.

 

I'm going to assume OP means offensive defenseman so, Hedman at this point because that dude can hold his own zone too.

 

Makar or Hedman.

 

Josi or Hedman.

 

You won't find 6'6 defenseman who skate like Hedman, his playstyle is largely based on his size and skating.

Josi or Pietrangelo seems to be the all round mold that players try to emulate.

 

Hedman

 

Zack Bogosian

 

Nick Leddy

 

Both past their prime but I would say Duncan Keith and Drew Doughty are the best "modern all-around d-man"

Guys like Makar don't have the defensive side developed like they did.

 

Ask the blue line prospects?

 

You're talking about older guys that the younger guys would have looked to. I think of someone like Doughty for sure.

 

Hedman is a good but not great defenseman. Many compare his game to Pronger but he has nothing on Prongers game and career.

 

I'd go with Doughty but I'm heavily biased. But even unbiased he'd be on the short list with guys like Josi and Pietrangelo.

 

If you’re talking about the prospects making it lately, it’s gotta be Keith/Doughty... They dominated with 5 Cups and 3 Norris trophies in the last decade.

They were also constantly marketed as the top Ds. I would think that the kids who grew up in the 2010s looked up to them.

 

The Kane of the backend? EK65... maybe Doughty/Keith. Hedman’s such a ridiculous, complete, dominating skill set that idk how many kids are really gonna see that as something they can emulate. He also wasn’t talked about in that breath for much of the decade, rightly or wrongly.

But these kids are so young that pretty soon it’ll be Makar. I see trainers on IG implementing his moves into drills already

 

Cale Makar and Shea Theodore types

 

The new styles, I think these guys are good examples of the trends going on that most players would be aiming for (Achievements within last 5 years ish) if they were attempting to break into the league:

- Undersized dmen (sub 6'): Hughes/Makar (Speedy PMD with offense tilt due to high vision) specialists
- Average (To 6'2): Chychrun/Chabot/Dumba/Reilly (PMD with less speed some sand paper but offensive minded) generalists
- Average (To 6'2): Tanev/Vlasic (PMD with less speed, some sandpaper and leaning towards defensive minded) generalists
- Oversized (6'4+): Hedman/Carlo (PMD with whatever talent combos, sandpaper and a slight leaning towards defense) either

It's not to say they're the best or the best guys to model, but it seems like good examples of the main trends of the average/majority dmen coming into the league? Certain guys like Brodie, Karlsson, Burns etc. I had to omit because they have elite facets to their games the average player just isn't capable of attempting to emulate at all.

The smaller guys basically all have to have IQ to survive. Otherwise a single bad hit ends their career.
The mid level guys can absorb more, but are also expected to do a bit more in terms of defense, offense, physicality etc.
They do what they can. The bigger guys, you can't teach size. Those guys basically have elite size and they use whatever tools they can in whatever manner they can hoping to be elite in multiple facets or as an overall package.

The above guys have obviously modeled their game on guys before them, but also tweaked them towards more modern systems, play style and speed.

 

Victor Makar and Cale Hedman.

 

Anyone calling Hedman a prototype of the modern defenseman must be watching a different NHL than everyone else. How many teams have a 6’6” stud dman who puts up close to PPG on their team?


I’d have to go with Karlsson.